Golden Gate Bridge
One of the longest Suspension Bridges in the World
The Building
It was built in 1933 to 1937; Joseph Baerman Strauss built it, the bridge was built by 10 different prime contractors and their subcontractors and was made of concrete and steel, the steel weighed over 75,000,000 and the concrete was more than 1 million tonnes.
Why was it Built?
The Golden Gate Bridge was built because it is connects to the Northen Tip of San Francisco to Marin County. This is a great help for those people to cross the bridge unlike before they had to catch a boat or fairy just to cross San Francisco Bay.
Why Golden Gate?
The Golden Gate Strait is the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. The strait is approximately three-miles long by one-mile wide with currents ranging from 4.5 to 7.5 knots. It is generally accepted that the strait was named "Chrysopylae", or Golden Gate, by John C. Fremont, Captain, topographical Engineers of the U.S. Army circa 1846. It reminded him of a harbor in Instanbul named Chrysoceras or Golden Horn.
How does it stand?
It stands by having a wide gap because they need only two support towers. These towers are usually on land or in the shallow water near the shore.Strong cables hang between the two towers. The ends of the cables are attached to heavy anchor points on land. Small cables, called stringers, hang down and hold the deck in place.
Opening
Opened in 1937, the bridge has remained undamaged. It has been able to withstand ferocious winds, mammoth loads, temperatures that expand and contract every piece of steel in it and enormous earthquakes (Gronquist 27). The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused no damage.
The 1800's
In the late 1800s and the early 1900s residents of San Francisco saw the ferry system as the only way to get from one side of the strait to the other.(2) Many problems arose from the ferry system in the early 1910s due to a growing population and society's need to cross the Golden Gate Strait-ferries could not keep up with the accelerating demand for transportation (Saunders 21). As the necessity for a more efficient way to travel increased, building a bridge seemed to be the only answer.
Money
It would take thousands of workers, four years and 35 million dollars to complete the structure, Joseph Baerman Strauss got the money from his family members. They all gave in some money to complete the Golden Gate Brige