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Rights Holder and Contact
California Department of Transportation
Date of Copyright
1989-11-02
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 the earthquake, Tim Hurd was a Lead Painter on the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge for Caltrans. When the earthquake happened Hurd was a home watching the World Series. After the earthquake, he lost power in his neighborhood in Richmond, CA, and learned about the Cypress Structure collapse from a car radio outside his house. Later Hurd received a phone call to report to work at the office at San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge Toll Plaza. Hurd was not sure if he could get to the bridge, so he received permission to report to the Carquinez Paint Shop. Once he arrived at the shop, Hurd realized that he could not call out to the office at the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge Toll Plaza, but they were receiving incoming calls from there. The rest of the evening until 12:30 he spent his time coordinating supplies from the Martinez shop and reporting back to the warehouse at the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. When he arrived at the warehouse he helped clean up and organize the space. Then he spent the next twenty-four hours working in the office at the Toll Plaza. During his time at the Toll Plaza, there was no power in the warehouse or office, and the water had been shut off. Coleman lamps were used when the generator would go out. Bottled water had to be carried from the warehouse to the office for drinking water. Around midnight Hurd went out on inspection on San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge to assist the contractors from International Rigging to stabilize the slab on the Upper Deck.
Type
sound
Format
Original Audio cassette
Form/Genre
Oral histories
Extent
1 Tape of 1 00:44:27
Identifier
casadt_000124
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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