At the time of its construction in the 1930s, the Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
The Golden Gate Bridge maintained this title of pride for nearly 25 years, until the Verrazano Narrows Bridge was built in 1964, in New York. Even today, this historic San Francisco landmark holds its place as the second largest suspension bridge in the United States.
While there were many drawbacks of building a bridge across the Golden Gate, Joseph Strauss was named as the lead engineer for the project, and construction began January 5th, 1933. In the end, the project cost over $35 million to build.
During the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, very few workers lost their lives. A huge safety net was installed under the bridge to catch anyone who were to fall. 19 men were saved by the net, which was a completely new idea to construction of bridges. These 19 men were later called members of the "Halfway to Hell Club".
Before the Golden Gate Bridge was built, the only way to get from San Francisco to Marin County was by ferry. To drive the entire way would take several hours, as the only roads went down through the South Bay and up through the East Bay. The construction of the Golden Gate Bridge brought in a new era for Bay Area residents, making it far easier to travel north up the coast from San Francisco.
Historical Highlights
Golden Gate Bridge history highlights of the construction includes:
- Construction started on January 5, 1933.
- Fort Point at the south end of the bridge was used as a base of operations while the bridge was under construction.
- The bridge was opened ahead of schedule on May 27, 1937. Over 200,000 people walked the bridge span to commemorate its completion. The following day the bridge was dedicated and a ceremonial banner was cut opening the bridge to vehicular traffic at noon.
- The final cost to build the bridge was $35 million which was under budget.
- The 4,200 foot long main suspension held the record for the longest suspension for 25 years.
The Golden Gate Bridge is the first Major Bridge to implement one-way toll collection.
The $35 million bridge bond was retired in 1971 with the $39 million in interest being financed by bridge tolls. The dream of free tolls was never realized. By 2008 the tolls rose to $6 per car traveling northbound with southbound traffic traveling for free. The Golden Gate Bridge is the first major bridge in the world to implement one-way toll collection.