Why the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco would not collapse if hit by a ship
The recent tragedy in Baltimore has called attention to the state of bridges in the US, like the Golden Gate Bridge. Would it collapse if a ship hit it?
When a container ship headed to Sri Lanka rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, the structure collapsed within seconds. The FSK Bridge was a steel-arch continuous truss bridge built with a load-bearing superstructure, with the main support coming from a series of columns.
The collision point was the worst possible place for the accident to occur, because if the point of support fails, a partial or total collapse was a very likely outcome.
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The tragedy has focused attention on other bridges in the country, some of which are old and not in the best condition. The American Society of Civil Engineers has described 7.5% of American bridges as “structurally deficient”.
The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most famous and iconic bridges in the US. Spanning the Golden Gate Strait, it opened to vehicular traffic in 1937. It connects the city of San Francisco to Marin County in California.
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Why the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco would not collapse if hit by a ship
The orange bridge’s earthquake-prone location has caused it to be hardier than others. Experts say that it is less likely to be knocked down by a ship, because the support columns have been designed to stand firm against earthquakes.
The bridge was also constructed to withstand storms, and although it was not designed particularly to resist strong ship collisions, it does have extra protection.
“The Golden Gate Bridge has the most robust ship collision protection of any bridge on the West Coast,” according to Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz of the Golden Gate Highway and Transportation District, per ABC7.
When was the golden gate bridge built?
Construction on the Golden Gate bridge started on January 5, 1933. It was completed in May 1937, six months ahead of schedule. The total cost was $39 million, which is around $500 million today.