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Repairing California's burn-scarred roads | Everyday Heroes

After seeing all the positive social media comments about Caltrans crews and contractors working to repair roads after wildfires, ABC10 decided to meet some of them.

NAPA COUNTY, Calif. — Everyday Heroes are all around us and ABC10 wants to highlight the work they do. Every week our viewer nominates people and organizations making a difference in our community.  

This week we want to introduce you to the men and women working on California’s highways. After seeing all the positive social media comments about Caltrans crews and contractors working to repair roads after wildfires, ABC10 decided to meet some of them.

Thanks and praise to all our Caltrans crews and contractors coordinating with the many brave first responders battling...

Posted by Caltrans HQ on Monday, August 31, 2020

Justin Cromwell works for OC Jones and Son Inc. His crew is contracted by Caltrans to clean up and repair the burn-scarred roads on Highway 128 near Lake Berryessa.

“Lot of the guys are from Vacaville, Fairfield, Bay Area, Napa,” said Cromwell.

The LNU Lightning Complex fires devastated many communities in the Lake Berryessa area. Down trees, powerlines, and burned guard rails made driving on Highway128 nearly impossible. 

To clear the road, Caltrans hired extra crews to start emergency repairs. 

“When we got this call we jumped on it because we wanted to help this community -- get the roads open, assess the damage to their homes, and see what they have to do to move forward,” said Cromwell.

Highway 128 is now open to traffic, but there’s still work to be done. Damaged drainpipes and hundreds of burned trees still need to be removed. The road to recovery will be a long one for the homeowners in this area, but Caltrans and their contractors are eager to make that road a little easier to travel. 

“The best part of my job is when it's complete. [It is] when I get to drive through a job and show my kids that we did this. Not me. We all did this,” said Cromwell.

If you want to nominate an Everyday Hero send an email to John Bartell jbartell@abc10.com and put Everyday Hero in the subject line.

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