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{{Infobox_Bridge
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|bridge_name= Golden Gate Bridge
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|image= GoldenGateBridge-001.jpg
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|caption=
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|official_name=
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|Also_known_as=
|carries= 6 lanes of ]/], pedestrians and bicycles
|crosses= ]
|locale= ] and ]
|maint= ]
|id=
|design= ], ] & ]
|mainspan= {{convert|4200|ft|m|0}}<ref name="Denton">Denton, Harry et al. (2004) "Lonely Planet San Francisco" ''Lonely Planet'', United States. 352 pp. ISBN 1-74104-154-6</ref>
|length= {{convert|8981|ft|m|0}}
|width= {{convert|90|ft|m|0}}
|height= {{convert|746|ft|m|0}}
|clearance= {{convert|14|ft|m|1}} at toll gates, higher truck loads possible
|below= {{convert|220|ft|m|0}} at mean higher high water
|traffic= 100,000<ref name="Denton"/>
|open= ], ]
|closed=
|toll= {{USD|5.00}} (southbound) ({{USD|4.00}} with ])
|map_cue=Connects:
|map_image= San Francisco Bay bridges.svg
|map_text=] with ]<br><br>Location 2 on map
|map_width= 180px
|coordinates= {{coor dms|37|49|11|N|122|28|43|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark}}
}}
The '''Golden Gate Bridge''' is a ] ] spanning the ], the opening of the ] onto the ]. As part of both ] and ], it connects the city of ] on the northern tip of the ] to ].

The Golden Gate Bridge had the ] in the world when it was completed in 1937 and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and the ]. Since its completion, the span length has been surpassed by eight other bridges. It still has the second longest suspension bridge main span in the United States, after the ] in ].

==Setting==
The Golden Gate Bridge spans the Golden Gate, a narrow, {{convert|400|ft|m|sing=on}} deep ] that serves as the mouth of the ], between San Francisco at the northernmost tip of the ], and the ] at the far southern end of Marin County. Although close by proximity, the two sides of the strait are separated by significant natural obstacles. Crossing the strait directly by boat is treacherous due to strong currents and lack of suitable landings. Ocean tides drive an average of 528 billion gallons (2 billion cubic meters) of water every six hours, at peak currents exceeding 5.6 miles per hour (2.5&nbsp;m/s). Circumnavigating the Bay, however, involves a trip of several hundred miles and crossing several major rivers.<ref>{{cite news|publication=Sound Waves|accessdate=2007-10-31|title=Giant Underwater Sand Waves Seaward of the Golden Gate Bridge|author=By Patrick Barnard|date=September 2006|url=http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2006/09/research.html}}</ref>

==History==
<!-- further work: need to describe setting of Golden Gate, how native people crossed the strait, etc -->
===Ferry service===
Before the bridge was built, the only practical short route from San Francisco to what is now ] was by boat, through the interior of the San Francisco Bay. Ferry service began as early as 1820, with regularly scheduled service beginning in the 1840s for purposes of transporting water to San Francisco from what is now ].<ref name="two">{{cite web|title=Two Bay Area Bridges|accessdate=2007-10-31|publisher=US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration|url=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/2bridges.htm}}</ref> The Sausalito Land and Ferry Company service launched in 1868, which eventually became the ], a ] subsidiary, the largest ferry operation in the world by the late 1920s.<ref name="two"/><ref name="scrap">{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/04/28/BAG8BCGI3I1.DTL&hw=ferry&sn=310&sc=862|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|title=Ferry tale -- the dream dies hard: 2 historic boats that plied the bay seek buyer -- anybody|author=Peter Fimrite|accessdate=2007-10-31|date=2005-04-28}}</ref> Once for railroad passengers and customers only, Southern Pacific's automobile ferries became very profitable and important to the regional economy.<ref>{{cite book|title=San Francisco Bay Ferryboats|author=George H. Harlan|accessdate=2007-10-31|publisher=Howell-North Books|date=1967|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=IPBAAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22San+Francisco+Bay+Ferryboats%22+harlan&q=golden+gate&pgis=1#search}}</ref> The ferry crossing between the ] at the foot of Van Ness Avenue in ] and ] in ] took approximately 20 minutes and cost {{USD|1.00}} per vehicle, a price later reduced to compete with the new bridge.<ref name="bc">{{cite news|url=http://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=Guy Span|date=2002-05-04}}</ref> The trip from the ] took twenty-seven minutes.

