I was in San Francisco in 1984 and it’s one of my favourite cities. I haven’t driven over the Golden Gate but have sailed underneath it on a cruise of the bay. It’s a magnificent bridge and expansive.
Fun Fact: The Golden Gate Bridge has it's own police force. They are public officers pursuant to California Penal Code Section 836.5. While not peace officers, they do have the authority to enforce laws that are classified as infractions and misdemeanors on bridge property while on duty. Additionally, they may detain arrested person for the California Highway Patrol or local law enforcment with the immunity of a public officer. They also have the authority to operate vehicles with red emergency lights pursuant to the Vehcile Code. While not full peace officers they do posses more authority than a private security officer or a private person (citizen arrest Penal Code Section 837). They are armed and must complete California Penal Code Section 832 training (arrest, search and seizure) and related firearm training.
There's a clever traffic management system on this bridge that extends onto the roads at either end, they rearrange the direction of the lanes at rush hour so there's four lanes going with the commute and two going against it, separated by a row of concrete dividers. Which means they need to move the dividers twice a day. There's a specialist vehicle that does this, it rolls along like a zipper moving the lane dividers over as it drives.
That's called a Tidal Flow system. Also used on the Sydney Harbour Bridge for decades with automated traffic islands at each end to get people into the correct lane. The attached expressway has 3 carriageways with the central one being used in opposite directions in morning and afternoon peak hours. Some narrow Sydney roads also use the tidal flow system out of necessity. Melbourne has a few tidal flow roads too.
Before the zipper divider was installed, crews would move plastic pegs from lane to lane, and driving at 55 mph in the left lane felt like a thrill. The bridge still has narrow lanes, but they’re less scary.
Continuing S.F. Bay Area connection; how about cable powered street railroads(cable cars) as a mega or side project. Other GG trivia: BART's original plan was to put tracks under the deck to reach Marin. The bridge killed the Marin ferries and commuter trains, only to bring back the ferries in the 70/80's due to the traffic problems on the Bridge. And now a rail connection to the ferries is being built!
S.F.'s cable car system would be a good "Sideprojects," being one of the only cities (if not the only city) with a cable car system still in operation.
Hello Simon, 50 seconds into the video you have the wrong footage, it is the '25 de Abril' bridge in Lisbon, Portugal, not the Golden Gate bridge! Believe me, I live near Lisbon and have been across hundreds of times. Cheers
Simon mentioned concern about the GG bridge rippling in high winds, as the Tacoma Narrow bridge did. I can attest that was NOT an issue in 1983, when the bridge was closed due to 75 mph (120 kph) winds. I lived in S.F. at the time. While the bridge was closed to vehicles, they didn't think to close the pedestrian gates. With some effort, I walked on (bicycle in tow) to the west (upwind) side, close to the south (S.F.) tower. From there, I looked at the span - YAY! - NO VISIBLE SWAYING!!! Also, one of the CalTrans trucks drove across without any 'squirrelly' motions. Upon walking back off, I finally heard through the roar a speaker on a light post "You with the bicycle, for the last time, get off of the bridge". I waved towards the station to acknowledge receipt. One saving grace for 'walking' was that the wind was constant - no gusting at varying speeds or changing direction.
Not that it’s a bad thing, but if you pull up the wiki page on a lot of these his script almost follows it word for word. Still entertaining though. Some of this stuff I woulda never looked up.
Nice to see several clips of the "25 de Abril" bridge in Lisbon (Portugal) which is similar to the Golden Gate (check it at 8:37), but the towers are different :-)
I live in Marin..... Totally glad to see this video. Simon, only you can do justice to things like this.. Some sad stuff to it, some inspirational stuff.. Just an all around well put together presentation. Thank you for covering our beloved icon of The Golden Land. 💛
When I was a kid, I got to go over the Golden Gate a few times in the family car. I always loved when we did. The bridge is beautiful, and the view from the bridge is fantastic.
The biggest problem was actually getting the support columns built. The wooden coffer dams that were put in place to help keep things dry would be eaten through, then rotted through, by bugs and the extreme salinity of the water. Not to mention the extreme speed of the water at all times. But they obviously figured that out. The other thing that you didn't mention was that the bridge has been profitable since opening. The original building cost and the cost of all renovations has been covered by the tolls required to use the bridge. It has never stayed in debt. Which is pretty awesome!
