Golden Gate Bridge

{{Further|Ferries of San Francisco Bay}}

Before the bridge was built, the only practical short route between San Francisco and what is now Marin County was by boat across a section of San Francisco Bay. A ferry service began as early as 1820, with a regularly scheduled service beginning in the 1840s for the purpose of transporting water to San Francisco.{{cite web |title=Two Bay Area Bridges |access-date=March 9, 2009 |publisher=US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/2bridges.cfm}}

In 1867, the Sausalito Land and Ferry Company opened. In 1920, the service was taken over by the Golden Gate Ferry Company, which merged in 1929 with the ferry system of the Southern Pacific Railroad, becoming the Southern Pacific-Golden Gate Ferries, Ltd., the largest ferry operation in the world.{{cite news |url=https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/04/28/BAG8BCGI3I1.DTL&hw=ferry&sn=310&sc=862 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |title=Ferry tale – the dream dies hard: 2 historic boats that plied the bay seek buyer – anybody |author=Fimrite, Peter |access-date=October 31, 2007 |date=April 28, 2005}} Once for railroad passengers and customers only, Southern Pacific's automobile ferries became very profitable and important to the regional economy.{{cite book |title=San Francisco Bay Ferryboats |author=Harlan, George H. |publisher=Howell-North Books |year=1967 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IPBAAAAAIAAJ}} The ferry crossing between the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco and Sausalito Ferry Terminal in Marin County took approximately 20 minutes and cost $1.00 per vehicle prior to 1937, when the price was reduced to compete with the new bridge.{{cite news |url=https://www.baycrossings.com/archives/2002/04_May/so_where_are_they_now.htm |publisher=Bay Crossings |title=So Where Are They Now? The Story of San Francisco's Steel Electric Empire |author=Span, Guy |date=May 4, 2002 |access-date=October 31, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023072202/https://www.baycrossings.com/Archives/2002/4_May/so_where_are_they_now.htm |archive-date=October 23, 2007 }}{{Cite web |date=September 25, 2019 |title=Golden Gate Bridge War on Ferries |url=https://www.sausalitohistoricalsociety.com/2019-columns/2019/9/25/golden-gate-bridge-war-on-ferries |access-date=August 9, 2023 |website=The Sausalito Historical Society |language=en-US}} The trip from the San Francisco Ferry Building took 27 minutes.

Many wanted to build a bridge to connect San Francisco to Marin County. San Francisco was the largest American city still served primarily by ferry boats. Because it did not have a permanent link with communities around the bay, the city's growth rate was below the national average.{{cite web |last=Sigmund |first=Pete |year=2006 |url=https://www.cegltd.com/story.asp?story=7045&headline=The%20Golden%20Gate:%20%EBThe%20Bridge%20That%20Couldn%EDt%20Be%20Built%ED |title=The Golden Gate: 'The Bridge That Couldn't Be Built' |publisher=Construction Equipment Guide |access-date=May 31, 2007 |archive-date=December 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216110116/https://www.cegltd.com/story.asp?story=7045&headline=The%20Golden%20Gate:%20%EBThe%20Bridge%20That%20Couldn%EDt%20Be%20Built%ED }} Many experts said that a bridge could not be built across the {{convert|6700|ft|m|abbr=off|adj=on}} strait, which had strong, swirling tides and currents, with water {{convert|372|ft|m|abbr=on}} deep{{cite journal |author=P. L. Barnard |author2=D. M. Hanes |author3=D. M. Rubin |author4=R. G. Kvitek |title=Giant Sand Waves at the Mouth of San Francisco Bay |journal=Eos |date=July 18, 2006 |volume=87 |issue=29 |page=285 |url=https://seafloor.csumb.edu/publications/Barnard_etal_EOSJuly2006.pdf |access-date=April 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618102436/https://seafloor.csumb.edu/publications/Barnard_etal_EOSJuly2006.pdf |archive-date=June 18, 2018 |doi=10.1029/2006EO290003 |bibcode=2006EOSTr..87..285B |issn = 0096-3941}} at the center of the channel, and frequent strong winds. Experts said that ferocious winds and blinding fogs would prevent construction and operation.

File:Golden gate circa 1891.png in foreground, {{circa|1891}}]]

Although the idea of a bridge spanning the Golden Gate was not new, the proposal that eventually took hold was made in a 1916 San Francisco Bulletin article by former engineering student James Wilkins.{{cite book |author=Owens, T.O. |year=2001 |title=The Golden Gate Bridge |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=0-8239-5016-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/goldengatebridge00owen }} San Francisco's City Engineer estimated the cost at $100 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|.100|1916|r=1|fmt=c}} billion in {{inflation year|US}}), and impractical for the time. He asked bridge engineers whether it could be built for less. One who responded, Joseph Strauss, was an ambitious engineer and poet who had, for his graduate thesis, designed a {{convert|55|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} railroad bridge across the Bering Strait.{{cite web |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |access-date=November 7, 2007 |title=The American Experience:People & Events: Joseph Strauss (1870–1938) |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_strauss.html |archive-date=November 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117114217/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_strauss.html }} At the time, Strauss had completed some 400 drawbridges—most of which were inland—and nothing on the scale of the new project.Denton, Harry et al. (2004) "Lonely Planet San Francisco" Lonely Planet, United States, {{ISBN|1-74104-154-6}} Strauss's initial drawings{{Cite web |date=June 9, 2023 |title=Engineering the Design - The History of the Design and Construction {{!}} Golden Gate |url=https://www.goldengate.org/exhibits/engineering-the-design/ |access-date=September 25, 2023 |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609180719/https://www.goldengate.org/exhibits/engineering-the-design/ |url-status=bot: unknown }} were for a massive cantilever on each side of the strait, connected by a central suspension segment, which Strauss promised could be built for $17 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|17|1916|r=0|fmt=c}} million in {{inflation year|US}}).

A suspension-bridge design was chosen, using recent advances in bridge design and metallurgy.

Strauss spent more than a decade drumming up support in Northern California.{{cite web |year=1999 |url=https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/news_events/exhibits/bridge/up028.html |title=Bridging the Bay: Bridges That Never Were |publisher=UC Berkeley Library |access-date=April 13, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718052702/https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/news_events/exhibits/bridge/up028.html |archive-date=July 18, 2006 }} The bridge faced opposition, including litigation, from many sources. The Department of War was concerned that the bridge would interfere with ship traffic. The US Navy feared that a ship collision or sabotage to the bridge could block the entrance to one of its main harbors. Unions demanded guarantees that local workers would be favored for construction jobs. Southern Pacific Railroad, one of the most powerful business interests in California, opposed the bridge as competition to its ferry fleet and filed a lawsuit against the project, leading to a mass boycott of the ferry service.

In May 1924, Colonel Herbert Deakyne held the second hearing on the Bridge on behalf of the Secretary of War in a request to use federal land for construction. Deakyne, on behalf of the Secretary of War, approved the transfer of land needed for the bridge structure and leading roads to the "Bridging the Golden Gate Association" and both San Francisco County and Marin County, pending further bridge plans by Strauss.Miller, John B. (2002) "Case Studies in Infrastructure Delivery" Springer, {{ISBN|0-7923-7652-8}}. Another ally was the fledgling automobile industry, which supported the development of roads and bridges to increase demand for automobiles.

The bridge's name was first used when the project was initially discussed in 1917 by M.M. O'Shaughnessy, city engineer of San Francisco, and Strauss. The name became official with the passage of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District Act by the state legislature in 1923, creating a special district to design, build and finance the bridge.{{cite book |last=Gudde |first=Erwin G. |title=California Place Names |publisher=University of California Press |year=1949 |location=Berkeley, California |page=130 |oclc=37647557}} San Francisco and most of the counties along the North Coast of California joined the Golden Gate Bridge District, with the exception being Humboldt County, whose residents opposed the bridge's construction and the traffic it would generate.{{cite web |url=https://goldengatebridge.org/research/ConstructionBldgGGB.php |title=Special District Formed – Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District |access-date=January 17, 2015 |archive-date=January 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150127015653/http://goldengatebridge.org/research/ConstructionBldgGGB.php |url-status=dead }}

File:Golden Gate bridge pillar.jpg elements]]

Strauss was the chief engineer in charge of the overall design and construction of the bridge project. However, because he had little understanding or experience with cable-suspension designs,{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_strauss.html |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |access-date=December 12, 2007 |title=People and Events: Joseph Strauss (1870–1938) |archive-date=November 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117114217/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_strauss.html }} responsibility for much of the engineering and architecture fell on other experts. Strauss's initial design proposal (two double cantilever spans linked by a central suspension segment) was unacceptable from a visual standpoint. The final suspension design was conceived and championed by Leon Moisseiff, the engineer of the Manhattan Bridge in New York City.{{cite web|title=Golden Gate Bridge Design|url=https://www.goldengatebridge.org/research/Design.php|website=goldengatebridge.org|publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District|access-date=November 27, 2017|language=en|archive-date=December 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210054905/https://goldengatebridge.org/research/Design.php}}

Irving Morrow, a relatively unknown residential architect, designed the overall shape of the bridge towers, the lighting scheme, and Art Deco elements, such as the tower decorations, streetlights, railing, and walkways. The famous International Orange color was Morrow's personal selection, winning out over other possibilities, including the US Navy's suggestion that it be painted with black and yellow stripes to ensure visibility by passing ships.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goldengate-morrow/|title=Irving Morrow {{!}} American Experience {{!}} PBS|website=www.pbs.org|language=en|access-date=October 5, 2019}}

Senior engineer Charles Alton Ellis, collaborating remotely with Moisseiff, was the principal engineer of the project.{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_moisseiff.html |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |title=American Experience:Leon Moisseiff (1872–1943) |access-date=November 7, 2007 |archive-date=November 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117104634/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_moisseiff.html }} Moisseiff produced the basic structural design, introducing his "deflection theory" by which a thin, flexible roadway would flex in the wind, greatly reducing stress by transmitting forces via suspension cables to the bridge towers. Although the Golden Gate Bridge design has proved sound, a later Moisseiff design, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, collapsed in a strong windstorm soon after it was completed, because of an unexpected aeroelastic flutter.{{cite journal |doi=10.1119/1.16590 |url=https://www.ketchum.org/billah/Billah-Scanlan.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000919163924/https://www.ketchum.org/billah/Billah-Scanlan.pdf |archive-date=September 19, 2000 |url-status=live |author1 =Billah, K. |author2=Scanlan, R. |year=1991 |title=Resonance, Tacoma Narrows Bridge Failure |series =Undergraduate Physics Textbooks |journal=American Journal of Physics |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=118–124}} Ellis was also tasked with designing a "bridge within a bridge" in the southern abutment, to avoid the need to demolish Fort Point, a pre–Civil War masonry fortification viewed, even then, as worthy of historic preservation. He penned a graceful steel arch spanning the fort and carrying the roadway to the bridge's southern anchorage.{{cite web |url=https://goldengatebridge.org/research/FortPoint.php |title=The Point of Fort Point: A Brief History |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District |access-date=November 2, 2018 |archive-date=November 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121022951/http://goldengatebridge.org/research/FortPoint.php |url-status=dead }}

File:Below Golden Gate Bridge.jpeg

Ellis was a Greek scholar and mathematician who at one time was a University of Illinois professor of engineering despite having no engineering degree. He eventually earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois prior to designing the Golden Gate Bridge and spent the last twelve years of his career as a professor at Purdue University. He became an expert in structural design, writing the standard textbook of the time. Ellis did much of the technical and theoretical work that built the bridge, but he received none of the credit in his lifetime. In November 1931, Strauss fired Ellis and replaced him with a former subordinate, Clifford Paine, ostensibly for wasting too much money sending telegrams back and forth to Moisseiff. Ellis, obsessed with the project and unable to find work elsewhere during the Depression, continued working 70 hours per week on an unpaid basis, eventually turning in ten volumes of hand calculations.

