May 27: On This Day in 1937 - Golden Gate Bridge Facts

Photo by somebody3121May 27, 1937: The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, was opened to pedestrians on this day. The following day, it was opened to vehicles. The toll was 50 cents one way, $1 round trip and 5 cents surcharge if there were more than 3 passengers.

Some other interesting facts about the GGB:

• Total length: Including approaches, 1.7 miles (8,981 feet or 2,737 m).

• Clearance above the high water (average): 220 feet (67 m).

• Total weight when built: 894,500 tons (811,500,000 kg).

• Total weight today: 887,000 tons (804,700,000 kg). Weight reduced because of new decking material.

• Only eleven workers died during construction, a new safety record for the time. In the 1930s, bridge builders expected 1 fatality per $1 million in construction costs, and builders expected 35 people to die while building the Golden Gate Bridge. One of the bridge's safety innovations was a net suspended under the floor. This net saved the lives of 19 men during construction, and they are often called the members of the "Half Way to Hell Club."

Towers

• 746 feet (227 m) above the water.

• 500 feet (152 m) above the roadway.

• Each leg is 33 x 54 feet (10 x 16 m).

• Towers weigh 44,000 tons each (40,200,000 kg).

• There are about 600,000 rivets in EACH tower.

Cable Facts

• Two main cables pass over the tops of the main towers and are secured in concrete anchorages at each end.

• Each cable is made of 27,572 strands of wire.

• There are 80,000 miles (129,000 km) of wire in the two main cables, and it took over six months to spin them.

• Cable diameter (including wrapping): 36 3/8 inches (0.92 m).

• Cable length: 7,260 feet (2,332 m).

Photo by TheDynamicLightAverage crossings: About 40 million per year, counting both north and southbound crossings, compared to 33 million crossing the first year it was open.

Fewest crossings: January, 1982, during a storm which closed U. S. 101 north of the bridge. On January 6, only 3,921 southbound vehicles passed the toll gates.

Most crossings: October 17, 1989, after the Loma Prieta earthquake, when Bay Bridge was closed. 162,414 vehicles crossed the bridge that day.

Total crossings: Through October 30, 2002, the Golden Gate Bridge Highway District says 1,754,094,967 vehicles crossed the bridge.

Closures: The bridge has been closed three times for weather, for gusting winds over 70 mph. It closed briefly for visits by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and French President Charles DeGaulle. It was also closed on its fiftieth birthday.

February 22, 1985: The one-billionth car crosses the bridge. Toll is $2 southbound on Friday and Saturday, $1 otherdays. No northbound toll.

May 28, 1987: Bridge closed to vehicles for its fiftieth birthday. An estimated 300,000 pedestrians jammed the bridge.