Ex-Leaders of Contractors Rudolph & Sletten and E.E. Cruz, and designer Hardesty & Hanover Die
Edward Cruz, co-founder and former president of New Jersey-based heavy-highway contractor E.E. Cruz & Co. that was eventually sold to German giant Hochtief AG in 2010, died on July 14 at age 74 in Bayhead, N.J. The cause was cancer. Portugal-born Cruz founded the firm in 1984 with his cousin to focus on transportation, deep foundations and water infrastructure work in the New York City region.
Ranked among ENR’s Top 400 contractors before its sale, the firm pioneered the use of micro-tunneling to install deep sewer tunnels on area projects. Cruz was a former president and honoree of The Moles, a heavy construction professional group, and led the National Utility Contractors Association and the General Contractors Association of New York City. He also had completed a memoir in 2014, entitled A Bold Journey.