] over Golden Gate Bridge]]
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.<ref name="Sigmund">{{cite web |last=Sigmund |first=Pete |year=2006 |url=http://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 |accessdate=2007-05-31}}</ref> Many experts said a bridge couldn’t be built across the {{convert|6700|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} strait. It had strong, swirling tides and currents, with water {{convert|335|ft|m|abbr=on}} deep at the center of the channel, and almost constant winds of {{convert|60|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}. Experts said ferocious winds and blinding fogs would prevent construction and operation.<ref name="Sigmund"/>

===Conception===
] of ]]]
Although the idea of a bridge spanning the Golden Gate was not new, the proposal that eventually took root was made in a 1916 ] article by former engineering student James Wilkins.<ref name="Owens">{{cite book |author=T.O. Owens |date=2001 |title=The Golden Gate Bridge |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |comments=24 pp. ISBN 0-8239-5016-6}}</ref> San Francisco's City Engineer estimated the cost at $100 million, impractical for the time, and fielded the question to bridge engineers of whether it could be built for less.<ref name="two"/> One who responded, ], was an ambitious but dreamy engineer and poet who had for his ] designed a {{convert|55|mi|km|sing=on}} long railroad bridge across the ].<ref name="experience">{{cite web |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |accessdate=2007-11-07 |title=The American Experience:People & Events: Joseph Strauss (1870-1938) |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_strauss.html}}</ref> At the time, Strauss had completed some 400 drawbridges, but mostly inland and nothing on the scale of the new project.<ref name="Denton"/> Strauss' initial drawings<ref name="Owens"/> were for a massive ] on each side of the strait, connected by a central suspension segment, which Strauss promised could be built for $17 million.<ref name="two"/> Strauss' design was widely derided as ugly.<ref name="two"/>

Local authorities only agreed to proceed on the assurance that Strauss alter the design and accept input from several consulting project experts.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} A suspension bridge design was considered the most practical, due to recent advances in ].<ref name="two"/><!--further work: who was Strauss and why did he initiate this? Was he on his own or working for someone? Why would he drum up support - was this a business proposition for him? Who derided the work and what did they say - need sources. Who were local authorities and why was their approval necessary? What was relation between Strauss and officials? Did the officials appoint consulting experts? What does it mean to say he had to hire experts?-->

Strauss spent over a decade drumming up support in Northern California.<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1999 |url=http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/news_events/exhibits/bridge/up028.html |title=Bridging the Bay: Bridges That Never Were |format= |work= |publisher=UC Berkeley Library |accessdate=2006-04-13 |accessyear=}}</ref> The bridge faced opposition, including litigation, from many sources. The Department of War was concerned that the bridge would interfere with ship traffic. 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.<ref name="two"/> 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 the San Francisco and the Marin counties, pending further bridge plans by Strauss.<ref>Miller, John B. (2002) "Case Studies in Infrastructure Delivery" ''Springer''. 296 pp. ISBN 0-7923-7652-8.</ref> Another ally was the fledging ], which supported the development of roads and bridges to increase demand for automobiles.<ref name="bc"/>

The bridge earned its name, Golden Gate Bridge, after a mention of it in 1927 by San Francisco city engineer ].<ref>Gudde, Erwin G. "California Place Names" (2004) ''University of California Press'', London, England. 467 pp. ISBN 0-520-24217-3.</ref><!--further research:was this truly the first and only early proposal? What was the reaction to Wilkins' article and did it relate in any way to future building?-->

