How Was the Golden Gate Bridge Designed?

Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. But it wasn't until nineteen sixteen that the project gained traction as the area's population grew and traffic congestion at the ferry docks was

becoming a serious issue. That's when James H. Wilkins, a structural engineer and newspaper editor for the San Francisco Call Bulletin, connected with San Francisco city engineer Michael M. O'Shaughnessy and started talking about what would really take to make a bridge connecting the city to the Marin Headlands a reality. Three years later, San Francisco officials formally requested that O'Shaughnessy explore the possibility of building a straight spanning bridge, and

the engineer began consulting with colleagues around the country. Sure, the idea of connecting San Francisco to the North Bay was nice, but was it financially feasible? Most industry insiders speculated that such an undertaking would cost over a hundred million dollars that's something like one and a half billion in today's money, and perhaps more importantly, maybe it just

couldn't be built one. Joseph Barriman Strauss, however, begged to differ. Strauss, a Chicago based engineer, presented a plan that not only made a bridge seem possible, but downright affordable. Strauss's plan estimated that the construction could be done for thirty million. Strauss submitted his preliminary sketches to O'Shaughnessy and Edward Rainey, a secretary to James Rolfe, then mayor of San Francisco,

in June of nine. While his original design, a seventeen million dollars symmetrical cantilever suspension hyb in span, needed some tweaking and didn't pan out. Shaughnessy made the design public in December of and although the press described it as ugly, there was surprisingly little public opposition to the ambitious endeavor. But while citizens seemed relatively open to approving the massive undertaking, there were more than a few snags along the way

to construction. First, Shaughnessy and Strauss had to assemble a special district of the state of California to oversee the financing, design, and construction of the bridge as a way to give all counties involved a voice in the process, But ultimately the fate of the bridge was in the hands of the War Department, which legally ruled all harbor construction potentially

affecting shipping, traffic or military logistics. When the War Department held a hearing in May of nineteen four to discuss the bridge's potential impact on navigation and financial burden, things got thorny. Plenty of people voiced their opposition, especially the local ferry companies, who started a serious anti bridge campaign in an effort to halt construction, and they succeeded for

eight years. But after nearly a decade of jurisdiction and uncertainty, Strauss and os Shaughnessy were able to create the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, composed of the area's six member counties, incorporated by the California State Legislature in Night as a sole entity responsible for the final design, construction,

and financing of the future bridge. Then Secretary of War Patrick Hurley issued the construction permit in August of nineteen thirty and the building process officially kicked off nearly three years later in January of nineteen thirty three. By this time, the vast majority of residents were stoked, and a groundbreaking ceremony at nearby Chrissy Field helped hype the locals for what was to be a somewhat lengthy but easier than

expected process. We spoke the email with Paolo coosalp Swartz, whose name I hope I'm saying correctly and who is the public affairs manager for the Golden gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District. He said, an interesting fact about the Golden Gate Bridge is that it was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, a rarity in today's construction world. The bridge was completed in May of seven, six months

ahead of schedule. It cost about thirty nine million dollars to build, which equals about five million into days dollars. Not only did the bridge make a name for itself as a relatively quick and painless project, as far as massive constructions go It also made a mark on history with its construction procedures and safety measures. Coustolic Shortz said the Golden gate Bridge was a pioneering project for protecting workers by requiring bridge builders to wear hard hats and

installing the first safety net for bridge workers. I'm proud that the legacy of safety lives on at the Golden gate Bridge today. Although eleven men did die during construction, which was not unheard of in that risky era of building, a safety net suspended under the floor of the bridge during construction saved the lives of nineteen men who became known as the Halfway to Hell Club. But remember Strauss's

original plans for a spetrical cantilever suspension hybrid bridge. While his staff, led by Charles A. Ellis, found the idea to be practical from an engineering standpoint, some experts started to raise questions. Ellis brought on professor George F. Swain of Harvard University and Leon Morzef, who designed New York's Manhattan Bridge, to serve on a board of consultants for the project, and more Zef was not sold on the design.

In August of nineteen twenty nine, the board appointed Morzeff and a couple other engineers to serve alongside Strauss as the Advisory Board of Engineers. At some point in their discussions, the exact date being unknown, the board decided to shift from Strauss's original proposal to a simple suspension bridge design

the Golden Gate Bridge. A report of the Chief Engineer, written by Strauss in sept Number of nine seven doesn't give details on the transition from his originally proposed design to the more zeph inspired suspension span, but simply states, in the interval which has elapsed, any advantages possessed by the cantilever suspension type bridge had practically disappeared. An on recommendation of the Chief Engineer, the cantilever suspension type was

abandoned in favor of the simple suspension type. There was another mysterious drama during the design process as well. While Ellis was responsible for directing the thousands of calculations required, Strauss unceremoniously fired him in nineteen thirty one and handed his job over to his assistant. To this day, Ellis is rarely mentioned in discussions of the bridge, but back to that design, perhaps the most recognizable feature of the bridge is its eye popping hue, but please don't call

it red. Kosslick Schwartz said, International orange is the signature color of the Golden gate Bridge. The color was chosen as the primary color of the bridge by consulting architect Irving Morrow, who noticed the red lead primer of the steel arriving from mills on the East coast. He thought the red primer would serve the dual purpose of making the bridge stand out for ships and plains in the dense fog while blending in with the natural beauty of

the areas surrounding the bridge. After much study and debate, the color we so closely identify with the Golden gate Bridge today was selected for the project, and we can thank Irving Morrow for the Golden gate Bridges distinctive hue today. The Golden Gate Bridge is a critical transportation link between

San Francisco and Marin County. The one point seven mile or two point seven kilometer main span carries about a hundred and twelve thousand vehicles every day, and not only can the number of roadway lanes dedicated to the southbound or northbound be modified throughout the day to accommodate shifting traffic patterns, but visitors are welcome to walk and bike the length of the landmark. Over two billion vehicles have crossed the Golden gate Bridge, going both north and south

since opening to traffic one. Today's episode was written by Michelle Konstantinovski, who has a tattoo of the Golden gate Bridge, and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other curious topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio ms B, i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,