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| Golden gate bridge |
Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco, California:
The Golden Gate Bridge is considered one of the world's most visited attractions.
It is the link between the city of San Francisco and Marin County. In terms of popularity, it is not inferior to such giants as the Brooklyn Bridge, located in New York and the Tower Bridge (London).
In addition, for 27 years it was the largest in the world. An interesting fact is that this bridge attracts suicides, it was here that over 1,200 people committed suicide.
See also: San Francisco Attractions | Best places to visit in san francisco bay area
Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco, California
Brief history of the bridge:
In ancient times, communication between San Francisco and Marin County was organized using a ferry. Each crossing took, on average, about 20 minutes, and the price charged for the move was $1.
Over time, the traffic flow increased, and the capacity of the ferry company remained the same, so the question arose of building a bridge for the movement of vehicles. At that time, such an idea seemed just crazy because of the strongest winds and water currents, in addition, fogs often arose here, and there was quite an active movement of ships in the bay itself.
Design, construction financing and who built the Golden Gate Bridge
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| Golden gate bridge construction Image source: Wikipedia |
Despite the difficulties for the implementation of the project, there was still one brave architect. The author of the Golden Gate was the chief engineer Joseph Strauss, together with the architect Irving Morrow. The art deco style, fashionable at that time, was chosen as the design of the structure. It was assumed that the construction of the bridge will require about 35 million dollars. The main contractor for the work was McClintic-Marshall Construction. In the course of the activity, which lasted more than 4 years, approximately 1.2 million rivets made from steel were used in the work.
The primary purpose of the construction of the structure was the need to create a transport connection between the actively developing territories of the southern part of the state of California and its northern lands, which are located along the Pacific coast. The question of the need for construction has long been overdue, however, given the width of the strait (it was over 2 kilometer), as well as its depth (about 100 meters), few believed in putting the idea into practice. As a result, construction work began only with the development of new technologies.
Initially, after the opening of the bridge (May 27, 1937), it was used only for pedestrians, but after some time, vehicular traffic was also opened on it.
I must say that the main calculations of the project were carried out by the Riga immigrant Lev Moiseev, who, together with Charles Alton Ellis, were part of the developers of the Manhattan Bridge (New York). Interestingly, their names do not appear in the history of the creation of the Golden Gate, which is associated with a difficult relationship with Joseph Strauss.
Bridge dimensions
The grandiose structure until 1964 was considered the longest suspension bridge, its length was 2,737 meters. The suspended canvas had the following parameters: length - 1,970 meters, and width - 27 meters (this value was the sum of the width of the carriageway and sidewalks provided on each side). The main span was 1,300 meters long, and there were 1,280 meters between the supports.
The roadbed is held by two cables of the bridge, twisted from wire, the diameter of which is 4.9 millimeter. In total, it took about 130 thousand kilometer of wire. The span is suspended on powerful ropes (their number is 250 pairs), which are attached to the main cables placed every 15 meters.
The height of the bridge above the surface of the water at high tide is 67 meters, which does not prevent the movement of the largest ships through the strait.
Modernization of the Golden Gate Bridge
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| Golden gate bridge |
During its operation (90 years!) the bridge has been modernized several times. For example, vertical ropes were replaced, which made it possible to increase its seismic resistance and reduce vibration. The driveway and sidewalks have also been repeatedly repaired, in addition, the lighting system has been improved.
It is interesting that the bridge, to maintain the image, is constantly painted in a certain color, and also controlled so that it does not corrode. Many believe that the color of the bridge is red, but it is covered with orange cinnabar, which is called "international orange". The orange color is well distinguishable in the fog, in addition, it looks good against the background of the surrounding landscape, so the architect Irving Morrow chose it, and not the traditional steel one.
Interesting information
A beautiful and powerful structure was called the "suicide bridge". It is not known for what reason it is chosen by those who want to say goodbye to life. According to statistics, with a frequency of two weeks, someone finds his death here, which is why it is called so. A catching net is even stretched along the bridge, however, this does not solve the problem.
While walking around the city, the beautiful bridge is visible from different angles. Tourists love to be photographed against its background. The most successful view of the Golden Gate mote opens from the hills, which are located on the other side of the strait in the Golden Gate recreation area.
There are several viewing platforms that are very popular among tourists. It's not easy to get here on weekends.
Conclusion
Those who are lucky enough to visit San Francisco should definitely see the Golden Gate Bridge, walk along it, and take some beautiful pictures. It is not just a visiting card of the city, but also the most important attraction of the West Coast of America.