I’ve crossed the Golden Gate Bridge over 30 times as I used to have relatives who lived in Sausalito but have now moved to other parts of the US. I also went to San Francisco on recreational visits to see the San Francisco 49ers and San Francisco Giants play. The GG is an absolutely spectacular piece of engineering and to cross it when thick fog covers it is always creepy but fun.
I've crossed the Golden Gate bridge three times in my life time. June 2017, I drove my Convertible Mustang Gt from Toledo to Big Basin state park. And in January 2020, I drove a rented 2019 Mustang Gt premium and went to Alcatraz island and dinner at Pier 39 with my mom and uncle. Plus it was my mom's 70th birthday and as we were there in California, we stopped at Lake Tahoe, Muir woods, California state railroad museum in Sacramento and Yosemite national park. Plus she reconnected with her 2 brothers and met 2 nieces and a great niece the she never met before. Also,the picture next to my comments is me at a Metallica show in Denver a week before I went to San Francisco in June of 2017.
One drawback of building the bridge was the electric suburban railway in Marin closed. Only recently was the section north of central Marin rebuilt but they run diesel trains from Japan. A design flaw with the GGB was no center divider. I hydroplaned into oncoming traffic and was ejected into the center closed lane and skidded down the road after busting out the door and driver window. The metal connector under the tower started the slide and the roadway is wide and flat with lousy drainage.
You are correct. The other bridge shown in the video is indeed in Lisbon. It is very often mistaken as the Golden Gate Bridge in photos and videos and looks like it has been mistaken again in this video. The bridge in Lisbon is called the 25th of April bridge. You cannot walk across the bridge in Lisbon, however it is equally impressive. It is actually a double deck bridge with the road on top and a railway line underneath. Fun fact: the 25th of April bridge was built by the same company who built the bay bridge in San Francisco (not the golden gate).
Marin = Mah-WREN, say the "wren" like a bird. One of my personal bests was riding my bike from my house in the Richmond District over the GG Bridge to Sausalito and taking the Ferry Home. I did this at 55, and rode my bike from the Ferry in SF home. It took me 5 hours. I also was on the GG Bridge for it's 50th year celebration. That was scary, I don't know how many people were there, thousand and thousand. Everybody stayed pretty calm. Oh and I was driving across the GG Bridge in the 1989 quake.. true story. A car behind me rear ended me because of the wobble. We didn't know until we got to the Toll booths what was happening.
I missed the 50th anniversary GGB celebration thanks to having to take my prom date home. (I think it was 600k on the bridge.) How much damage happened in your collision? I was on a bus that was stopped at the north end of Rohnert Park when the Loma Prieta earthquake wave went past.
@@LadyAnuB the rear end was minor and we all shook hands and said good luck as we headed home to see what damage we’d find. Lots of cracked plaster and stuff on the floor. Lights out and limited phone service. No one seriously hurt in my family.
0:52 oh I love this. That's the 25th of April bridge in Lisbon!! 😂 Although it was built by the same company if I'm not mistaken. That's why they took so similar
The 25th of April Bridge was indeed built by the same company that built a bridge in San Francisco. However it wasn’t the Golden Gate. The 25th of April bridge was in fact built by the same company that built the Bay bridge in San Francisco. If you look at both bridges, they are very similar in design but painted different colours.
Subjects for videos on MegaProjects or SideProjects : Québec City's Château Frontenac, bled as the world's most photographed hotel. Québec bridge. Completed in 1917, it's STILL the longest cantilever bridge. It collapsed twice during construction. Montréal's Olympic stadium, with its inclined tower at a 45° angle. Québec's hydroelectric power system. Almost 100% of our power comes from dams. In Summer, we even sell electricity to Ontario and Northern New-England.
it is. Don't you know that they had a buy 1 get 30 for free discounts while buying it? When its getting destroyed they just replace it with another one in there Storage ;)
@@PR_311 okay, that explains all these new fangled news reels. Its crazy the kinds of things happening out there. Still grateful me an no one I know were affected by that Thanos guy and his crazy glove!
@@dudepool7530 hey don't insult my uncle Thanos like that :O He's really cool, have you ever seen him using his glove to crack a watermelone? Best. party trick. Ever!! people are just jealous of him and want to smack watermelons like he does :(
My wife and I were born and live in Marin. We never heard the humming sound, during periods of high wind, until recently. Thank you for solving the mysterious sounds we heard from the Marin Headlands.
