VALLEJO (BCN) -- In 1926, at 20 years of age, Bay Area-born Al Zampa launched a career that this weekend will seal its spot in history, when the new Carquinez Bridge opens under the moniker "Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge."

Born March 12, 1905 in the tiny Contra Costa County town of Selby, Zampa became a bridge worker more or less on a whim, when he learned of a bridge going up near his home.

That bridge was the original westbound Carquinez, which opened in 1927. Zampa went on to work on bridges throughout California, Arizona and Texas.

He had a hand in the construction almost every existing Bay Area bridge, including the Golden Gate, Benicia, Richmond-San Rafael and Bay Bridges, as well as the eastbound Carquinez built in 1958.

At the age of 95, Zampa watched the March 3, 2000 groundbreaking on the new westbound Carquinez now bearing his name. He died shortly thereafter, on April 23, 2000.

A Saturday grand opening celebration for the just-finished, $500 million bridge will kick off with a 1 p.m. ribbon-cutting with Gov. Gray Davis, followed by a 2 p.m. bridge walk and parade. The day will close with a 6 p.m. fireworks show and bridge-lighting ceremony.

Members of the Zampa family, some of whom are in the bridge business themselves, will be presented with a plaque honoring Al Zampa.

The span, which features a bicycle/pedestrian lane, will reportedly be open to commute traffic Monday, according to Caltrans officials.

Said to be the first major suspension bridge built in the United States in 35 years, the nearly 3,500-foot structure replaces the seismically unfit 1927 version.

Built into the new span are 103 sensors, called accelerometers, which gauge earth motion and automatically alert a central computer when magnitudes of 4.0 or greater are detected, according to Caltrans.

"Some scientists think we're overdue for a significant earthquake in the Bay Area, so it's important to keep preparing. This instrumentation is a key part of being ready for the next big quake," said Department of Conservation Director Darryl Young.

The data will guide emergency response personnel to hardest hit areas in the region, assess the safety and integrity of the bridge and show how the bridge reacted to the shaking.

No deaths or serious injuries were recorded during construction of the new span, which was funded by a voter-approved mandate to increase tolls on Bay Area bridges for bridge improvements.

Zampa nearly died in a fall from the Golden Gate Bridge during its construction, in Oct. 1936. After slipping on some wet iron, Zampa flipped backward, landing on a loose net that fell, with him in it, onto the Marin County shore below. He suffered four broken vertebrae and spent two years in a steel back brace.

Zampa eventually returned to work on bridges.

"I've climbed halfway to heaven and fallen halfway to hell," Zampa was quoted as saying. "Neither place wanted me, so I just kept on working."

(Copyright 2003, Bay City News. All rights reserved.)