===Design===
]
Strauss was Chief Engineer in charge of overall design and construction of the bridge project.<ref name="Sigmund"/> However, because he had little understanding or experience with cable suspension designs,<ref name="PBS">{{cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_strauss.html |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |accessdate=2007-12-12 |title=People and Events: Joseph Strauss (1870-1938)}}</ref> responsibility for much of the engineering and architecture fell on other experts. In particular, bridge architect ], a relatively unknown residential architect, designed the overall shape of the bridge towers, the lighting scheme, and ] elements such as the streetlights, railing, and walkways. Morrow also chose the famous ] color.<ref name="morrow">{{cite web |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |accessdate=2007-11-07 |title=The American Experience:People & Events: Irving Morrow (1884-1952) |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_morrow.html}}</ref> Senior engineer ], collaborating remotely with famed bridge designer ], was the principal engineer of the project.<ref name="Moisseiff">{{cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_moisseiff.html |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |title=American Experience:Leon Moisseiff (1872&ndash;1943) |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> Ellis, who had no engineering degree, was a Greek scholar and mathematician who became an expert in structural design, writing the standard textbook of the time.<ref name="ellis"/> 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.<ref name="Moisseiff"/> Although the Golden Gate Bridge design was sound, a later Moisseiff design, the ], collapsed in a strong windstorm due to an unexpected resonance mode caused by a too-thin roadway and unexpected wind forces.<ref name="Moisseiff"/>

With an eye toward self-promotion and posterity Strauss downplayed the contributions of his collaborators who, despite receiving little recognition or compensation,<ref name=PBS/> are largely responsible for the final form of the bridge. 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.<ref name="ellis"/> 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.<ref name="ellis"/> The Golden Gate Bridge district issued a formal report on 70 years of stewardship of the famous bridge in May 2007-- and decided to right an old wrong by giving major credit for the design of the bridge to an engineer it had ignored. The engineer was Charles Ellis, a University of Illinois professor of engineering. He did much of the technical and theoretical work that built the bridge but got none of the credit. Strauss initially succeeded in winning credit as the figure most responsible for the design and vision of the bridge.<ref name="ellis">{{cite web |url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldengate/peopleevents/p_ellis.html |accessdate=2007-11-07 |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |title=The American Experience:Charles Alton Ellis (1876-1949)}}</ref> Only later were the contributions of the rest of the design team more fully appreciated.<ref name="ellis"/>

===Finance===
The ], authorized by an act of the ], was incorporated in 1928 as the official entity to design, construct, and finance the Golden Gate Bridge.<ref name=Sigmund/> However, after the ], the District was unable to raise the construction funds so it lobbied for a $35 million ]. The bonds were approved in November, 1930,<ref name="experience"/> by votes in the counties affected by the bridge.<ref>Jackson, Donald C. (1995) "Great American Bridges and Dams" ''John Wiley and Sons''. 360 pp. ISBN 0-471-14385-5</ref> The construction budget at the time of approval was $30.1 million. However, the District was unable to sell the bonds until 1932, when the founder of San Francisco-based ] agreed on behalf of his bank to buy the entire issue in order to help the local economy.<ref name="two"/>
]

===Construction===
Construction began on ], ].<ref name="two"/> The project cost over $26 million.<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year= |url=http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/news_events/bridge/gate_2.html |title=Bridging the Bay: Bridges That Never Were |format= |work= |publisher=UC Berkeley Library |accessdate=2007-02-19}}</ref><!-- note: this contradicts later statements. What was initial budget?-->

Strauss remained head of the project, overseeing day-to-day construction and making some groundbreaking contributions. A graduate of the ], he had placed a brick from his ]'s demolished McMicken Hall in the south anchorage before the concrete was poured. He innovated the use of movable safety netting beneath the construction site, which saved the lives of many otherwise unprotected steelworkers. Of eleven men killed from falls during construction, ten were near completion when the net failed under the stress of a scaffold that had fallen. Nineteen others who were saved by the net over the course of construction became proud members of the (informal) ''Halfway to Hell Club''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php#HalfwayHell |title=Frequently Asked Questions about the Golden Gate Bridge |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref><!-- to do: review contributions of others, design approval and adoption -->

The project was finished by April 1937, $1.3 million under budget.<ref name="two"/><!-- note contradictory statement from earlier draft: "Actual construction costs turned out to be $36.7 million, resulting in a ] of 22%"-->

===Opening festivities===
]
The bridge opening celebration began on ], ], and lasted for one week. The day before vehicle traffic was allowed, 200,000 people crossed by foot and roller skate.<ref name="two"/> On opening day, Mayor ] and other officials rode the ferry to Marin, then crossed the bridge in a motorcade past three ceremonial "barriers", the last a blockade of ]s who required Joseph Strauss to present the bridge to the Highway District before allowing him to pass. An official song, "]", was chosen to commemorate the event. Strauss wrote a poem now on the Golden Gate Bridge entitled "The Mighty Task is Done." The next day, President Roosevelt pushed a button in ] signaling the official start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge at noon. When the celebration got out of hand, the ] had a small riot in the uptown ] area. Weeks of civil and cultural activities called "the Fiesta" followed. A statue of Strauss was moved in 1955 to a site near the bridge.<ref name="Owens"/>