With an eye toward self-promotion and posterity, Strauss downplayed the contributions of his collaborators who, despite receiving little recognition or compensation, are largely responsible for the final form of the bridge. He succeeded in having himself credited as the person most responsible for the design and vision of the bridge.{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_ellis.html |access-date=November 7, 2007 |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |title=The American Experience:Charles Alton Ellis (1876–1949) |archive-date=March 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327122238/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_ellis.html }} Only much later were the contributions of the others on the design team properly appreciated. In May 2007, the Golden Gate Bridge District issued a formal report on 70 years of stewardship of the famous bridge and decided to give Ellis major credit for the design of the bridge.

{{Clear}}

{{Wide image|Golden-Gate-Bridge.svg|1000px|Panorama showing the height, depth, and length of the span from end to end, looking west}}

{{Wide image|Golden Gate Bridge Dec 15 2015 by Don Ramey Logan.jpg|1000px|Panorama of the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset, as seen from just north of Alcatraz Island}}

The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, authorized by an act of the California Legislature, was incorporated in 1928 as the official entity to design, construct, and finance the Golden Gate Bridge. However, after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the District was unable to raise the construction funds, so it lobbied for a $30 million bond measure (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|30|1929|r=0|fmt=c}} million today). The bonds were approved in November 1930, by votes in the counties affected by the bridge.Jackson, Donald C. (1995) "Great American Bridges and Dams" John Wiley and Sons, {{ISBN|0-471-14385-5}} The construction budget at the time of approval was $27 million (${{inflation|US|27|1930|r=0|fmt=c}} million today). However, the District was unable to sell the bonds until 1932, when Amadeo Giannini, the founder of San Francisco–based Bank of America, agreed on behalf of his bank to buy the entire issue in order to help the local economy.

Construction began on January 5, 1933. The project cost more than $35 million{{cite web |url=https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/news_events/bridge/gate_2.html |title=Bridging the Bay: Bridges That Never Were |publisher=UC Berkeley Library |access-date=February 19, 2007}} (${{format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|35000000|r=-7|1935}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars{{Inflation-fn|US-GDP}}), and was completed ahead of schedule and $1.3 million under budget (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|1.3|1935|r=1|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}}).{{cite web |title=72 years ago today, iconic Golden Gate Bridge finished construction ahead of schedule & $1.3 million under budget |url=https://www.worldculturepictorial.com/blog/content/72-years-ago-today-iconic-golden-gate-bridge-finished-construction-ahead-schedule-13-million |date=May 27, 2009 |access-date=April 10, 2013}}

The Golden Gate Bridge construction project was carried out by the McClintic-Marshall Construction Co., a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel Corporation founded by Howard H. McClintic and Charles D. Marshall, both of Lehigh University.

File:Golden Gate Bridge Rivet 1937.jpg replaced during the seismic retrofit after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. A total of 1.2 million steel rivets hold the bridge's two towers together.]]

Strauss remained head of the project, overseeing day-to-day construction and making some groundbreaking contributions. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, he placed a brick from his alma mater's demolished McMicken Hall in the south anchorage before the concrete was poured.

Strauss also innovated the use of movable safety netting beneath the men working, which saved many lives. Nineteen men saved by the nets over the course of the project formed the Half Way to Hell Club. Nonetheless, eleven men were killed in falls, ten on February 17, 1937, when a scaffold (secured by undersized bolts) with twelve men on it fell into and broke through the safety net; two of the twelve survived the {{convert|200|ft|m|adj=on}} fall into the water.{{Cite magazine |title=Life On The American Newsfront: Ten Men Fall To Death From Golden Gate Bridge |magazine=Life |pages=20–21 |date=March 1, 1937 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TFEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20}}{{cite web |url=https://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php#HalfwayHell |title=Frequently Asked Questions about the Golden Gate Bridge |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. |access-date=November 7, 2007 |archive-date=November 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071105064349/http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php#HalfwayHell |url-status=dead }}

The Round House Café diner was then included in the southeastern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, adjacent to the tourist plaza which was renovated in 2012.

{{cite news |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/place/article/Golden-Gate-Bridge-s-plaza-flawed-but-workable-3585446.php |title=Golden Gate Bridge's Plaza Flawed but Workable |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=May 25, 2012 |first=John |last=King}} The Round House Café, an Art Deco design by Alfred Finnila completed in 1938, has been popular throughout the years as a starting point for various commercial tours of the bridge and an unofficial gift shop.{{cite web |url=https://www.pgecurrents.com/2012/05/25/from-sea-to-shining-sea-pge%E2%80%99s-earley-joins-tribute-to-golden-gate-bridge/ |title=From Sea to Shining Sea: PG&E's Earley Joins Tribute to Golden Gate Bridge |work=Currents |publisher=PG&E |date=May 25, 2012 |first=David |last=Kligman |access-date=April 12, 2013 |archive-date=October 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022021855/https://www.pgecurrents.com/2012/05/25/from-sea-to-shining-sea-pge%E2%80%99s-earley-joins-tribute-to-golden-gate-bridge/ }} The diner was renovated in 2012 and the gift shop was then removed as a new, official gift shop has been included in the adjacent plaza.

During the bridge work, the Assistant Civil Engineer of California Alfred Finnila had overseen the entire iron work of the bridge as well as half of the bridge's road work.San Francisco Examiner. May 27, 1982. No. 147, p. 2. Golden Gate Bridge – 45th anniversary of completion.

Plaque of the major contributors to the Golden Gate Bridge lists contractors, engineering-staff, directors and officers:{{Citation |last=Castaldo |first=Gaetano |title=Plaque of the major Contributors to the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, USA |date=October 24, 2013 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/tanzeus/11272591214/ |access-date=June 8, 2022}}

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Contractors

• Foundations - Pacific Bridge Company
• Anchorages - Barrett & Hilp
• Structural steel - Main span - Bethlehem Steel Company Incorporated
• Approach steel - J.H. Pomeroy & Company Incorporated - Raymond Concrete Pile Company
• Cables - John A. Roebling's Sons Company
• Electrical work - Alta Electric and Mechanical Company Incorporated
• Bridge deck - Pacific Bridge Company
• Presidio Approach Roads and Viaducts - Easton & Smith
• Toll Plaza - Barrett & Hilp

Engineering staff

• Chief engineer - Joseph B. Strauss
• Principal assistant engineer - Clifford E. Paine
• Resident engineer - Russell Cone
• Assistant engineer - Charles Clarahan Jr., Dwight N. Wetherell
• Consulting engineer - O.H. Ammann, Charles Derleth Jr., Leon S. Moisseiff
• Consulting traffic engineer - Sydney W. Taylor Jr.
• Consulting architect - Irving F. Morrow
• Consulting geologist - Andrew C. Lawson, Allan E. Sedgwick

Directors

• San Francisco - William P. Filmer, Richard J. Welch, Warren Shannon, Hugo D. Newhouse, Arthur M. Brown Jr., John P. McLaughlin, William D. Hadeler, C.A. Henry, Francis V. Keesling, William P. Stanton, George T. Cameron
• Marin County - Robert H. Trumbull, Harry Lutgens
• Napa County - Thomas Maxwell
• Sonoma County - Frank P. Doyle, Joseph A. McMinn
• Mendocino County - A. R. O'Brien
• Del Norte County - Henry Westbrook Jr., Milton M. McVay

Officers

• President - William P. Filmer
• Vice President - Robert H. Trumbull
• General manager - James Reed, Alan McDonald
• Chief engineer - Joseph B. Strauss
• Secretary - W. W. Felt Jr.
• Auditor - Roy S. West, John R. Ruckstell
• Attorney - George H. Harlan

{{div col end}}

On December 1, 1951, a windstorm revealed swaying and rolling instabilities of the bridge, resulting in its closure.{{cite news |last1=Van Niekerken |first1=Bill |title=When the Golden Gate Bridge was closed by a violent storm |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/thetake/article/When-the-Golden-Gate-Bridge-was-closed-by-a-7971512.php |access-date=August 2, 2020 |date=June 13, 2016}} In 1953 and 1954, the bridge was retrofitted with lateral and diagonal bracing that connected the lower chords of the two side trusses. This bracing stiffened the bridge deck in torsion so that it would better resist the types of twisting that had destroyed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940.{{Cite web|url=https://goldengate.org/exhibits/bridge-deck-torsional-resistance-retrofit.php|title=Resisting the Twisting|website=Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District|access-date=July 29, 2019}}

The original bridge used a concrete deck. Salt carried by fog or mist reached the rebar, causing corrosion and concrete spalling. From 1982 to 1986, the original bridge deck, in 747 sections, was systematically replaced with a 40% lighter, and stronger, steel orthotropic deck panels, over 401 nights without closing the roadway completely to traffic. The roadway was also widened by two feet, resulting in outside curb lane width of 11 feet, instead of 10 feet for the inside lanes. This deck replacement was the bridge's greatest engineering project since it was built and cost over $68 million.{{cite web |title=Bridge Deck Replacement (1982–1986) |url=https://www.goldengate.org/bridge/bridge-maintenance/major-bridge-improvements/ |website=goldengate.org |access-date=August 2, 2020}}

