Planning errors on the Golden Gate Bridge
The world-famous bridge should get a new railing. Nobody expected the wind.
The orange-red Golden Gate Bridge, the symbol of the US west coast city of San Francisco, can be seen from afar – and recently it can also be heard from afar in strong winds.
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A handrail under construction elicits unusual tones from the 83 year old construction. Bridge district spokesman Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz described it on Monday (local time) in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper as “humming noise”.
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To improve wind resistance, the old, wider struts were replaced by narrower ones. The spokesman said that a slight buzz would have been heard even during tests in the wind tunnel.
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From “ghostly” to “angelic”
But the planners obviously hadn’t expected the reactions of local residents and bridge users. After strong winds on Friday, which blew into the San Francisco Bay from the west, comments and complaints came in, videos with the singing noise made the rounds in social media posts.
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The unusual sound was described as “ghostly” to “angelic”, from “howling sirens” to “wind chimes”. “It is new and it will be a while before we all get used to it,” said Cosulich-Schwartz to KCBS. “It is an interesting new element for an 83-year-old bridge.” This interpretation may fall on deaf ears in annoyed residents.
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The railing work started last year is part of a million dollar project to install steel safety nets as a suicide protection device.
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