The Golden GateBridge
San Francisco’s Golden GateBridge is one of the most recognizable structures in the U.S. It is situated on the Golden GateStraitwhich is the entrance toSan FranciscoBay from the Pacific Ocean. It was designed by Joseph B. Strauss.
Work on the Golden GateBridge began in 1933 and it was opened on May 28, 1937.
This suspension bridge has a main span of 4,200 feet.The main span is the longest distance between the two main supports.
The Golden GateBridge has always been painted orange vermilion. This warm colour blends well with the warm colors of the land and is distinct from the cool colours of the sky and sea. It also ensures that the Bridge is seen by passing ships. If the U.S. Navy had its way the Bridge might have been painted black and yellow stripes!
The Bridge was painted when it was originally built. For the next 27 years, only touch up was required. However, by 1965 the Bridge had become so rusted that a program to remove the original paint was begun. The program was completed in 1995. Painting the Golden GateBridge is an ongoing maintenance job. The paint protects it from the high salt content in the air which rusts the steel components.
In the past 70 years nearly 2 billion vehicles have crossed the Golden Gate bridges since opening in 1937. The lowest volume of traffic was in January 6 1982 when only 3,921 southbound vehicles crossed the Bridge. A rainstorm had struck the San Francisco area and earth slides and floods covered the highway and roads north of the Bridge..The highest volume of traffic happened on October 27, 1989. During the evening rush an Earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, jarred the Bay Area and an all-time record of 162,414 vehicles crossed the Bridge north and southbound.
The Bridge has a total of six lanes. At any given time the number of lanes northbound or southbound may be adjusted. Bright yellow lane markers are placed in "sockets" in the Bridge roadway to clearly identify the San Francisco outbound lanes (northbound) and San Francisco inbound lanes (southbound). During the morning there are four lanes of traffic south to San Francisco and two lanes northbound to Marin. During the afternoon there are four lanes northbound to Marin and two lanes southbound to San Francisco.
On Sunday, May 24, 1987 the Golden GateBridge turned fifty. The day began as "Bridgewalk 87" and it is estimated that nearly 300,000 people paraded across the Bridge.As a token of appreciation to the thousands of motorists who use the Bridge each day, the Board of Directors suspended toll collection for the day.