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AFTERSHOCK: DEALING WITH THE HIGHWAY CRISIS AFTER THE LOMA PRIETA EARTHQUAKE

1990; Issue: 149 Linguagem: Inglês

0738-6826

George E Gray, James E. Roberts, J Markowitz,

Infrastructure Resilience and Vulnerability Analysis

The Loma Prieta Earthquake, named after the peak and ridge near its epicenter, occurred on the afternoon of October 17, 1989. It lasted for 15 seconds and had a Richter magnitude of 7.1. Its impact was felt by a major portion of California's inhabitants and by its economy. The most immediate and serious results were collapsed buildings, highways, and bridges with a resulting loss of 62 lives; fires; loss of electric power; ruptured water and gas lines; and earth slides. The aftereffects--failure of water lines, formerly undiscovered damage to buildings, and main highways awaiting full service use--are still being felt today. This article outlines the major highway system failures that occurred; the bridge testing and retrofitting program; the transit response (the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, designed to withstand earthquakes of 8.0 magnitude and greater, came through essentially unscathed); and the plans for recovery and their implementation. Also discussed are the earthquake's impact on travel behavior and the lessons that were learned.