5 ms·

The Day the Golden Gate Bridge Flattened (2012)

30 points by richardhod 8y ago

matthewcanty 8y ago
Post-9/11 world in 1987?
- 0xB31B1B 8y ago
  In 2012, when the article was written
- jrace 8y ago
  >And bridge officials insist that the reason the bridge district isn’t permitting pedestrians to swarm over the Golden Gate for the 75th anniversary Sunday has nothing to do with the threat of collapse and everything to do with the threats of overcrowding and terrorism in a post-9/11 world.
mistrial9 8y ago
The day was clear, the crowds were large; the bridge was full with a festive feel. No one wanted to be the first to leave, Soon there was no retreat... As more bodies pushed in from either side an unpleasant realization spread there was no going back that day -- Golden Gate Bridge 50th Anniversary
- DrScump 8y ago
  I was there. I spent the night before in Sausalito, and we came from the north, reaching almost the middle before encountering the wall of people from the SF side. It was damn scary. People continued to crush in from both directions, and the bridge swayed despite it not being particularly windy. People in midspan were yelling in both directions for people to turn around. The trampling deaths at the Who concert in Cincinnati were not yet forgotten. Just when we felt in serious trouble, people finally got the hint that they weren't going to make it across, and they retreated.
CydeWeys 8y ago
The crowd control issues definitely sound like a good reason to not repeat this. Or at least not without making each side of the bridge one-way for pedestrian traffic and controlling the maximum number of people allowed on the bridge at each time.
seandougall 8y ago
The bridge’s advertised maximum downward deflection is 10.8 feet. Unless that’s an incredibly blatant lie, I don’t see how a deflection of 7 feet would almost break the bridge. Edit: the article does go on to acknowledge that, after the point where I’d originally stopped reading out of exasperation with the typical BANG clickbait.
- the_seraphim 8y ago
  The bridge was designed with a maximum deflection of 16 feet vertically and 27 feet horizontally.

30 points by richardhod 8y ago

matthewcanty 8y ago

Post-9/11 world in 1987?

0xB31B1B 8y ago
In 2012, when the article was written
jrace 8y ago
>And bridge officials insist that the reason the bridge district isn’t permitting pedestrians to swarm over the Golden Gate for the 75th anniversary Sunday has nothing to do with the threat of collapse and everything to do with the threats of overcrowding and terrorism in a post-9/11 world.

mistrial9 8y ago

The day was clear, the crowds were large; the bridge was full with a festive feel. No one wanted to be the first to leave, Soon there was no retreat... As more bodies pushed in from either side an unpleasant realization spread there was no going back that day -- Golden Gate Bridge 50th Anniversary

DrScump 8y ago
I was there. I spent the night before in Sausalito, and we came from the north, reaching almost the middle before encountering the wall of people from the SF side. It was damn scary. People continued to crush in from both directions, and the bridge swayed despite it not being particularly windy. People in midspan were yelling in both directions for people to turn around. The trampling deaths at the Who concert in Cincinnati were not yet forgotten. Just when we felt in serious trouble, people finally got the hint that they weren't going to make it across, and they retreated.

CydeWeys 8y ago

The crowd control issues definitely sound like a good reason to not repeat this. Or at least not without making each side of the bridge one-way for pedestrian traffic and controlling the maximum number of people allowed on the bridge at each time.

seandougall 8y ago

The bridge’s advertised maximum downward deflection is 10.8 feet. Unless that’s an incredibly blatant lie, I don’t see how a deflection of 7 feet would almost break the bridge. Edit: the article does go on to acknowledge that, after the point where I’d originally stopped reading out of exasperation with the typical BANG clickbait.

the_seraphim 8y ago
The bridge was designed with a maximum deflection of 16 feet vertically and 27 feet horizontally.