The Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge

Alfred “Al” Zampa was the first born son of Emilio and Maria Zampa, Italian immigrants who migrated to the USA from Abruzzi, Italy. Al was born on March 12, 1905 in Selby, California just down the river from where the bridge that bares his name sits. He was the eldest of three brothers and two sisters.

Al started his career in ironwork when he was 20 years old on the first Carquinez Bridge opening in 1927. He worked on all of the highway and railroad bridges in the area, including the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1936 Al fell from the Golden Gate into a safety net designed by famous bridge engineer Joseph Strauss. He survived the fall but it severely injured him. After recovering Al immediately returned to his job on the bridge and along with other fall survivors, he helped form the Halfway to Hell Club. The highlight of Al’s career came when his two sons joined him as ironworkers to help build the second Carquinez Bridge that would open in 1958 to carry traffic Eastbound on the new Interstate 80 highway.

In 1987, some years after his retirement, on the 50^th anniversary of the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge a play called “The Ace” was produced based on Al’s life story. The play ran at Ft. Point in San Francisco for several weeks. Al began to share his story with the media and was interviewed by magazines, radio shows and TV programs such as “On the Road with Charles Kuralt.” Later Al contributed to the documentary “Skywalkers, A Story of the Ironworkers.”

Al always spoke highly of being a union ironworker and the benefits he received as a union member. He was very competitive and did not like to fail. He enjoyed playing pool and coaching little league baseball. He started the first Tri-City Little League with friends in 1947. He coached his Crockett team to victory, winning the league 6 consecutive years. While working, coaching little league baseball, playing pool, or any of his pastimes, Al Zampa was dedicated to achievement.

In March of 2000 ground was broken on a new suspension bridge to replace the original Carquinez Bridge. Al was there to see history repeat itself. This new bridge is named in memory of Crockett’s own Alfred Zampa, an in recognition of the men and women of the building and construction trades who build these great monuments.

Project Videos

The following video shorts were the first Caltrans ever produced for the web. They show key construction milestones and helped the local communities and the Bay Area feel a part of the construction while allowing the world to see the work as it was done.

Construction Photography

The following are construction photos taken by Caltrans photographer's Bill Hall and John Huseby. The new Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge over the Carquinez Strait was the first suspension bridge built in the U.S. in over 3 decades. Media from all over the country came to see how this engineering marvel came together. The foundations for the towers are supported by steel piles that go down into rock sockets. The legs of the towers are the first steel reinforced suspension bridge supports in the U.S. The cables are made up of smaller 5mm wires that are grouped into strands. They were placed using "the controlled tension method" that uses a system of weights to place tension on the strands as they are spun into place.