Did you ever wonder about the history of The Golden Gate Bridge?

 

            By David McClelland

 

            I've done the research and here's the scoop. The real "Golden Gate" is the strait that the Bridge spans. The strait was named by Captain John C. Fremont in 1846. 

 

            The Golden Gate Bridge, which spans the strait and connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco peninsula to Marin County, was first proposed in 1919 and several engineers and experienced bridge builders were invited to submit proposals for the construction of such a bridge. One was Joseph Strauss, who had a company in Chicago for building relatively short-span drawbridges. His company had completed construction of 400 such bridges, but he had never designed or worked on a long-span bridge. Nevertheless, his proposal was adjudged to be the best of those submitted and he was appointed Chief Engineer for the Bridge that same year. The name of the Bridge became official in 1923 with the passage of The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District Act. It took 14 years to get the project off the ground and to raise the money for construction, which began in 1933. The Bridge was completed in four years in 1937 at a cost of $35 million and $1.3 million under budget. In today's dollars, that cost would be $539,872,500. The Bridge is painted orange vermillion and the color is officially called International Orange.

 

            As we now know, the Bridge design was of a steel, two tower, suspension bridge. The weight of the roadway (U.S. Route 101 and California Route 1) is hung from two cables that pass through the two towers, each 746 feet high, and are fixed in concrete on each shore. Each cable has 25,572 strands of wire. There are 80,000 miles of wire in the two cables. The bottom of the Bridge is 220 feet above the water to permit ships to pass under it. Its length is 1.7 miles and it weighs 887,000 tons. By the year 2000, 41 million vehicles a year (118,000 commuters a day) were traveling across the Golden Gate Bridge where the speed limit is 45 miles per hour.

 

            During the four years of Bridge construction, eleven workers were killed even though Strauss had attached a net below the Bridge that is credited with saving the lives of 19 others who also fell. More than 1,200 people have committed suicide since 1937 by jumping from the Bridge's roadway, which is 245 feet above the water. Even now, an average of one person jumps to his or her death from the Bridge every two weeks or about 52 persons each year. The Golden Gate Bridge has the highest suicide rate of any bridge in the world.

 

Why do so many seek to end their lives from the Bridge? One reason is that it is so inviting to those who are suicidal. The rail along the pedestrian walkway is only 4 feet high. There have been many attempts since to change the height of the railing, but each has failed when arguments about aesthetics, bridge structure and money came into play. Nevertheless, it is obvious that a suicide barrier is badly needed and should of the highest priority!

 

            As of the turn of the century, 18 iron workers and 40 painters were working full-time to maintain the Bridge. The last time that I crossed the Bridge, I could see some of the painters doing their job to assure that the Bridge remains in top condition and looks nearly new. It is most enjoyable to cross the Bridge and to see its splendor and the beautiful view of the Bay. If you get the chance to see and cross The Golden Gate Bridge, I think that you will agree that it is a splendid achievement. I hope that you will also agree that they have to do whatever it takes to prevent more suicides from the Bridge.