Copyrighted. Rights are owned by California Department of Transportation. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Rights Notes
Copyrighted. Rights are owned by California Department of Transportation. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Date of Copyright
1989
Description
This recording is the Loma Prieta oral history of Celso Gonzalez. At the time of the Loma Prieta earthquake, Gonzalez was a Junior Civil Engineer with Caltrans doing a rotational assignment in the Santa Cruz Construction District. When the earthquake happened he was at home in Santa Cruz and after the earth stopped shaking and his home had no damage, Gonzalez went to inspect where the California Highway Patrol had closed the Harbor Bridge. As a Caltrans employee he was able to get past the barricade, and after inspecting the bridge, drove over it and saw there was a water main burst under the roadway. The water was washing away the support from underneath the road. Gonzales was there with another Caltrans worker, and they decided that he should stay and divert traffic while the other employee got flares and barricades from the maintenance yard. After being there for 30 minutes some workers from Granite Construction showed up and offered their assistance. Gonzalez told them to get a backhoe to tear apart the asphaltic concrete so that the water pressure could be relieved in that area. After the Granite Construction workers did this, Gonzalez had them place their backhoe on the road to prevent cars to pass through. At 11:30 that night some Santa Cruz workers came and shut off the water mains, and an hour after that the maintenance crew showed up to do the repairs. Gonzalez did all of this without formal direction from Caltrans, and his efforts helped save lives and water resources. Note on original container: Earthquake Interview-Jim Bush & Celso Gonzalez 10-27-1989 1500; Orig.
Type
sound
Format
Original Audio cassette
Form/Genre
Oral histories
Extent
1 Tape of 1
Identifier
casadt_000086
Language
English
Provenance
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) California Revealed is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.
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