Bankrupt in Sacramento

C. C. Myers became a hero for rebuilding collapsed freeways in record time. He's having a harder time dealing with the collapsed housing market

Published August 25, 2008 7:28PM (EDT)

May 2007: California contractor C. C. Myers makes headlines across the country by rebuilding a section of collapsed San Francisco Bay Area freeway with lightning speed.

December 2007: Wachovia Bank sues Myers, claiming he is in default on $61 million dollars worth of loans tied to the construction of a ritzy country-club development in Auburn, Calif. As the housing bust gathers momentum, interest in purchasing home-sites at the unfinished Winchester Country Club has flatlined.

August 2008: The Sacramento Bee reports that Myers filed for personal bankruptcy on Friday, Aug. 23.

Myers' bridge-and-highway construction firm, Rancho Cordova, is supposedly unaffected by his personal financial woes. Indeed, just last month Rancho Cordova company completed a huge overhaul of Interstate 5 through downtown Sacramento. But it's still a remarkable fall from grace. From acclaimed savior of the Bay Area commute to personally bankrupt, in just one year.


By Andrew Leonard

Andrew Leonard is a staff writer at Salon. On Twitter, @koxinga21.

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