File:25th Anniversary Golden Gate Bridge Plaque b.jpg

File:GG-ftpoint-bridge-2 b.jpg]]

The bridge-opening celebration in 1937 began on May 27 at 6:00{{nbsp}}a.m. and lasted for one week.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6rgzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1e4HAAAAIBAJ&pg=5919%2C986451 |work=Lodi News-Sentinel |location=(California) |agency=United Press |title=Bay Bridge fete opens today |date=May 27, 1937 |page=1}}{{cite magazine | url=https://time.com/archive/6892596/transport-gate-party/ | title=Transport: Gate Party | magazine=Time | date=7 June 1937 | accessdate=18 February 2025}} The day before vehicle traffic was allowed, 200,000 people crossed either on foot or on roller skates.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LhtWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=suMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4122%2C3915984 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Thousands rush to Golden Gate |date=May 28, 1937 |page=1}} Donald Bryan, a student sprinter from the San Francisco Junior College (now the City College of San Francisco), was the first to make it across the bridge from end to end. On opening day, Mayor Angelo Rossi and other officials rode the ferry to Marin, then crossed the bridge in a motorcade past three ceremonial "barriers", the last a blockade of beauty queens who required Joseph Strauss to present the bridge to the Highway District before allowing him to pass. An official song, "There's a Silver Moon on the Golden Gate," was chosen to commemorate the event. Strauss wrote a poem that is now on the Golden Gate Bridge entitled "The Mighty Task is Done." The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington, D.C. signaling the official start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge at noon. Weeks of civil and cultural activities called "the Fiesta" followed. A statue of Strauss was moved in 1955 to a site near the bridge.

As part of the fiftieth anniversary celebration in 1987, the Golden Gate Bridge district again closed the bridge to automobile traffic and allowed pedestrians to cross it on May 24. This Sunday morning celebration attracted 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, and ineffective crowd control meant the bridge became congested with roughly 300,000 people, causing the center span of the bridge to flatten out under the weight.{{cite web |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_20695952/day-golden-gate-bridge-flattened |title=The Day the Golden Gate Bridge Flattened |author=Tung, Stephen |date=May 23, 2012 |work=San Jose Mercury News |access-date=January 17, 2016}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lPdVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fuEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6130%2C6367545 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=Associated Press |title=1 million celebrate a symbol |date=May 25, 1987 |page=1A}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-LAzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jDIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=7001%2C3189935 |work=Lodi News-Sentinel |location=(California) |agency=UPI |title=Human gridlock brought Golden Gate Bridge to a standstill

|date=May 26, 1987 |page=3}} Although the bridge is designed to flex in that way under heavy loads, and was estimated not to have exceeded 40% of the yielding stress of the suspension cables,{{cite web |url=http://gndec.ac.in/~librarian/book/Book%20Cds/25885/PDF/CASES/CABLES/GOLDEN_G.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011090153/http://gndec.ac.in/~librarian/book/Book%20Cds/25885/PDF/CASES/CABLES/GOLDEN_G.PDF |archive-date=October 11, 2011 |title=The Golden Gate Bridge |author1 =Pollalis, Spiro N. |author2 =Otto, Caroline |year=1990 |publisher=Harvard Design School |access-date=April 3, 2011}} bridge officials stated that uncontrolled pedestrian access was not being considered as part of the 75th anniversary on Sunday, May 27, 2012,{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/26/us/golden-gate-crowd-made-bridge-bend.html |title=Golden Gate Crowd Made Bridge Bend |author=McCarthy, Terrence |date=May 26, 1987 |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 3, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_15588533 |title=Golden Gate Bridge officials nix walk for 75th anniversary |author=Prado, Mark |date=July 23, 2010 |work=Marin Independent Journal |access-date=April 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227010207/http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_15588533 |archive-date=December 27, 2010 }}{{cite web |url=http://goldengatebridge75.org/celebrate/golden-gate-festival.html |title=Golden Gate Festival :: Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary |work=Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy |access-date=March 21, 2012}} because of the additional law enforcement costs required "since 9/11."{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304019404577418440018082040 |title=A Historian's Long View of Golden Gate Bridge |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 24, 2012 |access-date=August 31, 2013 |author=Fowler, Geoffrey A. |pages=A13C}} To commemorate the bridge's 75th anniversary, automated user-controlled solar beacons were temporarily installed atop the towers.{{cite news | url=https://news.berkeley.edu/2012/08/31/solar-beacon-will-bejewel-golden-gate-bridge-through-september/ | title=Solar Beacon will bejewel Golden Gate Bridge through September | work=UC Berkeley News | date=21 August 2012 | accessdate=14 February 2025 | author=Sanders, Roberts}}

File:GoldenGateBridge openingday.jpg|A pedestrian poses at the old railing on opening day, 1937.

File:Golden Gate Bridge Opening - (1936).ogg|Opening of the Golden Gate Bridge

File:Invitation to Golden Gate Bridge opening, 1937.jpg|Official invitation to the opening of the bridge. This copy was sent to the City of Seattle.

File:GG-bridge-cable.jpg

Until 1964, the Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension bridge main span in the world, at {{convert|4,200|ft|m|sigfig=3}}. Since 1964 its main span length has been surpassed by eighteen bridges; it now has the second-longest main span in the Americas, after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York City. The total length of the Golden Gate Bridge from abutment to abutment is {{convert|8,981|ft|m}}.{{cite web|title=Bridge Design and Construction Statistics|url=http://goldengatebridge.org/research/factsGGBDesign.php|website=goldengatebridge.org|publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District|access-date=November 27, 2017|language=en|archive-date=March 4, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304130356/http://www.goldengatebridge.org/research/factsGGBDesign.php|url-status=dead}}

The Golden Gate Bridge's clearance above high water averages {{convert|220|ft|m}} while its towers, at {{convert|746|ft|m}} above the water, were the world's tallest on a suspension bridge until 1993 when it was surpassed by the Mezcala Bridge, in Mexico.

The weight of the roadway is hung from 250 pairs of vertical suspender ropes, which are attached to two main cables. The main cables pass over the two main towers and are fixed in concrete at each end. Each cable is made of 27,572 strands of wire. The total length of galvanized steel wire used to fabricate both main cables is estimated to be {{convert|80,000|mi|km}}. Each of the bridge's two towers has approximately 600,000 rivets.[http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php#RivetsinTower "Frequently Asked Questions about the Golden Gate Bridge: How many rivets are in each tower of the Golden Gate Bridge?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810050111/http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php#RivetsinTower |date=August 10, 2015 }}. goldengatebridge.org. Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Retrieved November 5, 2018.

In the 1960s, when the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) was being planned, the engineering community had conflicting opinions about the feasibility of running train tracks north to Marin County over the bridge.{{cite web |title=A History of BART |url=https://www.bart.gov/about/history |access-date=November 5, 2018}} In June 1961, consultants hired by BART completed a study that determined the bridge's suspension section was capable of supporting service on a new lower deck.{{cite web |title=Rapid Transit for the San Francisco Bay Area |url=http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/bart/1961-parsons-engineering-report-to-sf-bart-district.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917014219/http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/bart/1961-parsons-engineering-report-to-sf-bart-district.pdf |archive-date=September 17, 2016 |url-status=live |website=LA Metro Library |publisher=Parsons Brinckerhoff / Tudor / Bechtel |access-date=July 21, 2018}} In July 1961, one of the bridge's consulting engineers, Clifford Paine, disagreed with their conclusion.{{Cite web|url=https://www.marinij.com/2010/08/07/did-marin-lose-out-on-bart/|title=Did Marin lose out on BART?|last=Prado|first=Mark|date=August 7, 2010|website=Marin Independent Journal|access-date=May 3, 2019}} In January 1962, due to more conflicting reports on feasibility, the bridge's board of directors appointed an engineering review board to analyze all the reports. The review board's report, released in April 1962, concluded that running BART on the bridge was not advisable.{{cite report |last1=Ammann |first1=Othmar H. |author-link1=Othmar Ammann |last2=Masters |first2=Frank M. |last3=Newmark |first3=Nathan M. |title=Report on Proposed Installation of Rapid Transit Trains on Golden Gate Bridge |date=April 1962 |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge And Highway District |page= 8 |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/101668914 }}

Aesthetics was the foremost reason that the first design of Joseph Strauss was rejected. Upon re-submission of his bridge construction plan, he added details, such as lighting, to outline the bridge's cables and towers.{{cite journal |author1 =Rodriguez, Joseph A. |year=2000 |title=Planning |author2 =Urban Rivalry in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1930s |journal=Journal of Planning Education and Research |volume=20 |pages=66–76 |doi=10.1177/073945600128992609|s2cid=143841247 }} In 1999, it was ranked fifth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.

