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Rights Holder and Contact
California Department of Transportation
Date of Copyright
1989-10-31
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. This is the Loma Prieta Oral History of Bob Jacobs, who was the Deputy District Director in charge of Maintenance for Caltrans at the Cypress viaduct command center in Oakland. When the Loma Prieta Earthquake happened, Jacobs was driving from Sacramento to San Francisco. When he was on the Richmond section of I-80, Jacobs heard there was an earthquake, and as he approached the section of Interstate 80 between University Ave. and Ashby Ave., Jacobs saw the large cracks in the pavement and proceeded to the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge Toll Plaza office. Jacobs established a command center at the Toll Plaza, and he contacted the other toll bridges in the Bay Area to establish the extent of the damage that they had sustained. Afterward, Jacobs had contacted Burch Bachtold, District Director, for Caltrans District 4, and they agreed to set up two command posts to coordinate the restoration of the transportation system. Later, Jacobs was assigned by Burch Bachtold to take responsibility for the Cypress viaduct command center. Jacobs was responsible for supervising the operations at Cypress viaduct, having the Caltrans employees evaluate the structure for the first responders who did the actual rescue and recovery efforts. Jacobs was at the site when the last survivor was found, Buck Helm, and he describes that experience in detail. Jacobs also describes the condition of the Cypress viaduct and the immediate plans for the future.
Type
sound
Format
Original Audio cassette
Form/Genre
Oral histories
Extent
1 Tape of 1 00:30:42
Identifier
casadt_000125
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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