FAQs

As February 28, 2019, 2,241,603,474 vehicles have crossed the Golden Gate Bridge (includes northbound and southbound) since opening to traffic on May 28, 1937.

LOWEST: On Monday, January 4, 1982, a devastating rainstorm struck the San Francisco Bay Area. Earth slides and flooding covered the highway and roads north of the Bridge. Two days later, on Wednesday, January 6, only 3,921 southbound vehicles crossed the Bridge. This compares to the average daily southbound count of 37,936 for January 1982.

HIGHEST: During the evening commute on October 17, 1989, the Loma Prieta Earthquake jarred the Bay Area with a force measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale. The Golden Gate Bridge withstood, undamaged, the most devastating quake to strike the Bay Area since 1906. During this time of myriad traffic problems, extra bus and ferry trips were added to help smooth the commute as a flood of 30,000 to 40,000 drivers were diverted from the East Bay to Highway 101 and the Golden Gate Bridge due to the failure of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. On October 27, 1989, an all-time record of 162,414 vehicles crossed the Bridge north and southbound.

Reversible lanes were inaugurated on the Bridge on October 29, 1963. Their use greatly aids the flow of traffic during the heavy morning and evening commute hours and during weekend tourist periods.

The Bridge has a total of six lanes with northbound and southbound lanes separated by a moveable median barrier. At any given time, the lane configuration may be adjusted using a transfer machine (aka "zipper truck"). The barrier is a one-foot wide, 32-inch high concrete and steel barrier that provides a safe division of traffic and helps eliminate head-on collisions. This barrier replaced the bright yellow lane markers that were used to separate opposing traffic lanes.

On Saturday, October 19, 1968, the Golden Gate Bridge became the first major bridge in the world to offer one-way toll collection. The system proved so successful it has since been instituted on many bridges throughout the world.

Since April 1976, the Golden Gate Bridge has offered a discount toll to two-axle vehicles with three or more occupants ("carpools"), motorcycles, and buses during peak commute traffic hours. For current carpool rates, hours, policies, and eligibility requirements, visit our Toll Rates page.

From May 1937 to December 1970, a pedestrian toll (sidewalk fee) was charged and collected using a coin turnstile. By Board of Director Resolution No. 7159, authorized on December 15, 1970, the pedestrian toll was eliminated.

The FasTrak electronic toll collection system launched to the public on the Golden Gate Bridge in July 2000.

The Golden Gate Strait is the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. The strait is approximately three-miles long by one-mile wide with currents ranging from 4.5 to 7.5 knots. It is generally accepted that the strait was named "Chrysopylae", or Golden Gate, by John C. Fremont, Captain, topographical Engineers of the U.S. Army circa 1846. It reminded him of a harbor in Istanbul named Chrysoceras or Golden Horn.

Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge took a total of 1,604 days or a little over 4 years and 4 1/2 months. Work began on January 5, 1933, and the Bridge opened to vehicular traffic on May 28, 1937.

The dream of spanning the Golden Gate Strait had been around for well over a century before the Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic on May 28, 1937.  Pedestrian Day was held on May 27, 1937.

We do not have the exact employment figures. The Bridge was built by 10 different prime contractors and their subcontractors. These contractors are no longer in business and our agency did not have the employment records.

Yes they were and here is how they came to be. The E.D. Bullard Company was founded in 1898 in San Francisco, CA, where the firm manufactured equipment for miners in western states. Many years later, when Bullard's son, Edward W. Bullard (1899-1963), returned from World War I, he applied his experience with Doughboy army helmets in designing protective headgear for miners, and soon after, for the construction industry. E.W. Bullard's original 1919 "Hard-Boiled Hat" was manufactured out of steamed canvas, glue and black paint and included a suspension device. It was considered the first "hard hat," which revolutionized construction and mine worker safety. During construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, Bullard adapted his hats for bridge workers. E.D. Bullard Co., Inc. remains a family-owned business and continues to produce innovative products for construction and public safety from its headquarters in Cynthiana, Ky.

A total of eleven men died during construction. Until February 17, 1937, there had been only one fatality, setting a new all-time record in a field where one man killed for every million dollars spent had been the norm. On February 17, ten more men lost their lives when a section of scaffold carrying twelve men fell through the safety net.

October 21, 1936: Kermit Moore

February 17, 1937: O.A. Anderson; Chris Anderson; William Bass; O. Desper; Fred Dümmatzen; Terence Hallinan; Eldridge Hillen; Charles Lindros; Jack Norman; and Louis Russell.