The color of the bridge is officially an orange vermilion called international orange.{{cite web |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/research/factsGGBIntOrngPaint.php |title=Golden Gate Bridge: Construction Data |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |access-date=August 20, 2007 |archive-date=August 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822071258/http://www.goldengatebridge.org/research/factsGGBIntOrngPaint.php |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a_xVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SuMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5974%2C3253216 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=Associated Press |last=Price |first=Lyle W. |title=Golden Gate holds allure for painters |date=December 15, 1965 |page=4B}} The color was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow{{cite news |last=Stamberg |first=Susan |title=The Golden Gate Bridge's Accidental Color |newspaper=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/04/26/135150942/the-golden-gate-bridges-accidental-color |publisher=NPR |access-date=April 27, 2011}} because it complements the natural surroundings and enhances the bridge's visibility in fog.{{Cite book|title=The Secret Lives of Colour|last=St. Clair|first=Kassia|publisher=John Murray|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4736-3081-9|location=London|page=94|oclc=936144129}}

The bridge was originally painted with red lead primer and a lead-based topcoat, which was touched up as required. In the mid-1960s, a program was started to improve corrosion protection by stripping the original paint and repainting the bridge with zinc silicate primer and vinyl topcoats. Since 1990, acrylic topcoats have been used instead for air-quality reasons. The program was completed in 1995 and it is now maintained by 38 painters who touch up the paintwork where it becomes seriously corroded.{{cite web |year=2006 |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php#IronworkersPainters |title=Golden Gate Bridge: Construction Data: How Many Ironworkers and Painters Maintain the Golden Gate Bridge? |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |access-date=April 13, 2006 |archive-date=August 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810050111/http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php#IronworkersPainters |url-status=dead }}

The ongoing maintenance task of painting the bridge is continuous.{{cite web |url= http://goldengatebridge.org/research/factsGGBIntOrngPaint.php |title= Painting the Bridge |author= Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |date= 2018 |work= goldengatebridge.org |access-date= November 24, 2019 |quote= The Bridge is painted continuously. Painting the Bridge is an ongoing task and a primary maintenance job. |author-link= Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |archive-date= August 22, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110822071258/http://www.goldengatebridge.org/research/factsGGBIntOrngPaint.php |url-status= dead }}

{{Clear}}

File:The Bridge (August 2013).jpg|A view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands on a foggy morning at sunrise

File:Golden Gate Bridge tower views 01.jpg|View of Marin from the south tower

File:Golden Gate Bridge tower views 18.jpg|Top of the south tower

File:Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point.jpg|Golden Gate Bridge seen from Fort Point

File:Installation of the Golden Gate Bridge Moveable Median Barrier System on January 10, 2015 -03.jpg

File:Zipper truck.webmMost maps and signage mark the bridge as part of the concurrency between U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1. Although part of the National Highway System, the bridge is not officially part of California's Highway System.{{cite web |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/tolls_traffic/ |title=Toll Rates & Traffic Operations |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |access-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-date=December 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207003017/http://goldengatebridge.org/tolls_traffic/ |url-status=dead }} For example, under the California Streets and Highways Code § 401, Route 101 ends at "the approach to the Golden Gate Bridge" and then resumes at "a point in Marin County opposite San Francisco". The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District has jurisdiction over the segment of highway that crosses the bridge instead of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

The movable median barrier between the lanes is moved several times daily to conform to traffic patterns. On weekday mornings, traffic flows mostly southbound into the city, so four of the six lanes run southbound. Conversely, on weekday afternoons, four lanes run northbound. During off-peak periods and weekends, traffic is split with three lanes in each direction.{{cite web |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/tolls_traffic/RoadwayConfig.php |title=Roadway Configuration / Reversible Lanes |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |access-date=December 23, 2012 |archive-date=December 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209104318/http://goldengatebridge.org/tolls_traffic/RoadwayConfig.php |url-status=dead }}

From 1968 to 2015, opposing traffic was separated by small, plastic pylons; during that time, there were 16 fatalities resulting from 128 head-on collisions.{{cite web |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/projects/MovableMedianBarrier.php |title=Additional Information – Movable Median Barrier Project |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |access-date=September 29, 2014 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} To improve safety, the speed limit on the Golden Gate Bridge was reduced from {{convert|50|to|45|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} on October 1, 1983. Although there had been discussion concerning the installation of a movable barrier since the 1980s, only in March 2005 did the Bridge Board of Directors commit to finding funding to complete the $2 million study required prior to the installation of a movable median barrier. Installation of the resulting barrier was completed on January 11, 2015, following a closure of 45.5 hours to private vehicle traffic, the longest in the bridge's history. The new barrier system, including the zipper trucks, cost approximately $30.3 million to purchase and install.{{cite news |last1=Asimov |first1=Nanette |title=Golden Gate Bridge work finished early as barrier is installed |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Golden-Gate-Bridge-work-zips-along-as-barrier-is-6008424.php |access-date=January 11, 2015 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |publisher=Hearst Newspapers |date=January 11, 2015}}

The bridge carries about 112,000 vehicles per day according to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District.{{cite web |url=https://www.goldengate.org/bridge/bridge-operations |publisher=The Golden Gate Bridge |title=Bridge Operations |work=Goldengate.org |access-date=December 29, 2019}}

{{See also|Golden Gate National Recreation Area}}

File:Golden Gate Bridge.webm

The bridge is popular with pedestrians and bicyclists, and was built with walkways on either side of the six vehicle traffic lanes. Initially, they were separated from the traffic lanes by only a metal curb, but railings between the walkways and the traffic lanes were added in 2003, primarily as a measure to prevent bicyclists from falling into the roadway.{{cite web |last=Lucas |first=Scott |url=http://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/kevin-hines-still-alive |title=Kevin Hines Is Still Alive |work=Modern Luxury |date=July 18, 2013 |access-date=July 18, 2013}} The bridge was designated as part of U.S. Bicycle Route 95 in 2021.{{cite press release|title=U.S. Bicycle Route System Adds 2,903 Miles of New Routes in 5 States|url=https://www.adventurecycling.org/about-us/media/press-releases/u-s-bicycle-route-system-adds-2-903-miles-of-new-routes-in-5-states/|publisher=Adventure Cycling Association|date=August 9, 2021|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=October 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020010539/https://www.adventurecycling.org/about-us/media/press-releases/u-s-bicycle-route-system-adds-2-903-miles-of-new-routes-in-5-states/|url-status=dead}}

The main walkway is on the eastern side, and is open for use by both pedestrians and bicycles in the morning to mid-afternoon during weekdays (5:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.), and to pedestrians only for the remaining daylight hours (until 6:00 p.m., or 9:00 p.m. during DST). The eastern walkway is reserved for pedestrians on weekends (5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., or 9:00 p.m. during DST), and is open exclusively to bicyclists in the evening and overnight, when it is closed to pedestrians. The western walkway is open only for bicyclists and only during the hours when they are not allowed on the eastern walkway.[http://goldengatebridge.org/bikesbridge/bikes.php The Golden Gate Bridge, Sidewalk Access for Pedestrians and Bicyclists] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826225457/http://goldengatebridge.org/bikesbridge/bikes.php |date=August 26, 2011 }}. Goldengatebridge.org. Retrieved June 14, 2013.

Bus service across the bridge is provided by one public transportation agency, Golden Gate Transit, which runs numerous bus lines throughout the week.{{cite web |title=Golden Gate Transit bus service |url=http://goldengatetransit.org/services/documents/Map_SF.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105174149/http://goldengatetransit.org/services/documents/Map_SF.pdf |archive-date=January 5, 2007 |url-status=live |publisher=Golden Gate Transit |access-date=August 19, 2012}} The southern end of the bridge, near the toll plaza and parking lot, is also accessible daily from 5:30 a.m. to midnight by San Francisco Muni line 28.{{cite web |title=Muni Route 28 19th Avenue |url=http://www.sfmta.com/cms/asystem/routedesc.php?rted=28 |publisher=San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency |access-date=August 19, 2012}} Muni formerly offered Saturday and Sunday service across the bridge on the Marin Headlands Express bus line, but this was indefinitely suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web |title=Muni Route 76X Marin Headlands |date=December 18, 2012 |url=http://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/transit/routes-stops/76x-marin-headlands |publisher=San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency |access-date=April 4, 2024}}{{cite web |title=Service Update During COVID-19 |date=March 16, 2020 |url=https://www.sfmta.com/blog/service-update-during-covid-19 |publisher=San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency |access-date=April 4, 2024}} The Marin Airporter, a private company, also offers service across the bridge between Marin County and San Francisco International Airport.{{Cite web|url=https://marinairporter.com/|title=Marin Airporter, SFO Airport Transportation, Bus Service, Marin County, CA|website=Marin Airporter}}

A visitor center and gift shop, originally called the "Bridge Pavilion" (since renamed the "Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center"), is located on the San Francisco side of the bridge, adjacent to the southeast parking lot. It opened in 2012, in time for the bridge's 75th-anniversary celebration. A cafe, outdoor exhibits, and restroom facilities are located nearby.{{cite web |title=Site Improvements |url=http://goldengatebridge75.org/about/site-improvements.html |website=Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District |access-date=January 12, 2015}} On the Marin side of the bridge, only accessible from the northbound lanes, is the H. Dana Bower Rest Area and Vista Point,{{cite web | url=http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/maint/ra/ra99.htm | title=H. Dana Bowers Rest Area | publisher=California Department of Transportation | access-date=June 2, 2016 | archive-date=May 29, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529120513/http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/maint/ra/ra99.htm | url-status=dead }} named after the first landscape architect for the California Division of Highways.{{cite book | url=http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tsip/hseb/products/Named_Freeways_Final.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012022502/http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tsip/hseb/products/Named_Freeways_Final.pdf |archive-date=October 12, 2012 |url-status=live | title=2015 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California | pages=183, 205 | publisher=California Department of Transportation | access-date=June 2, 2016}}

Lands and waters under and around the bridge are homes to varieties of wildlife such as bobcats, harbor seals, and sea lions.[https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/nature/animals.htm Animals – Golden Gate National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)]. Retrieved on July 30, 2017The SFGate. 2015. [http://www.sfgate.com/outdoors/slideshow/Whales-put-on-a-show-in-San-Francisco-Bay-115781.php Whale, sea lions put on a show near Golden Gate Bridge]. Retrieved on July 30, 2017 Three species of cetaceans (whales) that had been absent in the area for many years have shown recoveries and recolonizations in the vicinity of the bridge {{as of|2017||lc=y}}; researchers studying them have encouraged stronger protections and recommended that the public watch them from the bridge or from land, or use a local whale watching operator.[http://www.ggcetacean.org/home.html GOLDEN GATE CETACEAN RESEARCH]. Retrieved on July 30, 2017Keener B.. 2017. [https://baynature.org/article/ask-naturalist-humpback-whales-san-francisco-bay-right-now/ Ask The Naturalist: Why Are There Humpback Whales In the San Francisco Bay Right Now?]. Retrieved on July 30, 2017Woodrow M.. 2017. [http://abc7news.com/society/experts-concerned-about-whale-safety-in-san-francisco-bay/2165761/ Experts concerned about whale safety in San Francisco Bay]. The ABC7. Retrieved on July 30, 2017