==Description==
]
===Specifications===
The center span was the ] until 1964 when the ] was erected between the boroughs of ] and ] in ]. The Golden Gate Bridge also had the world's tallest suspension towers at the time of construction, and retained that record until more recently. In 1957, ]'s ] surpassed the Golden Gate Bridge's length to become the world's longest two tower suspension bridge in total length between anchorages.

===Structure===
The bridge has approximately 1,200,000 total ]s.

===Traffic===
]
As the only road to exit San Francisco to the north, the bridge is part of both ] and ] and on an average day there are 120,000 vehicles crossing the bridge.<ref name="Denton"/> The bridge has six total lanes of vehicle traffic, and walkways on both sides of the bridge. The median markers between the lanes are moved 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. While there has been discussion concerning the installation of a ] since the 1980s, the Bridge Board of Directors, in March 2005, committed to finding funding to complete the $2 million study required prior to the installation of a moveable median barrier. The eastern walkway is for pedestrians and bicycles during the weekdays and during daylight hours only, and the western walkway is open to bicyclists on weekday afternoons, weekends, and holidays.
The ] on the Golden Gate Bridge was reduced from {{convert|55|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} to {{convert|45|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} on ], ].

=== Aesthetics ===
] visible in the background at far left.]]
Despite its red appearance, the color of the bridge is officially an orange vermilion called '']''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/research/factsGGBIntOrngPaint.php |title=Golden Gate Bridge: Construction Data |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |accessdate=2007-08-20}}</ref> The color was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow because it blends well with the natural surroundings yet enhances the bridge's visibility in fog.

The bridge is widely considered one of the most beautiful examples of bridge engineering, both as a structural design challenge and for its aesthetic appeal. It was declared one of the modern ] by the ]. According to Frommer's travel guide, the Golden Gate Bridge is "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world"<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2006 |url=http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sanfrancisco/A25170.html |title=Golden Gate Bridge - Museum/Attraction View |format= |work= |publisher=Frommers |accessdate=2006-04-13}}</ref> (although Frommers also bestows the "most photographed" honor on ] in ], ]).<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2006 |url=http://www.frommers.com/destinations/london/A29870.html |title=Tower Bridge - Museum/Attraction View - London |format= |work= |publisher=Frommers |accessdate=2006-04-13}}</ref>

Aesthetics was the foremost reason why 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.<ref>Rodriguez, Joseph A. (2000) . ''Journal of Planning Education and Research'' v. 20 pp. 66-76.</ref>

The Golden Gate Bridge has a similar sister bridge in ], ]. The red-painted ] (25th April Bridge) is {{convert|2278|m|ft|abbr=on}} spans {{convert|1013|m|ft|abbr=on}}.

=== Paintwork ===
The bridge was originally painted with ] primer and a ]-based ], which was touched up as required. In the mid-1960s, a program was started to improve corrosion protection by stripping the original paint off and repainting the bridge with ] primer and, originally, ] topcoats.<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2006 |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php#PaintHowOften |title=Golden Gate Bridge: Research Library: How Often is the Golden Gate Bridge Repainted? |format= |work= |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |accessdate=2006-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2006 |url=http://goldengatebridge.org/research/factsGGBIntOrngPaint.php |title=Golden Gate Bridge: Construction Data: Painting The Golden Gate Bridge |format= |work= |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |accessdate=2006-04-13}}</ref> ] topcoats have been used instead since 1990 for air quality reasons. The program was completed in 1995, and there is now maintenance by 38 painters to touch up the paintwork where it becomes seriously eroded.<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |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? |format= | work= |publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District |accessdate=2006-04-13}}</ref>
] at the San Francisco terminus (right). Behind the arch is ], and to the left of that, ], mostly obscuring the ] hills.]]