The Golden Gate Bridge is an architectural icon of the Western United States. You should consider doing a piece on the Grand Coulee Dam and associated irrigation systems! It makes Hoover look like a toy! And they have a laser light show on the side of the dam every night during the summer months!
@@Duck-wc9de no it is not im British and I'm fairly certain the golden gate bridge is not a Portuguese landmark unless it kinda migrated a little ways west
@William smyth Ahahahahahah No Its a missunderstanment. Im talking about the "25 april bridge" that was inspired by the Golden Gate. In fact, in 0:49 they are showing Lisbon. Not s. Francisco. To see the similarities.
Awesome video about a really fantastic place!!! always loved the bridge since seeing it in James Bond 'a view to a kill' - was lucky enough to visit the bridge back in 2016 and again in 2019! Great stuff
Nice video, have not visited the "City" in decades. Glad they decided to paint it orange, aesthetically pleasing and probably better all around visibility (when that fog and mist, blankets the bay) . The safety nets to prevent suicides are long over due. A somewhat morbid psychological study was done on whether jumpers face towards the city or away (back turned) from the city when they take that jump. Although some jumpers have survived , the fall on impact and the extremely cold water are a deadly combination. I think much of the painting and maintenance of the the bridge is a ongoing perpetual project. It use to be people could walk/bicycle across the bridge (for free, using the pedestrian walkway) , but motor vehicles were charged a toll fee (not sure how it is today).
Hey Simon, a video about the standard model would be awesome and very interesting! It might not be an insane structure or cold war project, but it sure is a mega project!
0:49 this is the 25th of April bridge in Lisbon. was inspired by the Golden Gate. when it opened, it was called Salazar bridge (the Portuguese dictator).
This is a great suggestion. I'm wondering what other megaprojects around the Lakes would be interesting to people. Chicago canal i suppose, or maybe there's something good in Gary or Detroit.
@@acchaladka The Detroit - Windsor tunnel comes to mind. Quite a feat in it's time. Or the Zilwaukee (MI) Bridge. That's one tall SOB. I'm waiting for them to get started on the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
Mega project idea. The mackinac bridge. For those who don't know. It links Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas and marks the divide between lakes Michigan and Huron. No other bridge can be mistaken for it. Unlike the two different bridges featured in this video.
You forgot to mention how it was redesigned once just to avoid having to demolish the old military base below it on the San Francisco side of the bridge
As a side project episode, could you perhaps cover the efforts made to preserve Fort Point? It’s the old civil war fort located underneath The Golden Gate Bridge, and is the oldest stone and brick fortification on the western half of the US. Or perhaps as a mega projects episode, you could cover the San Francisco fortification network, first US city to receive 16in artillery for harbor defense in the late 1930s
I have actually met someone who tried to kill himself by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. You should have also made mention of the fact that so many pedestrians walked on the bridge during the 50th anniversary that the arch of the deck flattened out.
At 12:39 it is mentioned that the bridge in Tacoma Washington was design by Joseph Strauss is wrong. Leon Moisseiff was the lead designer. Strauss was not involved.
I would love to see a video about the Royal Gorge Bridge, a suspension bridge just outside of Canon City, Colorado. It is the highest suspension bridge in the United States. It may not count for a mega project, but definitely a side project.
I was born and raised in Roebling, NJ. USA.. That town was the home of the steel mill of John A. Roebling, the engineer who designed braided cables that built 49 major suspension bridges in the United States.. I think he should get some of the credit here.. (I guess coming from that town with a steel mill in my backyard makes me opinionated) :)
Do they have John A. Roebling's toe on display at the museum there in Roebling, NJ - the one that had to be amputated following his foot getting crushed while surveying for the Brooklyn Bridge?
There used to be an officer who ttried preventing suicides by talking to people, and he saved lives on this bridge. He's retired, but I like to think until the prevention net goes up there'sd another cop, a successor, who talks to people and helps them decide to live.
When the bridge was closed to traffic in 1982 because of winds of 115 km/hr (71mph), I snuck on to the bridge via. the western pedestrian footpath. I reached the tower on the S.F. side, explicitly to see if it was swaying in any manner resembling the Tacoma Narrows bridge. It was rock solid - no visible swaying. On leaving the bridge, I passed a speaker. The bridge control station had probably been telling me to get off the bridge for quite some time. But it was only when next to the pole with the speaker that I heard them and gestured a 'thumbs up'. The traffic was closed in part because there would have been a MESS of accidents, especially because at the time, there were no dividers between oncoming traffic.
