Visiting San Francisco Bridges
by John Feyd
There is no doubt that San Francisco bridges are the most formidable and complicated bridges in the United States. Bridges in San Francisco are renowned for many alternative reasons, whether it is for their size or the mark they have made in history. Featured here are a few of the most original and outstanding bridges that San Francisco has to give.
Hayward Bridge
Originally known as the San Francisco Bay Toll Bridge, the Hayward connects the San Francisco Bay with the East Bay. At seven miles long, it is at present the longest bridge in the bay area and it ranks as among the top 25 longest bridges on the planet. When the Hayward Bridge was initially built in 1929, it was only two lanes with a vertical lift span over the shipping channel. In 1967, the Hayward Bridge was reconstructed and made from concrete trestle spans and steel girders.
Oakland Bay Bridge
The first of its kind, the Oakland Bay Bridge is essentially two bridges and a tunnel that connect the easterly side of San Francisco and the west side of Oakland. It was designed by Charles Purcell with construction beginning in 1933 and opening in 1936. The first is a two spanned double-decker suspension bridge running 10,304 feet long and connecting Yerba Buena to San Francisco. After leaving the Yerba Buena tunnel, a 10,176 foot cantilever bridge continues to the Oakland Bay.
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate bridge was designed by the famous architectural designer Joseph Strauss and was completed in 1937 setting the standard for future bridges. The total weight of the bridge is supported by two main cables, with each having 27,572 wires, equaling 80,000 miles of cable. Most obvious though is the orange paint that was painted on the bridge so that the bridge would be tangible to ships in the fog. The Golden Gate is the first Bridge that ever tried a security-net for the safety of the bridge workers during construction.
Richmond San Rafael Bridge
This superb double-decker cantilever and truss bridge is 29,040 feet long and was opened for traffic in 1956. It is nick-named the "roller coaster" bridge and many consider it to be one of the sturdiest bridges ever built. In spite of it having a clearance of 185 feet this bridge has been thought to be hit by ships but hasn't had to close for repairs due to it. Actually a navy radar vessel and a World War II battleship collided with the bridge both on the self same day.
Antioch Bridge
The initial Antioch Bridge was built in 1926 by Aven Hanford and Oscar Klatt, it was the first toll bridge over the San Francisco tributary. But from the the start it had problems, due to a design flaw many ships collide into its narrow opening and in 1970 the lift span stopped working. In 1978 a new steel plate girder bridge was made and is now called the Senator John A. Nejedly Bridge.
John Feyd has had an interest in <a href="http://www.sanfransights.org/san-fran-articles/bridges/">San francisco bridges</a> for many years. He has written op-eds and editorial pieces for many online publications. For full information, please feel free to visit his <a href="http://www.sanfransights.org/san-fran-articles/">site</a>.
---------------------------------------------------
You are receiving this because you signed up for it on 2012-04-22 from IP 114.79.13.119
To fine-tune your selection of which articles to receive, just login here:
http://www.uniquearticlewizard.com/bloggers/
using your username:
To unsubscribe please use the following link:
http://www.uniquearticlewizard.com/unsubscribe.php?mail=wisatanusantara3.alankoesumah@blogger.com&code=d48035f43fb1db56998290ec5232b52c
---------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment