The bridge between San Francisco and Auckland (photos are presented below) is considered to be a real miracle of construction. In the United States, it is better known as the Bay Bridge. It is not as popular with tourists as the Golden Gate, but it is also of great importance to the region.
Prerequisites for the construction
In 1869, the United States was connected by a transcontinental railroad. At that time, San Francisco was considered the largest metropolis on the Pacific coast. Its inhabitants were separated from the constructed highway by the bay of St. Francis. Almost immediately after, the city authorities began to promote the idea that it was necessary to build a bridge between San Francisco and Auckland. San Francisco could otherwise lose its influence and status. A special committee was quickly organized, whose members set about developing and discussing a plan for the construction of a steel highway. There was still a lot of time before the start of the work, but the beginning was nevertheless laid.
Design
After long disputes and debates, a plan for the construction of the object was prepared, according to which, the construction was to begin with Auckland. On its way, the construction was supposed to go through the so-called Kozliny Island, in which a tunnel was to be broken. This idea was immediately criticized. The fact is that in this place the bay was unpredictable and rather deep. In this regard, the project on which it was planned to build the San Francisco – Auckland bridge was postponed for a long time.
City authorities returned to this idea only in the twenties of the last century. It was at this time that the beginning of the automobile boom in the USA fell. The level of engineering development already allowed the use of a suspension structure, not supports, so it was decided to use the old project with the corresponding changes. True, this time there was another problem. It was associated with the location on the island of Kozlin Island base of the US Navy. Only after the painful advancement of this issue in Congress, in early 1931, permission was received to begin construction. It should be noted that the base continued to operate on the island until 1977.
Construction
The bridge between San Francisco and Auckland began to be built on July 9, 1933. The construction work was supervised by the then-famous architect Ralph Modgeschi. The contractor was the American Bridge Company. During the construction of the Bay Bridge, all the advanced and most well-known construction technologies were applied. In order to ensure the possibility of a reliable installation of support supports spans, engineers have developed a whole technological system. Its feature was that it took into account the type of soil at the bottom of the bay and depth. In parallel, builders began creating a tunnel on the island, whose length was 160 meters and a diameter of 23 meters. Thus, a world record was set at that time.
Opening
Construction work lasted more than three years. For their implementation, a record amount of concrete and steel was spent. On November 12, 1936, a ceremony was held at which a bridge was opened between San Francisco and Auckland. Governor Frank Mariam visited her. After the opening speech, he used gas welding to cut the “ribbon”, which was a gilded chain. Over the first day of the functioning of the structure, more than 120 thousand cars crossed it. In honor of the opening of the facility, naval ships in the bay even staged a light show.
From the first days of the Bay Bridge, the fare on it was 65 cents. This was considered a very overestimated amount, and therefore, after numerous critical reviews, the city authorities reduced the price to 25 cents.
Today's state
The bridge between San Francisco and Auckland is a 7.2-kilometer two-story structure. It consists of two spans. The first of them connects San Francisco with Kozlin Island, the movement of cars on which occurs through a 160-meter tunnel. The second part is spread between the island and Auckland. The fare is paid. Its cost is $ 7. At the same time, it is paid only when moving from east to west. Both levels have five lanes for cars. Their total width is 17.5 m. It should be noted that earlier the lower part was used for the movement of trains, but the rails were dismantled in 1963. Since that time, in each tier cars move in a different direction.
Interesting feature
The height of the Bay Bridge at the highest point is 57 meters. Moreover, severe storms often occur at its location. When the weather is raging, visibility here is significantly deteriorating, so when you get to the central part of the structure, you may not see the land. It is not surprising that some drivers are afraid to travel on it. Especially for such people, the bridge administration offers an original service. It lies in the fact that for a small amount of the order of several tens of dollars, a professional driver drives a car across the bridge between San Francisco and Auckland in any direction. The owner of the vehicle at this time simply transfers to the passenger seat.