G'day Simon, love your work. Any chance of a mega or side project on the "West gate bridge" in Melbourne Australia? Its massive and collapsed during construction 50 odd years ago. Still got finished and is used every day.
I think the Royal Gorge bridge would make a great Megaproject!! I live in Colorado and have been there many times with visiting relatives. It's the highest suspension bridge in the world.
Another very interesting topic is the military fort that sits under the bridge Fort Point. It has a very interesting history and is impressively massive in person it looks small next to the bridge but very easy to get lost in there.
Eric steel made that shitshow under a lying pretense that he would report people that looked like they were going to jump. He instead filmed them and reported none. If you insist on watching the bridge, please pirate it.
Simon another bridge that might be worth looking at is the bridge across the mouth of the Columbia River between State of Washington and Oregon. I can attest to the hair-raising nature of going across it in storm conditions.
I can’t imagine the now utterly dysfunctional state of California successfully building anything like this. Case in point... the high speed rail project.
Fun fact: the foghorn at center span draws ships to the center, rather that telling ships to stay away... and its MA-RIN... my old home county!! Good stuff!!
As already some people realised, there are some false pictures in this video. You should do better research with your picture material. Sometimes the bridge shown is not the Golden Gate. It's a bridge in Lisbon, Portugal.
I found a YT video a few years ago that showed the construction done by Bethlehem Steel. The video (movie, then) was produced by Bethlehem for PR. Every piece in that bridge was made in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and transported by ship through the Panama Canal to San Francisco.
Wow, that's a doozy. No, the taste comes from the old miner's sweat permeating the bread starter that they had to keep warm against their bodies. Seriously. At least that's the dominant story.
Simon any chance you could cover the Forth Bridge outside Edinburgh on here or Sideprojects? It was considered a modern marvel when completed in the 1890's and used groundbreaking techniques during the construction
Depending on how you categorize the venues, the GGB is second in the world for overall suicides. Nevertheless, it is a tragic venue, and the efforts of people trying to intervene in suspected suicide attempts is an amazing and moving story. One of the most famous people doing this was retired CHP officer Kevin Briggs. He is often called the Guardian of the Golden Gate. His story and the resulting development of suicide prevention efforts on the bridge that grew out of his efforts would be a good video for one of Simon's other channels.
Simon how about doing a megaproject on nuclear fusion and the unbelievably long time its taken to get even the prototype nuclear fusion reactor that is ITER working?
@@willgasmic Fun fact: the Lisbon bridge was actually built by the same company that built the Bay Bridge in San Francisco (Not the Golden Gate). It has a very similar design but is painted grey in San Francisco and painted a rust colour in Lisbon.
"ma-RIN" county, not "MAR-in" county (I'm surprised you didn't mention that the bridge is constantly being re-painted; once it's done, it begins again.
The Fourth Rail Bridge in Edinburgh has the same issue. Even though I've been to Edinburgh multiple times, I've never managed to see the bridge while its not being painted
Too bad they didn't use the type of steel that's self-healing through oxidation, which would have obviated the need for constant painting, although the orange they call "gold" wouldn't have been achieved and it would be a perpetual Rust Gate Bridge, which is far more fitting for Cali's deteriorating fiscal, political, and social climate.
It’s beautiful and it does blend in with the natural beauty of the strait btw SF and The Marin Headlands. And sometimes the fog floats in under the roadways.
Count the number of shots that are actually the 25 de Abril bridge :) It is easy to identify: the Golden Gate bridge connects the columns with an H, the 25 de Abril bridge does an X.
Go to → thld.co/lucy_megaprojects and use the promo code Megaprojects at checkout for 20% off your order today!
Do a video on the Kremlin
Why didn't you do the Humber bridge instead?
MACKINAC BRIDGE
6:47 You do understand that *Nicotine* _is a pesticide,_ right?
I tried Lucy but I couldn't keep it lit and it kept sticking to my lip
I was in San Francisco in 1984 and it’s one of my favourite cities. I haven’t driven over the Golden Gate but have sailed underneath it on a cruise of the bay. It’s a magnificent bridge and expansive.
Fun Fact: The Golden Gate Bridge has it's own police force.
