This type of adjustment is referred to as “tuning” and is similar to how a musician keeps a stringed instrument sounding its best. Due to the passage of time and ongoing temperature variability, the cables and suspenders elongate or contract, and need periodical checking and retensioning. There are structural maintenance issues, too. For example, when any of the thousands of bolts that connect all the various pieces of the bridge need replacement, no more than two are taken out simultaneously, to keep the bridge safe against strong winds or earthquakes forces. This work must be done to exacting standards. For 80 years, dedicated maintenance crews have serviced the bridge, repainting and substituting the corroded or broken components where necessary.
But keeping the Golden Gate Bridge in tiptop form requires ongoing stringent maintenance. Keeping it in good shapeĬonventional wisdom would suggest an infrastructure project is done soon after its inauguration. Placed at strategic locations, they absorb energy that could otherwise cause the bridge to collapse. These specially designed vibration dampers are meter-diameter cylinders made of a lead core covered by rubber. To avoid this problem, the builders also located shock absorbers at each end of the bridge to absorb the energy coming from wind or seismic forces. San Francisco is located at the intersection of two active tectonic plates – obviously no one wanted to see an earthquake bring down the bridge, which currently carries around 112,000 vehicles per day. Since people first started pondering a bridge in the bay of San Francisco, there was huge concern about the structure’s ability to withstand the location’s strong winds, turbulent waters and possible earthquake forces. Relying on smaller wires means any failure would be slower, leaving time to divert disaster. And crucially, if a single big cable was holding the bridge up and something happened to it, there would be a catastrophic failure. It’s nearly impossible to manufacture a long, thick cable in one piece with no flaws to do this job.
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