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Golden Gate installs new rail
Construction project will add barrier for walkers
October 26, 2002 By SPENCER
SOPER
A new safety railing being installed on the Golden Gate Bridge will be the most significant architectural change to the 65-year-old landmark, but it has been carefully designed to blend in, bridge district officials said.
Installation of the 41/2 -foot-tall railing, which will separate bridge sidewalks from car lanes, began Wednesday night and should be completed in May 2003.
"There is no physical barrier right now," bridge spokeswoman Mary Currie said. "Safety is the bottom line here."
Richmond-based Christie Constructors Inc. got a $3.8 million contract to build and install the railing, which consists of ¨-inch-diameter cables suspended between 1,600 posts along both sides of the bridge. The overall cost of the project is $4.7 million, paid mostly with toll revenue.
Donald MacDonald, an architect who helped design the railing, said several meetings were held with cyclists, architects and the public to make a safe barrier that would not mar the scenic bridge or block views.
"Anything you put on a historic monument like that should fit in and not stand out," he said.
Planning for the railings began in 1996. Pedestrians and cyclists rarely fall off the elevated sidewalks into bridge traffic, but Golden Gate officials say the railing will make such instances even less likely.
Leah Shahum, a bridge district board member and executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, said the railing will provide a sense of comfort to those using the 10-foot-wide sidewalk.
"Clearly, we can't widen the sidewalk," Shahum said. "What we can do is separate the cyclists and pedestrians from the car traffic."
On an average weekday, 4,000 pedestrians and 1,600 cyclists cross the 1.7-mile span. On weekends, the number climbs to 6,600 pedestrians and 5,000 cyclists.
Fairfax resident Ken Eichstaedt rides his bike over the Golden Gate daily on his way to work in downtown San Francisco. The sidewalk can get crowded, particularly on weekends, which can make it dangerous, he said.
"The railing is definitely needed," said Eichstaedt, president of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition. "I have known people who have gone over into the roadway."
Installation of the new railing began on the southwest side of the bridge. Work on the more heavily used east sidewalk will be done mostly at night to minimize disruptions, bridge district officials said.
In addition to the railing, construction will begin Wednesday on reinforcing bridge expansion joints to protect the span in an earthquake.
Some bridge lanes will be closed starting next Wednesday through March. Lanes will be closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday and from 11:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. Fridays. One northbound lane and two southbound lanes will remain open throughout the project, which is part of a $157 million effort to reinforce the bridge, paid primarily with federal and state grants.
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