They are public officers pursuant to California Penal Code Section 836.5. While not peace officers, they do have the authority to enforce laws that are classified as infractions and misdemeanors on bridge property while on duty.
Additionally, they may detain arrested person for the California Highway Patrol or local law enforcment with the immunity of a public officer. They also have the authority to operate vehicles with red emergency lights pursuant to the Vehcile Code.
While not full peace officers they do posses more authority than a private security officer or a private person (citizen arrest Penal Code Section 837). They are armed and must complete California Penal Code Section 832 training (arrest, search and seizure) and related firearm training.
I didn't know about this and I've crossed the bridge innumerable times. (I am 52 and have lived in the Bay Area for all but 2.5 years of my life.)
Seems like a great way for them to enforce tyranny and oppression. Ftp. Cowards who hide behind a badge and gun.
@@theenzoferrari458 Does it hurt having your tinfoil hat on that tight?
There's a clever traffic management system on this bridge that extends onto the roads at either end, they rearrange the direction of the lanes at rush hour so there's four lanes going with the commute and two going against it, separated by a row of concrete dividers. Which means they need to move the dividers twice a day. There's a specialist vehicle that does this, it rolls along like a zipper moving the lane dividers over as it drives.
It’s also unnerving in poor weather to drive in the far left lane on!
That's called a Tidal Flow system. Also used on the Sydney Harbour Bridge for decades with automated traffic islands at each end to get people into the correct lane. The attached expressway has 3 carriageways with the central one being used in opposite directions in morning and afternoon peak hours. Some narrow Sydney roads also use the tidal flow system out of necessity. Melbourne has a few tidal flow roads too.
Before the zipper divider was installed, crews would move plastic pegs from lane to lane, and driving at 55 mph in the left lane felt like a thrill. The bridge still has narrow lanes, but they’re less scary.
I commute the ggb everyday and i love it.
That’s not unique. Used on many roads and bridges.
Continuing S.F. Bay Area connection; how about cable powered street railroads(cable cars) as a mega or side project.
Other GG trivia: BART's original plan was to put tracks under the deck to reach Marin. The bridge killed the Marin ferries and commuter trains, only to bring back the ferries in the 70/80's due to the traffic problems on the Bridge. And now a rail connection to the ferries is being built!
S.F.'s cable car system would be a good "Sideprojects," being one of the only cities (if not the only city) with a cable car system still in operation.
Hello Simon, 50 seconds into the video you have the wrong footage, it is the '25 de Abril' bridge in Lisbon, Portugal, not the Golden Gate bridge! Believe me, I live near Lisbon and have been across hundreds of times. Cheers
The one megaproject I've been asking for. This is exciting! Thanks Simon!
Simon mentioned concern about the GG bridge rippling in high winds, as the Tacoma Narrow bridge did. I can attest that was NOT an issue in 1983, when the bridge was closed due to 75 mph (120 kph) winds. I lived in S.F. at the time. While the bridge was closed to vehicles, they didn't think to close the pedestrian gates. With some effort, I walked on (bicycle in tow) to the west (upwind) side, close to the south (S.F.) tower. From there, I looked at the span - YAY! - NO VISIBLE SWAYING!!! Also, one of the CalTrans trucks drove across without any 'squirrelly' motions. Upon walking back off, I finally heard through the roar a speaker on a light post "You with the bicycle, for the last time, get off of the bridge". I waved towards the station to acknowledge receipt. One saving grace for 'walking' was that the wind was constant - no gusting at varying speeds or changing direction.
New York City aqueduct system!! The original Croton Aqueduct and all of the update reservoirs that are integral in supplying water to NYC.
I have travelled under that bridge several times still amazing every time.
So, this guy is a live version of Wikipedia.
Not that it’s a bad thing, but if you pull up the wiki page on a lot of these his script almost follows it word for word. Still entertaining though. Some of this stuff I woulda never looked up.
It gets awkward when people start adding swear words to the videos and making me say crazy shit.
Professionally Irresponsible yeah but he says it in a snooty British accent so...
still not having a 3420 bridge, so called buddies :D
...but bald.
Nice to see several clips of the "25 de Abril" bridge in Lisbon (Portugal) which is similar to the Golden Gate (check it at 8:37), but the towers are different :-)
Thanks Simon for this episode. I'm a local and this bridge takes my breath away every time I see it.
