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Rights Holder and Contact
California Department of Transportation
Date of Copyright
1989-11-01
Description
In the wake of the October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta Earthquake, Caltrans commissioned an oral history project to document the personal and professional experiences of Caltrans employees who worked to restore the State's damaged transportation system. At the time of this interview, Robert H. Jahrling was Deputy District Director for Planning and Programing at Caltrans District 4 office in San Francisco. In the interview, Jahrling describes his experience of learning about the earthquake over his car radio driving on State Route 37 just past Vallejo on the way to Marin County. Once he arrived at his home in Marin, he was called to report to the Caltrans 150 Oak Street office in San Francisco. After he arrived at the Oak Street office, Jahrling was tasked with plotting the damage information onto Caltrans base maps of the Bay Area to assess the damage from the Loma Prieta Earthquake. During the night, there were generator problems, so much of the work had to be done by flashlights and telephones. The next day, Jahrling was part of a planning unit to organize the site damage assessment teams so that the Federal Highway Administration could approve them. Jahring also describes how the different command centers (Oak Street, Toll Plaza, and Cypress Street) came into being and who was in charge of each.
Type
sound
Format
Original Audio cassette
Form/Genre
Oral histories
Extent
1 Tape of 1 37:50
Identifier
casadt_000119
Language
English
Subject
Earthquakes--California--Loma Prieta Loma Prieta Earthquake, Calif., 1989
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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