Richard Mooradian was born in 1957 in Burlingame, California, just south of San Francisco. At any early age, he developed an interest in mechanics, which sometimes got him in trouble. Working at a service station in high school led to seeking a job as a tow truck driver for a private towing company while attending Merritt Junior College. In 1979, Mooradian took a job driving tow trucks for Caltrans and then, within a few years, he became a structural steel welder for the department. In this lively interview, Mooradian describes in vivid detail the jobs of tow truck driver and structural steel welder on the Bay Bridge, including how he dealt with issues such as car wrecks, suicide attempts, and the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Mooradian also compares the original eastern span with the new eastern span, nearing construction in 2013.
Details
Title
Richard Mooradian: The Bay Bridge Oral History Project
Note
Mooradian, Richard. "Richard Mooradian: The Bay Bridge Oral History Project." Interview by Martin Meeker and Sam Redman in 2012. Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2013. Interview date(s) 2012
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