Abstract
Engineering of July 7 contains the first of a series of articles on the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, by Mr. C. E. Paine, who acted as principal assistant engineer during its construction. This bridge, which was opened in May 1937, is notable as having the longest suspension span of any bridge yet erected, the length of the span being 4,200 ft. as against the 3,500 ft. of the Hudson River Bridge built in 1931. Its side spans are 1,125 ft. long, giving a total suspended structure of 6,450 ft. The two supporting towers are 690 ft. 4 in. from the top of the piers to the bottom of the saddles and have a combined weight of 35,178 tons, while the wire cables are each over 30 inches in diameter and contain 27,572 steel wires 0·195 inches in diameter, arranged in 61 strands. the roadway across the bridgo is 60 ft. wide, giving room for six lines of motor traffic, and there are two side-walks 10 ft. wide. The dead load of the main span per lineal foot is 9·51 tons and the live load allowed for is 1·78 tons per lineal foot. The bridge leads from San Francisco to a district ideal for suburban development and for recreational purposes, and it has closed almost the last break in the two thousand miles long coast road which extends from Canada to Mexico. The American Institute of Steel Construction selected the Golden Gate Bridge as the most beautiful bridge, costing more than 1,000,000 dollars, completed in the United States in the year 1937.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco. Nature 144, 146 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144146c0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144146c0