Tolls are only collected from southbound traffic after they cross from Marin County at the toll plaza on the San Francisco side of the bridge. All-electronic tolling has been in effect since 2013, and drivers may either pay using the FasTrak electronic toll collection device or using the license plate tolling program. It remains not truly an open road tolling system until the remaining unused toll booths are removed, forcing drivers to slow substantially from freeway speeds while passing through. Effective {{Start and end dates|2024|07|01|2025|06|30}}, the toll rate for passenger cars with license plate accounts is $9.50, while FasTrak users pay a discounted toll of $9.25. During peak traffic hours on weekdays between 5:00 am and 9:00 am, and between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm, carpool vehicles carrying three or more people, or motorcycles may pay a discounted toll of $7.25 if they have FasTrak and use the designated carpool lane. Drivers without Fastrak or a license plate account must open a "short term" account within 48 hours after crossing the bridge or they will be sent a toll invoice of $10.25 (the FasTrak toll plus an additional $1 fee). No additional toll violation penalty will be assessed if the invoice is paid within 21 days.{{cite web|title=Golden Gate Bridge|url=https://www.bayareafastrak.org/en/tolls/golden-gate-bridge.shtml|website=www.bayareafastrak.org|publisher=CalTrans|access-date=July 4, 2024}}{{cite web|title=Ways to Pay|url=https://www.bayareafastrak.org/en/home/ways-to-pay.shtml|website=www.bayareafastrak.org|publisher=CalTrans|access-date=January 12, 2025}}{{cite web|title=Invoices and Penalties|url=https://www.bayareafastrak.org/en/help/invoices-and-penalties-faqs.shtml|website=www.bayareafastrak.org|publisher=CalTrans|access-date=January 12, 2025}}

File:Golden Gate Bridge at sunset 1.jpg

When the Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937, the toll was 50{{spaces}}cents per car (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|0.50|1937|r=2}} in {{inflation/year|US}}), collected in each direction. In 1950 it was reduced to 40{{spaces}}cents each way (${{inflation|US|0.40|1950|r=2}} in {{inflation/year|US}}), then lowered to 25{{spaces}}cents in 1955 (${{inflation|US|0.25|1955|r=2}} in {{inflation/year|US}}). In 1968, the bridge was converted to only collect tolls from southbound traffic, with the toll amount reset back to 50{{spaces}}cents (${{inflation|US|0.50|1968|r=2}} in {{inflation/year|US}}).{{cite web |publisher= Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |title=Traffic/Toll Data |url=https://www.goldengate.org/bridge/history-research/statistics-data/traffic-toll-data/ |access-date=August 20, 2021}}

From May 1937 until December 1970, pedestrians were charged a toll of 10 cents for bridge access via turnstiles on the sidewalks.{{cite news |last1=Weise |first1=Elizabeth |title=Toll to walk Golden Gate Bridge? No way, says petition |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2014/11/17/golden-gate-bridge-pedestrian-toll-petition/19188073/ |access-date=23 March 2024 |agency=USA Today |date=November 17, 2014}}{{cite news |last1=Dawid |first1=Irvin |title=Bike, Pedestrian Toll on Golden Gate Bridge Survives First Vote |url=https://www.planetizen.com/node/71854 |access-date=23 March 2024 |agency=Planetizen |date=October 26, 2014}}

The last of the construction bonds were retired in 1971, with $35 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|35|1971}}M in {{inflation/year|US}}) in principal and nearly $39 million (${{inflation|US|39|1971}}M in {{inflation/year|US}}) in interest raised entirely from bridge tolls.{{cite web |publisher=Research Library |title=Key Dates |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/research/dates.php |access-date=December 11, 2007 |archive-date=February 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209095931/http://goldengatebridge.org/research/dates.php |url-status=dead }} Tolls continued to be collected and subsequently incrementally raised; in 1991, the toll was raised a dollar to $3.00 (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|3|1991|r=2}} in {{inflation/year|US}}).{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-07-mn-1348-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |last=Elliott |first=Christopher |title=Singing those Golden Gate Blues |date=May 7, 1991 |access-date=November 4, 2021}}

The bridge began accepting tolls via the FasTrak electronic toll collection system in 2002, with $4 tolls for FasTrak users and $5 for those paying cash (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|4|2002|r=2}} and ${{inflation|US|5|2002|r=2}} respectively in {{inflation/year|US}}). In November 2006, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District recommended a corporate sponsorship program for the bridge to address its operating deficit, projected at $80 million over five years. The District promised that the proposal, which it called a "partnership program", would not include changing the name of the bridge or placing advertising on the bridge itself. In October 2007, the Board unanimously voted to discontinue the proposal and seek additional revenue through other means, most likely a toll increase.{{cite news |work=San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/27/BAIPT1MHO.DTL&hw=golden+gate&sn=001&sc=1000 |access-date=October 27, 2007 |title=Golden Gate Bridge directors reject sponsorship proposals |author=Curiel, Jonathan |date=October 27, 2007}}{{cite web |url=http://goldengate.org/news/PartnershipProgram.php |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |access-date=October 27, 2007 |title=Partnership Program Status}} The District later increased the toll amounts in 2008 to $5 for FasTrak users and $6 to those paying cash (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|5|2008|r=2}} and ${{inflation|US|6|2008|r=2}} respectively in {{inflation/year|US}}).

In an effort to save $19.2 million over the following 10 years, the Golden Gate District voted in January 2011 to eliminate all toll takers by 2012 and use only open road tolling.{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/28/MN4M1HFS7J.DTL |title=Golden Gate Bridge to eliminate toll takers |first=Michael |last=Cabanatuan |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=January 29, 2011 |access-date=January 30, 2011}} Subsequently, this was delayed and toll taker elimination occurred in March 2013. The cost savings have been revised to $19 million over an eight-year period. In addition to FasTrak, the Golden Gate Transportation District implemented the use of license plate tolling (branded as "Pay-by-Plate"), and also a one-time payment system for drivers to pay before or after their trip on the bridge. Twenty-eight positions were eliminated as part of this plan.{{cite web |url=https://www.kqed.org/news/92514/golden-gate-bridge-toll-takers-reach-end-of-the-line-as-new-payment-system-begins |title=Golden Gate Bridge Toll-takers Reach End of the Line as New Payment System Begins |publisher=KQED |date=March 27, 2013 |access-date=August 20, 2021}}

On April 7, 2014, the toll for users of FasTrak was increased from $5 to $6 (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|6|2014|r=2}} in {{inflation/year|US}}), while the toll for drivers using either the license plate tolling or the one time payment system was raised from $6 to $7 (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|7|2014|r=2}} in {{inflation/year|US}}). Bicycle, pedestrian, and northbound motor vehicle traffic remain toll free. For vehicles with more than two axles, the toll rate was $7 per axle for those using license plate tolling or the one time payment system, and $6 per axle for FasTrak users. During peak traffic hours, carpool vehicles carrying two or more people and motorcycles paid a discounted toll of $4 (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|4|2014|r=2}} in {{inflation/year|US}}); drivers must have had Fastrak to take advantage of this carpool rate. The Golden Gate Transportation District then increased the tolls by 25{{spaces}}cents in July 2015, and then by another 25{{spaces}}cents each of the next three years.{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Tolls-for-crossing-Golden-Gate-Bridge-rise-1-5381206.php |title=Tolls for crossing Golden Gate Bridge rise $1 |first=Michael |last=Cabanatuan |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=April 7, 2014 |access-date=April 26, 2014}}

In March 2019, the Golden Gate Transportation District approved a plan to implement 35-cent annual toll increases through 2023, except for the toll-by-plate program which will increase by 20{{spaces}}cents per year.{{cite news |url=https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/golden-gate-bridge-toll-increase-takes-effect-july-1/ |title=Golden Gate Bridge toll increase takes effect July 1 |first=Kayla |last=Galloway |work=KRON-TV |date=July 1, 2019 |access-date=August 20, 2021 |archive-date=August 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820011006/https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/golden-gate-bridge-toll-increase-takes-effect-july-1/ |url-status=dead }} The district then approved another plan in March 2024 to implement 50-cent annual toll increases through 2028.{{cite news |url=https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/golden-gate-bridge-toll-increase-approved-goes-into-effect-this-summer/ |title=Golden Gate Bridge toll increase approved, goes into effect this summer |first=Aaron |last=Tolentino Galloway |work=KRON-TV |date=March 23, 2024 |access-date=March 27, 2024 |archive-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326213122/https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/golden-gate-bridge-toll-increase-approved-goes-into-effect-this-summer/ |url-status=dead }}

{{Further|San Francisco congestion pricing}}

File:Golden Gate Bridge SF CA North View.jpg

In March 2008, the Golden Gate Bridge District board approved a resolution to start congestion pricing at the Golden Gate Bridge, charging higher tolls during the peak hours, but rising and falling depending on traffic levels. This decision allowed the Bay Area to meet the federal requirement to receive $158 million in federal transportation funds from USDOT Urban Partnership grant.{{cite web|url=http://www.sonomanews.com/articles/2008/05/30/news/doc482cdfd074f2a552247919.txt |title=GG Bridge tolls could top $7, June 11 meeting will set new rates |work=Sonoma Index-Tribune |author=Bolling, David |date=May 29, 2008 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} As a condition of the grant, the congestion toll was to be in place by September 2009.{{cite web |author=The San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://www.planetizen.com/node/30156 |title=Congestion Pricing Approved for Golden Gate Bridge |publisher=planetizen.com |date=March 19, 2008 |access-date=April 3, 2008}}{{cite web |author=Cabanatuan, Michael |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/15/MNT9VK8H3.DTL&hw=Bridge+raises+tolls&sn=002&sc=825 |title=Bridge raises tolls, denies Doyle Dr. funds |work=The San Francisco Chronicle |date=March 15, 2008 |access-date=April 3, 2008}}

In August 2008, transportation officials ended the congestion pricing program in favor of varying rates for metered parking along the route to the bridge including on Lombard Street and Van Ness Avenue.{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Golden-Gate-Bridge-congestion-toll-plan-dies-3200911.php |title=Golden Gate Bridge congestion toll plan dies |work=San Francisco Chronicle |author=Cabanatuan, Michael |date=August 12, 2008}}

{{Clear}}

File:Golden Gate Bridge by night.jpg image of the Golden Gate Bridge illuminated on a clear night, complemented by its aerial and maritime beacons.]]

