[image error]We’re one day away from the release of my latest book, Rescuing Riley! To celebrate this book in the Gold Coast Retriever Series, I’m writing blog posts about Golden Retrievers, giant California Redwoods, and today about the Golden Gate Bridge. I’m fascinated with bridges and how they were built.

I’ve got a theme going of dogs + California landmarks. It only seems apt to feature the one of the most beautiful bridges in the world in this post. The Golden Gate bridge just happens to be situated close to the fictional town of Redwood Cove where one of Rescuing Riley’s main characters lives.

So let’s take a closer look at this California legend that has been named one of the wonders of the modern world.

1. The bridge is feat of human engineering, not to mention persistence. It took more than a decade for the project to go from proposed idea to the beginning of construction partly because it was originally thought that it would not be possible to build the bridge.

The Golden Gate strait, which is the body of water the bridge spans, has strong, swirling tides, experiences strong winds, and at its centre the strait is 372 feet deep.

2. Despite the length of time it took to plan and engineer the bridge, building it only took a little over four years. Construction began in January 1933 and the bridge opened in May 1937. It was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.

When it opened it was the longest and tallest suspension bridge in the world.

3. Charles Alton Ellis was initially the primary structural engineer who worked on the bridge. However, he was fired by the project’s chief engineer and project overseer, Joseph Strauss. Unable to find work after his firing, Ellis continued to work on the project without being paid, turning in ten volumes of hand calculations for the structure. Even so, he was not credited for the part he played in the bridge’s construction until May 2007, when he was recognized for his contribution.

[image error]Strauss downplayed the contributions of others who worked on the project as well, wanting his name to be the one most closely associated with the bridge.

While Strauss can’t rightly claim all the credit, we can acknowledge him for the innovation of a moveable steel netting that was placed under the construction sites on the bridge. When ironworkers fell off the bridge they were caught by the netting, which saved many lives during the project.

4. Here are some interesting facts and figures about the project:

It used 1.2 million steel rivets
There were over 75 million tons of steel used
Despite concerns about the wind in the strait, the bridge has only been closed 3 times since opening because of wind
The bridge is ultra flexible in many ways. It moves up and down by up to 16 feet (!) because of temperature fluctuations

5. The Half-way to Hell Club. Back to those nets that Joseph Strauss invented. The men who fell off the bridge construction sites and into the nets formed a club. Ironworkers had a phrase for when one of theirs fell off a bridge and was killed; it was said he had ‘gone to hell’. So those who fell off the Golden Gate and landed in the nets were said to have only got half-way there.

The club was started by Alfred Zampa, who was one of the first men to survive a fall off the bridge. Zampa is a legendary ironworker who now has a bridge named after him.

6. Today, the bridge has a zipper. In 2015 a moveable barrier was installed to change the number of southbound and northbound lanes depending on traffic volume. In the morning, when most of the traffic is going south, from Marin County into San Francisco, there are 4 lanes going south, and 2 going north. In the afternoon rush hour, this ratio is reversed.

For years, orange pylons were all that separated the opposing lanes of traffic, resulting in some head-on collisions. In 2015 the bridge was closed for 45.5 hours to installed moveable medians. This was the longest the bridge had ever been closed. These moveable barriers are super cool. The barrier itself is articulated and to move it a truck – called a zipper – drives over top of it and moves the barrier over.

Have you ever been to San Francisco and driven over the bridge?

In case you missed the post on Golden Retrievers, click here. And the one on giant California Redwoods is here.

More about the series:

THE GOLD COAST RETRIEVERS SERIES

There will be 6 books by 6 awesome and talented authors, 6 lovable golden retrievers, and 6 romantic suspense stories.

Saving Sarah by USA Today Bestselling Author Melissa Storm
Rescuing Riley by S.B. Alexander
Guarding Grace by USA Today Bestselling Author Ann Omasta
Protecting Peyton by Becky Muth
Finding Felicity by P. Creeden
Helping Hanna by Emmie Lyn

Saving Sarah is now available. Following Saving Sarah will be Rescuing Riley on September 14, 2018 and then each week thereafter next book in the series will be released.

To find out more about the series and the authors visit Sweet Promise Press Gold Coast Retrievers.

RESCUING RILEY

Wedding planner Riley Lewis couldn’t wait to spend time with her best friend, Liza. But when she sets foot on California soil, she finds herself thrust into the arms of the handsome ex Navy SEAL Josh Bandon. But she’s not ready for a boyfriend, not after her recent breakup. Yet she can’t help how Josh makes her feel—alive and special.

Disabled veteran Joshua Bandon wanted one thing when he was discharged from the military—peace and quiet in his hometown of Redwood Cove, California where sleepy is the term locals dubbed the resort town. But the bed and breakfast he manages for his dad is anything but sleepy, especially when his service dog, Charlie, greets a tall black hair goddess who makes his heart beat a little faster, something that hasn’t happened since high school.

But Josh isn’t ready to get his heart severed in two. Riley isn’t ready for a steady relationship. Yet the two have a hard time keeping things platonic. Whatever is brewing between them will have to wait when Josh’s cousin, Liza, goes missing, even more so when Riley doesn’t return from a day in San Francisco.

Now Josh is torn. Does he put all his efforts into finding Liza? Or does he tear up the landscape to rescue the one woman who grabbed a hold of his heart the minute Charlie greeted her?

Jump on over and read CHAPTER ONE now!

Find out more about the series and sign up to read the ARC here: GOLD COAST RETRIEVERS SERIES

[Bridge photo courtesy Gerson Repreza and Unsplash.]

The post Rescuing Riley: 6 Things You Might Not Know About The Golden Gate Bridge appeared first on S.B. Alexander.