Original Blog Entry: Golden Gate Bridge

Vergie6 — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 15:41:40 GMT

Golden Gate Bridge at night, with San Francisco in the background

Main article: Suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge

As a suicide prevention initiative, this sign promotes a special telephone available on the bridge that connects to a crisis hotline.

The Golden Gate Bridge is the second-most used suicide site/suicide bridge in the world, after the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.[82] The deck is about 245 feet (75 m) above the water.[83] After a fall of four seconds, jumpers hit the water at around 75 mph or about 120 km/h. Most of the jumpers die from impact trauma. About 5% of the jumpers survive the initial impact but generally drown or die of hypothermia in the cold water.[84][85]

After years of debate and over an estimated 1,500 deaths, suicide barriers began to be installed in April 2017. Construction will take approximately four years at a cost of over $200 million.[86]

Wind

Since its completion, the Golden Gate Bridge has been closed because of weather conditions only three times: on December 1, 1951, because of gusts of 69 mph (111 km/h); on December 23, 1982, because of winds of 70 mph (113 km/h); and on December 3, 1983, because of wind gusts of 75 mph (121 km/h).[87]

An anemometer, placed midway between the two towers on the west side of the bridge, has been used to measure wind speeds. Another anemometer was placed on one of the towers.

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