The Golden Gate Bridge's first aircraft warning lights used rotating aerobeacons at the top of the towers that flashed red. In the 1980s, the present-day 750-watt red lamps were put into service, along with 16 red outline lanterns on the cables to enhance the structure's visibility at night.{{cite web |url=https://www.goldengate.org/bridge/history-research/bridge-features/foghorns-beacons/ | title= Foghorns & Beacons |author=Golden Gate Bridge Authority |access-date=14 February 2025}} For maritime movement, the bridge has white and green navigation lights on both sides at the midspan and red safety lights marking the south tower's fender.{{cite web | url=https://radianthistory.com/lighting-the-golden-gate-bridge-scale-and-dignity/ | title=Lighting the Golden Gate Bridge: Scale and Dignity | work=Radiant History | date=March 18, 2024 | accessdate=14 February 2025}}{{cite web | url=https://info.cecr.in/the-golden-gate-bridge/ | title=The Golden Gate Bridge: The Most Photographed Bridge in the World | work=Civil Engineering and Construction Review | accessdate=14 February 2025 | author=Batra, Amrita}}

{{See also|San Francisco fog}}

Commonly, particularly during the summer months, fog on the strait becomes so dense that it can fully obscure the whole bridge,{{cite web | url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/When-the-foghorns-blow-3292917.php | title=When the foghorns blow | publisher=SFGate | date=6 July 2009 | accessdate=15 February 2025 | author=Whiting, Sam}} creating an even greater hazard for mariners. A system of five foghorns was thus set up on the bridge in 1937 and remains operational to this day. The fog signals are air-powered and are manually switched on and off.{{cite web | url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11272504/foghorns-who-presses-the-play-button | title=Foghorns: Who Presses The Play Button? | publisher=KQED | date=19 January 2017 | accessdate=14 February 2025 | author=Klivans, Laura}}{{cite web | url=https://thesanfranciscanmagazine.com/lifesaving-signals/ | title=Lifesaving Signals | publisher=The San Franciscan | accessdate=14 February 2025 | author=Mitchell, James}}{{cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdnDQwbjkMA | title=The Golden Gate Bridge Presents: Forged in the Fog / E03 / Phil Farrelly | publisher=Golden Gate Bridge District | date=February 7, 2010 | medium=Video | location=YouTube |access-date=14 February 2025}} Coast Guard regulates the pattern and pitch by which the horns must sound.

Two foghorns are mounted at the base of the south tower {{convert|40|ft|m}} above water level (at high tide). They each point in the opposite direction, west and east, and have an identical profile: {{convert|48|in|cm}} long and a {{convert|23+1/2|in|cm|adj=on}} diameter bell. Both horns sound in tandem, producing a 2-second blast every 18 seconds in a distinctively low tone.{{cite web |url=https://www.goldengate.org/exhibits/when-its-foggy-foghorns/ | title= When It's Foggy |author=Golden Gate Bridge Authority |access-date=14 February 2025}}{{cite web | url=https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/san-francisco/golden-gate-bridge-history-sf-facts | title=13 things you didn't know about the Golden Gate Bridge | publisher=Thrillist | date=17 November 2014 | accessdate=14 February 2025 | author=Barringer, Daisy}} On October 18, 2013, at around 2:00{{nbsp}}a.m., one foghorn sounded perpetually for nearly an hour due to a malfunctioning relay. It was disconnected by 3:00{{nbsp}}a.m. and repaired later that morning.{{cite news | url=https://patch.com/california/sanrafael/did-you-hear-that-foghorn_951cbc3b | title=Did You Hear That Foghorn? | work=Patch | date=18 October 2013 | accessdate=14 February 2025 | author=Hulac, Kari}}

The other three foghorns are mounted at the midspan of the bridge, just beneath the deck.{{cite web | url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/21/insiders-guide-you-think-you-know-the-golden-gate-bridge/ | title=Insider's Guide: You think you know the Golden Gate Bridge? | publisher=Mercury News | date=22 January 2018 | accessdate=14 February 2025 | author=Hill, Angela}} Two westward-facing horns are each {{convert|36|in|cm}} long with an {{convert|18|in|cm|adj=on}} diameter bell and emit a higher tone than the horns on the south tower. The third horn facing east is smaller, with a length of {{convert|24+1/2|in|cm}} and a bell diameter of {{convert|11|in|cm}}, thus emitting an even higher note. Altogether, the three horns produce two 1-second blasts every 36 seconds with a dual-toned timbre; they are synchronized to sound after every two blasts of the south tower horns.{{cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjM_qD14mpI | title=Foghorns on the Golden Gate Bridge Natural Sound 45mins | publisher=Thomas Pikolin | date=May 23, 2020 | medium=Video | location=YouTube}} Ships heading in either direction generally stay to the right of the midspan by following the sound of these horns. Dating back to 1985, the midspan foghorns replaced the original horns that had partly failed in the late 1970s, causing them to sound with only a single tone.

The foghorns blared wildly as Queen Mary 2 passed under the bridge for her 2007 visit in San Francisco.{{cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLBPaR8YTes | title=Queen Mary 2 Under the Golden Gate | date=9 November 2007 | medium=Video | location=YouTube}}{{cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7Xz5R5BGjA | title=Queen Mary 2 leaving San Francisco | date=6 February 2007 | medium=Video | location=YouTube}}

Since the late 1970s, the Golden Gate Bridge has seen a share of protest rallies throughout its history. In some cases, participants staged public stunts to draw heightened attention to their political messages by haphazardly scaling the bridge.{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324154729/http://www.sfchronicle.com/thetake/article/Golden-Gate-Bridge-stunts-that-have-shocked-the-11015413.php |archive-date=March 24, 2017 |url=http://www.sfchronicle.com/thetake/article/Golden-Gate-Bridge-stunts-that-have-shocked-the-11015413.php |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |title=Golden Gate Bridge stunts that have shocked the city over the years |first=Bill |last=Van Niekerken |date=March 20, 2017}}{{cite web | url=http://www.sfchronicle.com/thetake/article/Golden-Gate-Bridge-stunts-that-have-shocked-the-11015413.php | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324154729/http://www.sfchronicle.com/thetake/article/Golden-Gate-Bridge-stunts-that-have-shocked-the-11015413.php | archive-date=March 24, 2017 | title=Golden Gate Bridge stunts that have shocked the city over the years | date=March 20, 2017 }} On November 24, 1996, actor Woody Harrelson joined a group of local environmentalists who draped a large banner above the roadway deck protesting CEO Charles Hurwitz over his aggressive logging advances. The incident snarled traffic and caused delays lasting the entire day.{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-24-mn-2645-story.html | title=Protesters Arrested at Golden Gate Bridge | website=Los Angeles Times | date=November 24, 1996 }} As an effort to deter any more disruptive stunts, a legislation authored by State Senator Quentin Kopp and signed into law by Governor Pete Wilson in 1997, stiffened penalties for trespassing on the bridge. Nonetheless, demonstrations have continued to take place on the Golden Gate Bridge over the years, often resulting in the complete shutdown of the bridge.{{efn|Chronicled attributes:{{Cite web |last=PEARSON |first=JENNIFER PELTZ AND JAKE |date=2018-07-05 |title=Protester's climb shuts down Statue of Liberty on July 4 |url=https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/protesters-climb-shuts-down-statue-of-liberty-on-july-4/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=Santa Rosa Press Democrat |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=The Militant - July 23, 2001 – San Francisco protesters demand, 'U.S. Navy Out of Vieques Now!' |url=https://www.themilitant.com/2001/6528/652862.html |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=www.themilitant.com}}{{Cite web |last=ABC7 |title=Olympic torch protesters scale Golden Gate Bridge {{!}} ABC7 San Francisco {{!}} abc7news.com |url=https://abc7news.com/archive/6066082/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=ABC7 San Francisco |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Tibet protesters scale Golden Gate bridge - CNN.com |url=https://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/07/bridge.protest/index.html |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=www.cnn.com}}{{cite web | url=https://abc7news.com/golden-gate-bridge-human-chain-holding-hands-across-protest/1713263/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525040556/https://abc7news.com/golden-gate-bridge-human-chain-holding-hands-across-protest/1713263/ | archive-date=May 25, 2023 | title=PHOTOS: Thousands gather to hold hands across Golden Gate Bridge }}{{Cite web |date=2020-10-14 |title=Thousands March Across Golden Gate Bridge in Support of Artsakh |url=https://armenianweekly.com/2020/10/14/thousands-march-across-golden-gate-bridge-in-support-of-artsakh/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=The Armenian Weekly |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=staff • • |first=NBC Bay Area |date=2023-09-11 |title=Bay Area's Armenian community rally in San Francisco |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/armenian-community-rally-san-francisco/3314542/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=NBC Bay Area |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2021-06-15 |title=Young climate activists marched 266 miles from Paradise to SF demanding change |url=https://abc7news.com/civilian-climate-corps-act-activists-golden-gate-bridge-march/10790176/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=ABC7 San Francisco |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Fernando |first=Christine |title='This injustice must stop': Protesters block Golden Gate Bridge, demand immigration reform |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/09/30/golden-gate-bridge-blocked-protest-immigration-reform/5930606001/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Kopan |first=Deepa Fernandes and Tal |title=Golden Gate Bridge shutdown could signal the start of more direct activism on immigration reform |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/Protesters-shut-down-Golden-Gate-Bridge-calling-16499023.php |access-date=2024-04-18 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=By J.D. |title=Young climate activists head to the Golden Gate Bridge on 266-mile march from Paradise |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/Youth-climate-activists-head-to-the-Golden-Gate-16245244.php |access-date=2024-04-18 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Flores |first=Dominic Fracassa, David Hernandez, Jessica |title=Golden Gate Bridge briefly blocked by pro-Palestinian protesters |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/golden-gate-bridge-gaza-protest-18667219.php |access-date=2024-04-18 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-04-15 |title=38 Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested after shutdown of Golden Gate Bridge, I-880 in Oakland: CHP |url=https://abc7news.com/pro-palestinian-protesters-shut-down-golden-gate-bridge-and-i-880-in-oakland/14668534/ |access-date=2024-04-17 |website=ABC7 San Francisco |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-04-16 |title=Gaza war protesters shut down Golden Gate Bridge, block traffic in other cities |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/gaza-war-protesters-shut-golden-gate-bridge-block-traffic-rcna147945 |access-date=2024-04-17 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Elassar |first=Alaa |date=2022-09-24 |title=Iranian Americans are demonstrating across the US in support of protesters in Iran |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/24/us/iranian-american-protest-us-mahsa-amini/index.html |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-09-26 |title=Demonstrators form human chain on Golden Gate Bridge, demand justice for death of Mahsa Amini |url=https://abc7news.com/mahsa-amini-san-francisco-bay-area-protest-iranian-woman-death/12266262/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=ABC7 San Francisco |language=en}}}} Notably, on June 6, 2020, protestors occupied the bridge as part of a nationwide denunciation to police brutality in the wake of the George Floyd's murder,{{cite news |title='Lead with Love': Meet the 2 Bay Area teens who organized, led massive Black Lives Matter rally on Golden Gate Bridge |url=https://abc7news.com/black-lives-matter-george-floyd-peaceful-protest-sf-police/6238147/ |access-date=2 April 2024 |agency=KABC-TV}}{{cite news |last1=Bellow |first1=Noelle |title=Golden Gate Bridge protest was organized by teens seeking change |url=https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/golden-gate-bridge-protest-was-organized-by-teens-seeking-change/ |access-date=2 April 2024 |agency=KRON-TV |date=2020 |archive-date=March 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322000325/https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/golden-gate-bridge-protest-was-organized-by-teens-seeking-change/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |last=Grindell |first=Samantha |title=Thousands of protesters marched across San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, temporarily shutting it down to traffic |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-golden-gate-bridge-george-floyd-protest-2020-6 |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}} and in November 2021 two California Highway Patrol officers and three bridge employees were injured in a vehicular chain-reaction crash during a protest against government-mandated COVID-19 vaccinations.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-12 |title=5 hurt, including 2 officers, after crash at anti-vaccine protest in San Francisco |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/5-hurt-2-officers-crash-anti-vaccine-protest-san-francisco-rcna5382 |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-11-11 |title=5 People Hit, CHP Officer Hospitalized in Crash on Golden Gate Bridge During Anti-Vax Protest - CBS San Francisco |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/anti-vax-vaccine-mandate-golden-gate-bridge-san-francisco/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}} In February 2024 and again in April, pro-Palestinian protestors gathered on the deck to decry the Gaza war and the turmoil afflicting Palestinians in Gaza.{{cite web | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/second-protest-blocks-all-lanes-of-golden-gate-bridge-san-francisco/ | title=Gaza protest shuts down Golden Gate Bridge, causing gridlock on both sides of span - CBS San Francisco | website=CBS News | date=April 15, 2024 }}{{cite web |date=February 14, 2024 |title=Pro-Palestinian protesters block traffic on Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco - CBS San Francisco |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/golden-gate-bridge-protest-traffic-san-francisco/ |website=CBS News}}