I live in Marin..... Totally glad to see this video. Simon, only you can do justice to things like this.. Some sad stuff to it, some inspirational stuff.. Just an all around well put together presentation. Thank you for covering our beloved icon of The Golden Land. 💛
When I was a kid, I got to go over the Golden Gate a few times in the family car. I always loved when we did. The bridge is beautiful, and the view from the bridge is fantastic.
The biggest problem was actually getting the support columns built. The wooden coffer dams that were put in place to help keep things dry would be eaten through, then rotted through, by bugs and the extreme salinity of the water. Not to mention the extreme speed of the water at all times. But they obviously figured that out.
The other thing that you didn't mention was that the bridge has been profitable since opening. The original building cost and the cost of all renovations has been covered by the tolls required to use the bridge. It has never stayed in debt. Which is pretty awesome!
I’ve crossed the Golden Gate Bridge over 30 times as I used to have relatives who lived in Sausalito but have now moved to other parts of the US. I also went to San Francisco on recreational visits to see the San Francisco 49ers and San Francisco Giants play. The GG is an absolutely spectacular piece of engineering and to cross it when thick fog covers it is always creepy but fun.
I've crossed the Golden Gate bridge three times in my life time. June 2017, I drove my Convertible Mustang Gt from Toledo to Big Basin state park. And in January 2020, I drove a rented 2019 Mustang Gt premium and went to Alcatraz island and dinner at Pier 39 with my mom and uncle. Plus it was my mom's 70th birthday and as we were there in California, we stopped at Lake Tahoe, Muir woods, California state railroad museum in Sacramento and Yosemite national park. Plus she reconnected with her 2 brothers and met 2 nieces and a great niece the she never met before. Also,the picture next to my comments is me at a Metallica show in Denver a week before I went to San Francisco in June of 2017.
One drawback of building the bridge was the electric suburban railway in Marin closed. Only recently was the section north of central Marin rebuilt but they run diesel trains from Japan. A design flaw with the GGB was no center divider. I hydroplaned into oncoming traffic and was ejected into the center closed lane and skidded down the road after busting out the door and driver window. The metal connector under the tower started the slide and the roadway is wide and flat with lousy drainage.
You keep showing another orange bridge that ain’t the GGB.
That bridge is in Lisbon.
You are correct. The other bridge shown in the video is indeed in Lisbon. It is very often mistaken as the Golden Gate Bridge in photos and videos and looks like it has been mistaken again in this video. The bridge in Lisbon is called the 25th of April bridge.
You cannot walk across the bridge in Lisbon, however it is equally impressive. It is actually a double deck bridge with the road on top and a railway line underneath.
Fun fact: the 25th of April bridge was built by the same company who built the bay bridge in San Francisco (not the golden gate).
Wow I didn't even notice. Since reading your comment and re-watching the video it's very obvious
Thought i was crazy in thinking those were mistaken. Validation!
I paused at 50 seconds in as I instantly knew that wasn't the GGB. Glad I wasn't alone in noticing!
Marin = Mah-WREN, say the "wren" like a bird. One of my personal bests was riding my bike from my house in the Richmond District over the GG Bridge to Sausalito and taking the Ferry Home. I did this at 55, and rode my bike from the Ferry in SF home. It took me 5 hours. I also was on the GG Bridge for it's 50th year celebration. That was scary, I don't know how many people were there, thousand and thousand. Everybody stayed pretty calm. Oh and I was driving across the GG Bridge in the 1989 quake.. true story. A car behind me rear ended me because of the wobble. We didn't know until we got to the Toll booths what was happening.
I missed the 50th anniversary GGB celebration thanks to having to take my prom date home. (I think it was 600k on the bridge.)
How much damage happened in your collision?
I was on a bus that was stopped at the north end of Rohnert Park when the Loma Prieta earthquake wave went past.
@@LadyAnuB the rear end was minor and we all shook hands and said good luck as we headed home to see what damage we’d find. Lots of cracked plaster and stuff on the floor. Lights out and limited phone service. No one seriously hurt in my family.
After a 13 hour flight across the Pacific, it's always nice to see the Golden Gate come into sight
0:52 oh I love this. That's the 25th of April bridge in Lisbon!! 😂
Although it was built by the same company if I'm not mistaken. That's why they took so similar
The 25th of April Bridge was indeed built by the same company that built a bridge in San Francisco. However it wasn’t the Golden Gate. The 25th of April bridge was in fact built by the same company that built the Bay bridge in San Francisco. If you look at both bridges, they are very similar in design but painted different colours.
