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N0KFQ > TODAY 05.01.15 16:01l 61 Lines 2728 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 43930_N0KFQ
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Jan 5
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<ON4HU<PY1AYH<PY1AYH<CX2SA<N9PMO<N0KFQ
Sent: 150105/1455Z 43930@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.62
Jan 5, 1933:
Construction begins on Golden Gate Bridge
On this day in 1933, construction starts on what will become one
of America's most famous landmarks: the Golden Gate Bridge. When
completed in 1937, the Golden Gate has a 4,200-foot-long
suspension span, making it the world's longest suspension bridge.
Since opening to the public in May 1937, almost 2 billion
vehicles have crossed the bridge, in both the north- and
southbound directions.
The bridge was named not for its distinctive orange color (which
provides extra visibility to passing ships in San Francisco's
famous fog), but for the Golden Gate Strait, where the San
Francisco Bay opens into the Pacific Ocean. The bridge spans the
strait and connects the northern part of the city of San
Francisco to Marin County, California.
Prior to the bridge's construction, the only way to travel
between these two areas was by ferry boat.
The bridge's chief engineer, Joseph B. Strauss (1870-1938), an
Ohio native who built numerous bridges across the U.S., was
involved with the Golden Gate project by the early 1920s. From
the beginning, Strauss and his collaborators faced numerous
challenges, including opposition from skeptical city officials
(who were concerned about costs), environmentalists and ferry
operators (who were worried the bridge would impact their
business). Some members of the engineering community said it was
technically impossible to build the bridge, and it was not easy
to raise funding for the project at the beginning of the Great
Depression (a $35 million bond issue to finance construction of
the bridge was passed in California in 1930). Once construction
began, workers had to contend with the strong ocean currents and
heavy winds and fog in Golden Gate Strait. Eleven workers died
during the building of the bridge, 10 of them on one day,
February 17, 1937, when their scaffolding fell through a safety
net.
Despite all of these issues, the Golden Gate Bridge, with its art
deco design, was completed in four years and on May 27, 1937,
some 200,000 people showed up to celebrate its opening. The
following day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a
telegraph key in the White House, signaling to the world that the
bridge was open to vehicular traffic. The initial toll for the
bridge was 50 cents each way.
The Golden Gate would remain the world's longest suspension
bridge until it was surpassed, by 60 feet, by New York City's
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which opened in 1964. In February 1985,
the 1 billionth car crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. Today, more
than 41 million vehicles travel across the bridge each year.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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