==Current issues==
===Operation===
The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District is public agency established in 1929 as a special district by the California State Legislature. The DIstrict includes six member counties: the City & County of San Francisco and Marin County, in whose boundaries the bridge sits, and also ], ], ] and ] counties. Representatives from each of the six counties sit on the District's ].

===Economics===
The last of the construction bonds were retired in 1971, with $35 million in principal and nearly $39 million in interest raised entirely from bridge tolls.<ref name=KeyDates>{{cite web | publisher=Research Library | title=Key Dates | url=http://goldengatebridge.org/research/dates.php | accessdate=2007-12-11}}</ref>

On ] ], the auto cash toll for Southbound ]s was raised from $3 to $5, and the FasTrak toll was increased from $3 to $4. Northbound motor vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic remains toll free. The rate for two-axle vehicles and motorcycles is $5 cash, or $4 with ] electronic RF payments. For vehicles with more than two axles, the toll rate is $2.50 per axle.<ref>Schulte-Peevers, Andrea (2003) "Lonely Planet California" ''Lonely Planet'', United States. 737 pp. ISBN 1-86450-331-9</ref><ref>http://goldengatebridge.org/tolls_traffic/toll_rates_carpools.php</ref>

In November 2006, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District recommended a ] 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 ] 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.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=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|accessdate=2007-10-27|title=Golden Gate Bridge directors reject sponsorship proposals|author=Jonathan Curiel, Chronicle Staff Writer|date=October 27, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://goldengate.org/news/PartnershipProgram.php|publisher=Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District|accessdate=2007-10-27|title= Partnership Program Status}}</ref>

] ]]

=== Suicides ===
The Golden Gate Bridge is a frequent site for ]. After a fall of approximately four seconds jumpers hit the water at {{convert|75|mph|km/h}}, which is nearly always fatal.

An official suicide count was kept, sorted according to which of the bridge's 128 lamp posts the jumper was nearest to when he or she jumped. The count exceeded 1,200 when the count ended in 2005, and new suicides were averaging one every two weeks.<ref>{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2003 | url = http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/031013fa_fact?031013fa_fact| title = Jumpers: The fatal grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge | format = | work = The New Yorker | publisher = | accessdate =October 24 | accessyear =2006 }}</ref> There were 34 bridge jump suicides in 2006 whose bodies were recovered, in addition to four jumps which were witnessed but whose bodies were never recovered, and several bodies recovered suspected to be from bridge jumps. The California Highway Patrol removed seventy apparently suicidal people from the bridge that year.<ref>{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2006 | url = http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/17/BAGSLNK7ER4.DTL | title = 34 confirmed suicides off GG Bridge last year | format = | work = The San Francisco Chronicle | publisher = | accessdate =January 17| accessyear =2007 }}</ref> Currently, it is said that a person jumps off the Golden Gate Bridge every 15 days.{{fact|date=February 2008}}

], only 26 people are known to have survived the jump.<ref>{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2003 | url = http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/031013fa_fact?031013fa_fact| title = Jumpers: The fatal grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge | format = | work = The New Yorker | publisher = | accessdate =October 24 | accessyear =2006 }}</ref> Those who do survive strike the water feet-first, usually suffering broken bones and other internal injuries. One young man survived a jump off the bridge in 2000, although the impact broke his back and shattered multiple ].<ref>{{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2005 | url = http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050311.html | title = Could you jump off a bridge or a tall building and survive the fall? | format = | work = The Straight Dope | publisher = Cecil Adams | accessdate = 2006-04-12 | accessyear = }}</ref> A young woman from ], may be the only person to have jumped from the bridge twice. She survived the first jump in early 1988, but died in her second attempt later that year.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}