{{Main|Suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge}}

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The Golden Gate Bridge was the most used suicide site in the world prior to the installation of suicide prevention nets.{{cite news |first=James |last=Bone |title=Golden Gate bridge in San {{sic|Fransico |nolink=y}} gets safety net to deter suicides|newspaper=The Times |url=http://journalisted.com/article/jdey |via=Journalisted |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525091537/http://journalisted.com/article/jdey |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |date=October 13, 2008}} Jumpers would fall for four seconds,{{cite news |last=Branch |first=John |date=November 5, 2023 |title=What the Golden Gate Is (Finally) Doing About Suicides |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/us/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-nets.html}} then hit the water at around {{cvt|75|mph|km/h m/s|-1||}}. Most would die from impact trauma. About 5% would survive the initial impact but generally drown or die of hypothermia in the cold water.{{cite news |title=Lethal Beauty. No easy death: Suicide by bridge is gruesome, and death is almost certain. The fourth in a seven-part series on the Golden Gate Bridge barrier debate. |first1=John |last1=Koopman |date=November 2, 2005 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/LETHAL-BEAUTY-No-easy-death-Suicide-by-bridge-2562269.php#page-1 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=June 3, 2014}}{{cite web |last=Bateson |first=John |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2013-sep-29-la-oe-bateson-golden-gate-bridge-suicides-20130929-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009064346/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/29/opinion/la-oe-bateson-golden-gate-bridge-suicides-20130929 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 9, 2013 |title=The suicide magnet that is the Golden Gate Bridge |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=September 29, 2013 |access-date=October 14, 2013 |type=opinion}} After years of debate and an estimated more 2,000 deaths, implementation of suicide prevention barriers began in April 2017.{{cite news |first=Will |last=Houston |url=https://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/2019/02/18/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-barrier-starting-to-take-shape/ |title=Golden Gate Bridge suicide barrier starting to take shape |newspaper=Ukiah Daily Journal |date=February 18, 2019}}

File:Suicide nets on the Pacific side of the Golden Gate Bridge.jpg

The so-called nets are taut, designed to be painful to land on. They extend {{convert|20|ft}} out from the walkway and because of their design, cause serious—but not fatal—injury to people who jump from the bridge.{{Cite web |title=How The Net Works {{!}} Golden Gate |url=https://www.goldengate.org/district/district-projects/suicide-deterrent-net/how-the-net-works/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=www.goldengate.org}} They are made of "marine-grade stainless-steel wire rope, akin to a horizontal fence four millimeters thick," which does not give, and is located {{convert|20|ft}} below the walkway.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-17 |title=The Golden Gate Bridge's anti-suicide "nets" are already saving lives |url=https://sfstandard.com/2024/08/17/golden-gate-bridge-anti-suicide-nets-work/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en}}

Construction was first estimated to take approximately four years at a cost of over $200 million; however, installation of the nets was not completed until January 2024, and exceeded the budget by $17 million.{{cite news |last=Stone |first=J.R. |title=San Francisco installs $224M net to stop suicides off Golden Gate Bridge |url=https://abc7news.com/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-nets-kevin-hines-suicides-survivors/14268993/ |access-date=January 5, 2024 |work=KGO-TV |date=January 3, 2024}}{{cite web |title=Suicide Barriers Going Up At Golden Gate Bridge After Over 1.5K Deaths |url=http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/04/13/suicide-barriers-to-go-up-at-golden-gate-bridge-after-1-5k-deaths/ |website=CBS San Francisco |publisher=CBS Broadcasting Inc. |access-date=November 27, 2017 |language=en |date=April 13, 2017}}

The nets have widely been considered successful, even convincing former skeptics. As of November 21, 2024, the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District reported that the number of deaths by suicide year to date had been eight, down from an average 33.5. Through the end of October 2024, thwarted attempts were down from an annual average of 200 to 106.{{Cite news |last=Swan |first=Rachel |title=Golden Gate Bridge suicide nets have been up for nearly a year. Are they effective? |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-barrier-do-they-work-19926874.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222072510/https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/golden-gate-bridge-suicide-barrier-do-they-work-19926874.php |archive-date=February 22, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-02 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en |url-status=live }}

The Golden Gate Bridge was designed to safely withstand winds of up to {{convert|68|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite news |first=Rachel |last=Swan |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Hear-that-ghostly-hum-on-the-Golden-Gate-Bridge-15321948.php |title=Hear that ghostly hum on the Golden Gate Bridge? It's here to stay |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=June 8, 2020 }}{{Cite news |last=McCormick |first=Erin |date=2021-06-13 |title=The quest to solve the mysterious 'eerie' hum of the Golden Gate Bridge |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/13/golden-gate-bridge-hum-noise-san-francisco |access-date=2025-03-02 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Until 2008, the bridge was closed because of weather conditions only three times: on December 1, 1951, because of gusts of {{convert|69|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}; on December 23, 1982, because of winds of {{convert|70|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}; and on December 3, 1983, because of wind gusts of {{convert|75|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php |title=Frequently Asked Questions about the Golden Gate Bridge |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |access-date=March 12, 2008 |archive-date=August 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810050111/http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php |url-status=dead }} An anemometer placed midway between the two towers on the west side of the bridge has been used to measure wind speeds and direction. Another anemometer was placed on one of the towers.{{cite web | url=https://www.iitk.ac.in/nicee/wcee/article/8_vol6_63.pdf | title=Full-Scale Ambient Vibration of the Golden Gate Suspension Bridge—Intrumentation and Data Acquisition | accessdate=17 February 2025 | author=Nigbor, R.L.}}

File:Bridge Whistle.wav

In June 2020 residents across San Francisco and Marin Counties began to notice a humming noise. The noise has been described as "eerie", "a shrill screeching sound", and for some evokes a feeling that "something bad is about to happen."{{Cite news |last=Bartlett |first=Amanda |title=SF officials say an end is coming to the Golden Gate Bridge's eerie song |url=https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/golden-gate-bridge-song-san-francisco-19952341.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241208020646/https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/golden-gate-bridge-song-san-francisco-19952341.php |archive-date=December 8, 2024 |access-date=2025-03-02 |work=SFGATE |language=en |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Swan |first=Rachel |title=San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge's infamous 'singing' will finally go away |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/golden-gate-bridge-singing-noise-fix-19934862.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222072456/https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/golden-gate-bridge-singing-noise-fix-19934862.php |archive-date=February 22, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-02 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2023-01-12 |title=Why the Golden Gate Bridge Sounds Like It's Screaming Bloody Murder Right Now |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a42476120/why-golden-gate-bridge-is-screaming/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Popular Mechanics |language=en-US}} The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District determined that the "unsettling" whistle is produced by new railing slats when a strong zephyr blows.{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Ting |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Golden-Gate-Bridge-noise-humming-why-wind-sound-15321767.php |title=Why the Golden Gate Bridge made strange noises with the wind Friday |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=June 6, 2020 |access-date=June 6, 2020 |archive-date=July 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705073455/https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Golden-Gate-Bridge-noise-humming-why-wind-sound-15321767.php }}

The new slats were installed starting in 2019 on the west side of the bridge; they are more flexible than their predecessors and were selected to improve the bridge's aerodynamic tolerance of high wind to {{convert|100|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}. The sound had been predicted from wind tunnel tests, but not included in the environmental impact report.{{cite news |last=Chamings |first=Andrew |date=July 1, 2020 |title=Golden Gate Bridge officials look to fix 'screeching that sounds like torture' |url=https://www.sfgate.com/living-in-sf/article/San-Francisco-Golden-Gate-Bridge-singing-fix-15379759.php |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle}}

The Bridge District determined that, in fact, there are two sounds that the bridge produces. When the wind passing through the slats reaches {{Convert|22|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, "a low-pitched, low-frequency tone—between 280 and 700 hertz" is produced. When the wind passes through the slats at an angle and reaches {{Convert|27|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, the slats produce "higher pitch and frequency (1.1 kHz)."{{Cite web |title=Bridge Sounds During High Wind Events - Suicide Deterrent Net {{!}} Golden Gate |url=https://www.goldengate.org/district/district-projects/suicide-deterrent-net/bridge-sounds-during-high-wind-events/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=www.goldengate.org}}

On December 16, 2021, the Bridge District approved a fix for the noise; 12,000 ∪-shaped clips with rubber dampers are to be installed between the slats at a cost of $450,000.{{Cite web |date=December 16, 2021 |title=APPROVE ACTIONS RELATIVE TO REDUCING WIND INDUCED SOUND EMANATED BY THE GOLDEN GATE SUSPENSION BRIDGE WEST RAILING |url=https://www.goldengate.org/assets/1/25/2021-1216-bocomm-no3-appractreducingwindretrofit.pdf?7522 |website=goldengate.org}} Testing suggests that this fix will reduce the noise by 75%; however, even with the fix, the bridge is expected to emit the high frequency tone an average of 70 hours per year; the low frequency tone is expected 18 hours per year. The Bridge District expects instillation to be "completed in 2025."

