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November/December 2003
Al's
Bridge
Local Ironworker Honored
Photo: Elma Garcia
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The new span across the Carquinez Strait is named in honor of the late Alfred
Zampa, a local ironworker who helped build the original 1927 Carquinez Bridge as well as
the parallel 1958 span and four other Bay Area toll bridges. It was while working on the
Golden Gate Bridge that Zampa became a member of the “Halfway to Hell” club
— an exclusive brotherhood of bridge builders who fell from the now-famous landmark
during construction and lived to tell the tale.
Before his death at 95 in April 2000, Zampa helped break ground for the span that bears his
name. And although he did not live to see the bridge completed, he left a legacy of bridge
building that now extends into a third generation: Two sons and three grandsons have
followed in his footsteps as ironworkers. Among the speakers at the bridge opening was son
and former ironworker Dick Zampa, now president of the District Council of Ironworkers of
California and Vicinity. “The bridge is being named for an ironworker, a blue collar
worker, and recognizes all of the men and women… who build these great construction
projects,” he said.
— Réka Goode
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