Subjects for videos on MegaProjects or SideProjects :
Québec City's Château Frontenac, bled as the world's most photographed hotel.
Québec bridge. Completed in 1917, it's STILL the longest cantilever bridge. It collapsed twice during construction.
Montréal's Olympic stadium, with its inclined tower at a 45° angle.
Québec's hydroelectric power system. Almost 100% of our power comes from dams. In Summer, we even sell electricity to Ontario and Northern New-England.
Are we sure that's the Golden Gate? Isn't it supposed to be getting destroyed by monsters, mutants, armies of apes, or aliens? I can't recognize it!
Subjects of many movies in-jokes, I presumed?
@@jcngokai-76 wait, I thought those were newsreels, do they not do that anymore? 😂😂
it is. Don't you know that they had a buy 1 get 30 for free discounts while buying it? When its getting destroyed they just replace it with another one in there Storage ;)
@@PR_311 okay, that explains all these new fangled news reels. Its crazy the kinds of things happening out there. Still grateful me an no one I know were affected by that Thanos guy and his crazy glove!
@@dudepool7530 hey don't insult my uncle Thanos like that :O He's really cool, have you ever seen him using his glove to crack a watermelone? Best. party trick. Ever!!
people are just jealous of him and want to smack watermelons like he does :(
On the west coast you should do the Los Angeles river. I find the manmade channels fascinating, and it certainly was a huge undertaking.
My wife and I were born and live in Marin. We never heard the humming sound, during periods of high wind, until recently. Thank you for solving the mysterious sounds we heard from the Marin Headlands.
The Golden Gate Bridge is an architectural icon of the Western United States.
You should consider doing a piece on the Grand Coulee Dam and associated irrigation systems! It makes Hoover look like a toy!
And they have a laser light show on the side of the dam every night during the summer months!
its also a portuguese land mark. just seach "lisbon".
the bridge was inspired by golden gate
@@Duck-wc9de no it is not im British and I'm fairly certain the golden gate bridge is not a Portuguese landmark unless it kinda migrated a little ways west
@William smyth
Ahahahahahah
No
Its a missunderstanment.
Im talking about the "25 april bridge" that was inspired by the Golden Gate.
In fact, in 0:49 they are showing Lisbon. Not s. Francisco. To see the similarities.
@@Duck-wc9de well thanks you very much for the insight the more you know eh? Thanks alot.
Awesome video about a really fantastic place!!! always loved the bridge since seeing it in James Bond 'a view to a kill' - was lucky enough to visit the bridge back in 2016 and again in 2019! Great stuff
The walk across the bridge is a really nice thing to do while visiting SF, as long as the weather doesn’t suck.
Nice video, have not visited the "City" in decades. Glad they decided to paint it orange, aesthetically pleasing and probably better all around visibility (when that fog and mist, blankets the bay) . The safety nets to prevent suicides are long over due. A somewhat morbid psychological study was done on whether jumpers face towards the city or away (back turned) from the city when they take that jump. Although some jumpers have survived , the fall on impact and the extremely cold water are a deadly combination. I think much of the painting and maintenance of the the bridge is a ongoing perpetual project. It use to be people could walk/bicycle across the bridge (for free, using the pedestrian walkway) , but motor vehicles were charged a toll fee (not sure how it is today).
8:38 is not the golden gate, and it appeared before in the video
Yeah, it’s pretty glaring coming right after mentioning the Art Deco style of the GGB, then cutting to a bridge without any of those elements.
@@counterfit5 also 0:49 1:01
Hey Simon, a video about the standard model would be awesome and very interesting! It might not be an insane structure or cold war project, but it sure is a mega project!
0:49 this is the 25th of April bridge in Lisbon.
was inspired by the Golden Gate. when it opened, it was called Salazar bridge (the Portuguese dictator).
Makes you wonder what else he has got wrong you don't catch.
While on the subject of bridges, have you considered doing the Mackinaw Bridge connecting the lower and upper peninsula of Michigan?
Your next bridge video should be “Big Mac” (the Mackinac bridge in Michigan).
I was going to suggest the same thing. Great minds.
Mighty Mac...not.
Big mac
...that's a burger XD
This is a great suggestion. I'm wondering what other megaprojects around the Lakes would be interesting to people. Chicago canal i suppose, or maybe there's something good in Gary or Detroit.
