I took this shot from the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge on a cloudy and gloomy day of my recent trip to California. The bridge, started in 1933 and completed in 1937, at a cost of $35 million, is perhaps the most famous bridge in the world and spans the opening of San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean.

The bridge, being almost 9,000 feet long and 90 feet wide, with three lanes of traffic in each direction was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it was completed.

Constant, ongoing maintenance and inspection is required to keep the bridge in first class condition. The cost of this maintenance is born by the $6.00 toll that is charged each vehicle crossing in the southerly direction, into the city. No toll is charged for the north bound traffic.

There are many interesting facts and statistics concerning the Golden Gate Bridge which are readily available on the Internet. An excellent resource for this information can be found by following the URL listed below. Perhaps the saddest of the statistics is that the bridge is the most popular place in the USA to commit suicide. Since it's opening 81 years ago, 1200 people have jumped to their death from the 245 foot high deck to the icy water. The 1200 figure represents only the verified jumpers and it is believed that many other unknown people have jumped.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Bridge

Copyright 2009 - John Swift