4 ms·

For starters, it's no longer politically viable to expect 11 people to die during the construction of a bridge. To avoid that, there's a lot of regulation in pl

For starters, it's no longer politically viable to expect 11 people to die during the construction of a bridge. To avoid that, there's a lot of regulation in place. And a lot more that probably got in for other reasons.

jljljl 5y ago
Using the actuarial value of a human life, those 11 deaths would add $83M-100M to the costs (assuming the costs aren’t already fully baked in to the cost added above), which would put the Golden Gate Bridge over its budget.
Swizec 5y ago
To be fair, the Golden Gate Bridge project is famous for its safety record and care given to the safety of its crews during construction. It was one of the first bridges ever built with safety nets during construction. > If there’s one construction job that set the modern standards for work site safety precautions, it is the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. When construction on this bridge began in 1933, it was the first suspension bridge supported by a tower in the ocean and surrounded by harsh weather and water conditions. > Before this project bridge construction workers, or “bridgemen,” had been considered reckless daredevils who worked without any safety precautions. They had to be fearless to climb the high steel and deal with the rugged weather and risky footing. The Golden Gate Bridge was built during the Great Depression – when 1 in 4 Americans was unemployed – and despite the risks, workers applied in droves. > /../ > Even with these precautions, 11 men died during construction – including 10 who lost their lives when a section of scaffold fell through the safety net. However, there were 28 worker fatalities during the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Strauss’ safety regulations can be reasonably credited with saving many lives and setting a new worksite safety standard. He proved to the world that safety gear saves lives. https://www.fixfastusa.com/news-blog/golden-gate-bridge-changed-safety-standards/ https://www.fixfastusa.com/news-blog/golden-gate-bridge-chan...
greggman3 5y ago
I'm pretty confident Japan gets shit done 5-10x faster than SF/LA/USA and people don't die building it.
BurningFrog 5y ago
Regulation is marketed as protecting safety and justice. That doesn't mean it's what it actually does.

jljljl 5y ago

Using the actuarial value of a human life, those 11 deaths would add $83M-100M to the costs (assuming the costs aren’t already fully baked in to the cost added above), which would put the Golden Gate Bridge over its budget.

Swizec 5y ago

To be fair, the Golden Gate Bridge project is famous for its safety record and care given to the safety of its crews during construction. It was one of the first bridges ever built with safety nets during construction. > If there’s one construction job that set the modern standards for work site safety precautions, it is the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. When construction on this bridge began in 1933, it was the first suspension bridge supported by a tower in the ocean and surrounded by harsh weather and water conditions. > Before this project bridge construction workers, or “bridgemen,” had been considered reckless daredevils who worked without any safety precautions. They had to be fearless to climb the high steel and deal with the rugged weather and risky footing. The Golden Gate Bridge was built during the Great Depression – when 1 in 4 Americans was unemployed – and despite the risks, workers applied in droves. > /../ > Even with these precautions, 11 men died during construction – including 10 who lost their lives when a section of scaffold fell through the safety net. However, there were 28 worker fatalities during the construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Strauss’ safety regulations can be reasonably credited with saving many lives and setting a new worksite safety standard. He proved to the world that safety gear saves lives. https://www.fixfastusa.com/news-blog/golden-gate-bridge-changed-safety-standards/ https://www.fixfastusa.com/news-blog/golden-gate-bridge-chan...

greggman3 5y ago

I'm pretty confident Japan gets shit done 5-10x faster than SF/LA/USA and people don't die building it.

BurningFrog 5y ago

Regulation is marketed as protecting safety and justice. That doesn't mean it's what it actually does.