] initiative, this sign promotes a special telephone available on the bridge that connects to a ]]]
Various methods have been proposed and implemented to reduce the number of suicides. The bridge is fitted with ] telephones, and staff patrol the bridge in carts, looking for people who appear to be planning to jump. The bridge is now closed to pedestrians at night. Cyclists are still permitted across at night, but must be buzzed in and out through the remotely controlled security gates.<ref>{{cite web | last = | first =
| authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2006 | url = http://goldengatebridge.org/bikesbridge/bikes.php | title = Golden Gate Bridge: Bikes and Pedestrians | format =
| work = | publisher = Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District | accessdate = 2006-04-13 | accessyear = }}</ref> Attempts to introduce a suicide barrier have been thwarted by engineering difficulties, high costs, and public opposition. The estimated cost of a barrier is between $15 and $20 million.<ref>{{cite web | last = | first =
| authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2006 | url = http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_SDQTNNP | title = Deadly Beauty | format = | work = | publisher = The Economist | accessdate = 2006-06-10 | accessyear = 2006}} </ref> One recurring proposal is to build a barrier to replace or augment the low railing, a component of the bridge's original architectural design. New barriers have eliminated suicides at other landmarks around the world, but were opposed for the Golden Gate Bridge for reasons of cost, aesthetics, and safety (the load from a poorly-designed barrier could significantly affect the bridge's structural integrity during a strong windstorm).{{Fact|date=October 2007}} In early 2005 the Bridge District re-considered the matter for the eighth time, approving a two-year, $1.78 million feasibility study.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} ] was proposed in late 2005 as a way to discourage suicides rather than directly prevent them. The program seeks to make the bridge a less attractive place to take one's own life.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
A documentary about the Golden Gate Bridge and suicides has been produced and is called ] by ].

===Wind===
Since its completion, the Golden Gate Bridge has been closed due to weather conditions only three times:<ref>{{cite web | url= http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php#BridgeClosed | title= Frequently Asked Questions about the Golden Gate Bridge | publisher= Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District | accessdate= 2008-03-12}}</ref> on ] ], due to gusts of {{convert|69|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}; on ] ], due to winds of {{convert|70|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}; and on ] ], due to wind gusts of {{convert|75|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.

===Safety===
The Golden Gate Bridge is also notorious as the site of head-on ]s between North-bound and South-bound cars. After one such collision, on ] ], the Bridge District was sued for not installing a movable barrier between North-bound and South-bound traffic lanes.{{Fact|date=October 2007}} Such a barrier has been designed: it has been estimated that it would cost about $1.3 million to build.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}

===Art, photography, and culture===
The Golden Gate bridge is one of America's most photographed structures, and possibly in the world. The bridge view is beautiful at most times of the day; especially between Oct and late Nov, the view is spectacular at every angle. Its distinctive reddish color (chosen to blend with the span's natural setting in clear weather, as well as to look good in fog), makes it one of the most favorable places for photography enthusiasts and tourist as well.

Engineering professor ], as part of her ] art collective, created a "Despondency Index" by correlating the ] with the number of jumpers detected by "Suicide Boxes" containing motion-detecting cameras, which she claimed to have set up under the bridge.<ref> nytimes.com.</ref> The boxes purportedly recorded 17 jumps in three months, far greater than the official count. The ], though questioning whether Jeremijenko's suicide detection technology actually existed, nevertheless included her project in its prestigious ].<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Wired Magazine|accessdate=2007-10-30|url=http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2004/08/64720|title=Tech and Art Mix at RNC Protest|author=Noah Shachtman|date=August 8, 2004}}</ref>

Suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge is a theme of ]'s experimental film, '']'' (2005).{{Fact|date=October 2007}} ]'s 2006 documentary '']'' recorded 23 of the 24 known suicides during 2004.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}

==See also==
{{Commons|Golden Gate Bridge}}
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== References ==
{{reflist|2}}

* Tad Friend: , ], ], ] v79 i30 page 48
* "", ''Vibrationdata.com'', ], ]
</div>

== External links ==
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* official site
*{{dmoz|/Regional/North_America/United_States/California/Metro_Areas/San_Francisco_Bay_Area/Travel_and_Tourism/Attractions/Golden_Gate_Bridge/|Golden Gate Bridge}}

{{SFBridges}}

{{Crossings navbox
|structure = Crossings
|place = ]
|bridge = Golden Gate Bridge
|bridge signs = ] ]
|upstream text = West
|upstream = ]
|upstream signs =
|downstream text = East
|downstream = North Bay:<br>]<br>]
----
South Bay:<br>]<br>''BART''
|downstream signs =
}}
{{LongestBridge
| type = suspension
| start = 1937
| end = 1964
| previous = George Washington Bridge
| current = Golden Gate Bridge
| next = Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
}}

{{San Francisco Attractions}}

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Revision as of 16:28, 23 March 2008

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