An independent engineering analysis of a 2020 sound recording of the tones concludes that the singing noise comprises a variety of Aeolian tones (the sound produced by air flowing past a sharp edge), arising in this case from the ambient wind blowing across metal slats of the newly installed sidewalk railings.{{cite web|url=https://vibrationdata.wordpress.com/2020/07/13/golden-gate-bridge-singing/|title=Golden Gate Bridge Singing|website=Vibrationdata: Shock & Vibration Software & Tutorials|author=Tom Irvine|date=July 13, 2020|access-date=December 1, 2021}} The tones observed were frequencies of 354, 398, 439 and 481 Hz, corresponding to the musical notes F₄, G₄, A₄, and B₄; these notes form an F Lydian Tetrachord.

File:Details Golden Gate Bridge 04 2015 SFO 1951.jpg (short black cylinders) added as part of the Seismic Retrofit Construction Project]]

Modern knowledge of the effect of earthquakes on structures led to a program to retrofit the Golden Gate to better resist seismic events. The proximity of the bridge to the San Andreas Fault places it at risk for a significant earthquake. Once thought to have been able to withstand any magnitude of foreseeable earthquake, the bridge was actually vulnerable to complete structural failure (i.e., collapse) triggered by the failure of supports on the {{convert|320|ft|m|adj=on}} arch over Fort Point.{{cite news |title=70 Years: Spanning the Golden Gate: New will blend in with the old as part of bridge earthquake retrofit project |first=Carl |last=Nolte |author-link=Carl Nolte |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=May 28, 2007 |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/70-YEARS-Spanning-the-Golden-Gate-New-will-2558505.php }} A $392 million program was initiated to improve the structure's ability to withstand such an event with only minimal (repairable) damage. A custom-built electro-hydraulic synchronous lift system for construction of temporary support towers and a series of intricate lifts, transferring the loads from the existing bridge onto the temporary supports, were completed with engineers from Balfour Beatty and Enerpac, without disrupting day-to-day commuter traffic.[http://www.roadsbridges.com/showing-fancy-foot-work Showing fancy foot work] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123132652/http://www.roadsbridges.com/showing-fancy-foot-work |date=January 23, 2021 }}. Roads&Bridges (December 28, 2000).{{cite web |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/projects/retrofit.php |title=Overview of Golden Gate Bridge Seismic Retrofit |access-date=June 21, 2008 |author=Golden Gate Bridge Authority |date=May 2008 |archive-date=June 16, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616091141/http://goldengatebridge.org/projects/retrofit.php |url-status=dead }} Although the retrofit was initially planned to be completed in 2012, {{As of|2017|05|lc=y}} it was expected to take several more years.{{cite web |url=http://enr.construction.com/features/transportation/archives/050103-1.asp |title=Famed Golden Gate Span Undergoes Complex Seismic Revamp |access-date=June 21, 2008 |last=Gonchar |first=Joann |date=January 3, 2005 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Construction}}{{Cite web|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/05/24/costly-golden-gate-bridge-retrofit-still-years-away-from-completion/|title=Costly Golden Gate Bridge Retrofit Still Years Away From Completion|date=May 24, 2017|access-date=July 29, 2019}}

{{Anchor|Doyle Drive replacement project}}

The former elevated approach to the Golden Gate Bridge through the San Francisco Presidio, known as Doyle Drive, dated to 1933 and was named after Frank P. Doyle, a director of the California State Automobile Association.{{cite book |url=http://www.presidioparkway.org/about/history.aspx |title=Presidio Parkway re-envisioning Doyle Drive |publisher=Presidio Parkway Project |access-date=May 6, 2010 |archive-date=December 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226180130/http://www.presidioparkway.org/about/history.aspx }} The highway carried about 91,000 vehicles each weekday between downtown San Francisco and the North Bay and points north.{{cite web |url=http://www.sfcta.org/content/view/275/94/ |title=Doyle Drive Replacement Project |publisher=San Francisco County Transportation Authority |access-date=May 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426064515/http://www.sfcta.org/content/view/275/94/ |archive-date=April 26, 2010 }} The road was deemed "vulnerable to earthquake damage", had a problematic 4-lane design, and lacked shoulders; a San Francisco County Transportation Authority study recommended that it be replaced. Construction on the $1 billion replacement,{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Doyle-Drive-makeover-will-affect-drivers-soon-3276621.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316012125/http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-01-05/bay-area/17466642_1_doyle-drive-caltrans-closures |url-status=live |archive-date=March 16, 2010 |title=Doyle Drive makeover will affect drivers soon |last=Cabanatuan |first=Michael |date=January 5, 2010 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=May 6, 2010}} temporarily known as the Presidio Parkway, began in December 2009.{{cite book |url=http://www.presidioparkway.org/construction_info/ |title=Current Construction Activity |series=Presidio Parkway re-envisioning Doyle Drive |publisher=Presidio Parkway |access-date=May 6, 2010 |archive-date=April 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426112839/http://www.presidioparkway.org/construction%5Finfo/ }}

The elevated Doyle Drive was demolished on the weekend of April 27–30, 2012, and traffic used a part of the partially completed Presidio Parkway, until it was switched onto the finished Presidio Parkway on the weekend of July 9–12, 2015. {{as of|2012|May|}}, an official at Caltrans said there is no plan to permanently rename the portion known as Doyle Drive.{{cite news |url=http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120501/news/205011005?tc=ar |title=Smith: It's wrecked, but it's still 'Doyle Drive' |newspaper=Press Democrat |date=May 1, 2012 |access-date=May 2, 2012 |archive-date=March 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313152842/http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120501/news/205011005?tc=ar }}

{{Clear}}

{{comparison_of_notable_bridges.svg}}

{{Wide image|San_Francisco_with_two_bridges_and_the_low_fog.jpg|800px|Panorama of San Francisco with two bridges (Western section of Bay Bridge in the left background), Coit Tower (in background to the left of north tower), and Fort Mason (on the San Francisco waterfront in the background behind the north tower) from Marin|center}}

{{Wide image|Golden Gate Bridge at night.jpg|800px|Panorama of the Golden Gate Bridge at night, with San Francisco in the background|center}}

{{Portal|Transport|Engineering|San Francisco Bay Area}}

• The Bridge, a 2006 documentary on suicides from the bridge
• Golden Gate Bridge in popular culture
• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in California
• List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks
• List of longest suspension bridge spans
• List of San Francisco Designated Landmarks
• List of tallest bridges
• San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge
• Suicide bridge

{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|author=Cassady, Stephen|title=Spanning the Gate|publisher=Squarebooks|isbn=978-0-916290-36-8|date=1979|edition=Commemorative edition, 1987}}
• {{cite book|author1=Dyble, Louise Nelson|title=Paying the Toll: Local Power, Regional Politics|author2=the Golden Gate Bridge|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-2278-4|date=2009}}
• {{cite magazine |author=Friend, Tad |url=http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/031013fa_fact? |title=Jumpers: The fatal grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge |magazine=The New Yorker |date=October 13, 2003 |volume=79 |issue=30 |page=48 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108171731/http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/031013fa_fact |archive-date=November 8, 2006 }}
• {{cite news |author1 =Guthman, Edward |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/30/MNG2NFF7KI1.DTL |title=Lethal Beauty / The Allure: Beauty |author2 =an easy route to death have long made the Golden Gate Bridge a magnet for suicides |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=October 30, 2005}}
• {{cite book |author=Schwartz, Harvey |title=Building the Golden Gate Bridge: A Workers' Oral History |publisher=University of Washington Press |date=2015 |isbn=978-0-295-99506-9}}
• {{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/goldengatelifeti00star|title=Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Bridge|author1=Starr, Kevin|author-link=Kevin Starr|date=2010|publisher=Bloomsbury Press|isbn=978-1-59691-534-3}}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.vibrationdata.com/golden.htm |title=Golden Gate Bridge Natural Frequencies |website=Vibrationdata.com |date=April 5, 2006}}

{{Commons and category|Golden Gate Bridge|Golden Gate Bridge}}

• {{official website}}
• [http://www.bayareafastrak.org/ Bay Area FasTrak] – includes toll information on this and the other Bay Area toll facilities
• {{HAER |survey=CA-31 |id=ca1355 |title=Golden Gate Bridge |photos=41 |color=6 |data=1 |cap=4}}
• {{cite web |url=http://sflib1.sfpl.org:82/search~S0/?searchtype=X&searcharg=%22Bridges+--+Golden+Gate%22+&sortdropdown=-&SORT=D&extended=0&SUBMIT=Search&searchlimits=&searchorigarg=X%22s%3ABridges%22+--+Golden+Gate+%26SORT%3DD |title=Images of the Golden Gate Bridge |website=San Francisco Public Library's Historical Photograph database}}
• {{cite news |url=https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/191374 |date=1962 |work=KPIX-TV |author=Marshal 'J' (Narrator) |title=The Bridge Builders}} (A documentary film about the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.)
• {{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ycDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=San Francisco To Have World's Greatest Bridge |date=March 1931 |work=Popular Science}}
• {{cite web |url=http://sftodo.com/golden-gate-bridge-facts.html |title=Golden Gate Bridge facts |website=sftodo.com |access-date=February 3, 2015 |archive-date=February 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203203905/http://www.sftodo.com/golden-gate-bridge-facts.html }} (Educational poster.)
• {{cite web |url=http://goldengatebridgemovie.blogspot.com/ |website=Golden Gate Bridge Movie |title=End of Land Sadness – The history of Suicide and the Golden Gate Bridge}}

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