The most conspicuous precaution was the safety net, suspended under the floor of the Bridge from end to end. During construction, the net saved the lives of 19 men who became known as the "Halfway-to-Hell Club."

The cost to construct a new Golden Gate Bridge would be approximately $1.64 billion in 2019 dollars. The total price depends on a many factors including the extent of the environmental reviews and the cost of labor and materials.

There are approximately 600,000 rivets in each tower.

Upon completion of building the Golden Gate Bridge in May 1937, Chief Engineer Joseph B. Strauss wrote a poem entitled "The Mighty Task is Done." 

A thirty-five million dollar steel harp!

The fabricated steel used in the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge was manufactured by Bethlehem Steel at plants in Trenton, New Jersey and Sparrows Point, Maryland, and at plants in three Pennsylvania towns: Bethlehem, Pottstown, and Steelton. The steel was loaded in sections onto rail cars, taken to Philadelphia and shipped through the Panama Canal to San Francisco. The shipment of the steel was timed to coincide with the construction of the Bridge.

We are unable to identify individuals who contributed to the building of the Bridge. Ten prime contractors and various subcontractors were used, and not all companies kept accurate records of the people they employed. None of the prime contractors is still in business; therefore, employment records are unavailable (to our knowledge). 

There is a plaque on the south face of the south tower that acknowledges the officers, past officers, directors, past directors, engineering staff, and contractors involved in the construction of the Bridge.

Also, there is a memorial plaque at the southern entrance to the west sidewalk as a memorial to the 11 men killed while building the Bridge; their names are listed on the plaque.

Finally, there are three plaques displayed together in the Flag Pole area in the visitor area on south side of the Bridge. The three plaques include:

• American Society of Civil Engineers special citation for infrastructure rehabilitation for the redecking of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1986
• American Society of Civil Engineers named the Golden Gate Bridge as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1984
• American Society of Civil Engineers, San Francisco Section named the Golden Gate Bridge as a California Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1976

Not any more.  The 4,200-foot long suspension span of the  Golden Gate Bridge was the longest span in the world from the time of its construction in 1937 until New York City's Verrazano Narrows Bridge opened on November 21, 1964 (it's 60 feet longer than the Golden Gate Bridge). The Verrazano was the longest single span bridge until July 17, 1981, when the Humber Bridge in England, spanning the Humber River, was opened for traffic with a main span of 4,626 feet.

Today, both the Great Belt East Bridge in Denmark (main span of 5,328 feet) and the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan (main span of 6,532 feet) have main span lengths which exceed that of the Humber Bridge. The table below shows the relative suspension bridges in comparison.

At midspan, the height of the top of the roadway surface is 270.9 feet Mean Lower Low Water, which is the average of the lower low water height of each tidal day observed over the National Tidal Datum Epoch. At the south abutment of the Bridge, the height of the top of roadway surface is 186.5 feet. The difference, equaling the rise in elevation as you travel across the Bridge roadway, is 84.4 feet. These data are from a survey done in 1992.

The Bridge has many different kinds of lighting, including roadway lights, tower lights, sidewalk lights, main cable lights, beacons, etc. For more information about Bridge lighting, visit our Bridge Features page. 

The Golden Gate Bridge crosses the Golden Gate Strait and connects the City of San Francisco and the County of Marin to the north. The longitude and latitude for the Bridge location is approximately: N 37 Degrees, 49 Minutes, 8.0 Seconds --- W 122 Degrees, 28 Minutes, 40.6 Seconds.

Technically, Highway 101 and State Route 1 end at the north abutment of the Golden Gate Bridge and at about 1,000 feet south of the Golden Gate Bridge toll plaza. The Golden Gate Bridge is not technically or officially part of Highway 101 or State Route 1. The GGB is not considered part of the State Highway System, but it is considered part of the National Highway System. For more information, refer to the California Streets and Highways Code (specifically, sections 301 and 401). 

Yes.  The "Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District Act" was enacted by the California State Legislature on May 25, 1923.  The enabling legislation gave counties the right to organize as a bridge district and borrow money, issue bonds, construct a bridge and collect tolls.  On December 4, 1928, the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District was formed as the entity to design, construct and finance the Golden Gate Bridge.  The District consists of San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Del Norte and parts of Mendocino and Napa counties.  On November 10, 1969, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 584 authorizing the District to develop a transportation facility plan for implementing a mass transportation program in the Golden Gate Corridor.  This was to include any and all forms of transit, including ferry.  At that time, the word "Transportation" was added to the District name.

Unfortunately, this is not permitted. Under California Penal Code Section 219.3, any person who willfully drops or throws any object or missile from any toll bridge is guilty of a misdemeanor.