He was recognized with industry and government awards for his leadership in bridge engineering, especially in the area of seismic retrofit.
[1] Roberts was the son of a carpenter who made his living working in the oil industry of the San Francisco Bay area as a contractor.
Upon graduation from UC Berkeley he started his employment with the California Division of Highways and worked in the area of bridge construction until leaving to fulfill his military commitment with a tour of duty in Korea.
He spent several years commuting in the evening to attend courses toward the completion of his master's degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Southern California completing his degree with research work in the area of long term deflections of concrete bridge decks.
Highlights of his career include his work as lead on the planning and design of the downtown area of Sacramento for its light rail project, which was designed at Roberts’ insistence by state staff to demonstrate the flexibility that state highway engineers could have.
Kempton, Will, Land Richard, et al. James E. Roberts Memorial, California Department of Transportation, [Caltrans], DVD, 59 minutes 4.