@@acchaladka The Detroit - Windsor tunnel comes to mind. Quite a feat in it's time. Or the Zilwaukee (MI) Bridge. That's one tall SOB. I'm waiting for them to get started on the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
We actually have a Big Mac bridge here in Cincinnati. Looks like dual Golden Arches.
Mega project idea. The mackinac bridge. For those who don't know. It links Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas and marks the divide between lakes Michigan and Huron. No other bridge can be mistaken for it. Unlike the two different bridges featured in this video.
You forgot to mention how it was redesigned once just to avoid having to demolish the old military base below it on the San Francisco side of the bridge
Fort Point.
@12:42 Leon Moisseiff designed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (a.k.a. Galloping Gertie). Joseph Strauss was only a consultant.
As a side project episode, could you perhaps cover the efforts made to preserve Fort Point? It’s the old civil war fort located underneath The Golden Gate Bridge, and is the oldest stone and brick fortification on the western half of the US. Or perhaps as a mega projects episode, you could cover the San Francisco fortification network, first US city to receive 16in artillery for harbor defense in the late 1930s
I love my city! San Francisco definitely has it's challenges, but it's a wonderful place to live.
Fun fact: the Golden Gate bridge is continuously maintained by a group of 34 painters and 16 iron-workers.
Surely the Sydney Harbour bridge or the Sydney opera house is next! Both megaprojects marvels!!
Walking or cycling across the GGB is one of life's sublime pleasures. It is utterly, thrillingly gorgeous.
On holiday in the US back in the early 90's, driving over the Golden Gate Bridge during sunset, is one of those images you never forget.
I have actually met someone who tried to kill himself by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. You should have also made mention of the fact that so many pedestrians walked on the bridge during the 50th anniversary that the arch of the deck flattened out.
The San Francisco Bridge truly is a work of art. It also feels alive when you walk across it.
At 12:39 it is mentioned that the bridge in Tacoma Washington was design by Joseph Strauss is wrong. Leon Moisseiff was the lead designer. Strauss was not involved.
The relationship and interaction of the stories of these two bridges would have greatly improved the accuracy of this rather poor effort.
I would love to see a video about the Royal Gorge Bridge, a suspension bridge just outside of Canon City, Colorado. It is the highest suspension bridge in the United States. It may not count for a mega project, but definitely a side project.
I was born and raised in Roebling, NJ. USA.. That town was the home of the steel mill of John A. Roebling, the engineer who designed braided cables that built 49 major suspension bridges in the United States.. I think he should get some of the credit here.. (I guess coming from that town with a steel mill in my backyard makes me opinionated) :)
Oh wow
@@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647 Yes that picture of the cable slice, that's directly behind the house I grew up in.. there's a museum there now!
@@AnthonyRBlacker Fantastic
Do they have John A. Roebling's toe on display at the museum there in Roebling, NJ - the one that had to be amputated following his foot getting crushed while surveying for the Brooklyn Bridge?
@@Triplecenturies I don't think so...
There used to be an officer who ttried preventing suicides by talking to people, and he saved lives on this bridge. He's retired, but I like to think until the prevention net goes up there'sd another cop, a successor, who talks to people and helps them decide to live.
I sure hope so. A lot of people just need that extra time and someone to listen to what they are saying and they won't jump.
@@ilanamillion8942 I imagine most do find a way out sooner or later.
Been asking for this for months. Thank you so much!
another great mega projects video, would love to see an episode on the confederation bridge connecting PEI and NB canada
It’s been a long time coming for this project to get its well deserved video cause I always adored this fine piece of human project
When the bridge was closed to traffic in 1982 because of winds of 115 km/hr (71mph), I snuck on to the bridge via. the western pedestrian footpath. I reached the tower on the S.F. side, explicitly to see if it was swaying in any manner resembling the Tacoma Narrows bridge. It was rock solid - no visible swaying. On leaving the bridge, I passed a speaker. The bridge control station had probably been telling me to get off the bridge for quite some time. But it was only when next to the pole with the speaker that I heard them and gestured a 'thumbs up'.
The traffic was closed in part because there would have been a MESS of accidents, especially because at the time, there were no dividers between oncoming traffic.
The Mackinac Bridge is another large bridge that took the engineering of the time to the next level.
And that is one scary mo-fo to cross!
@@samsignorelli Especially if you have to drive on the inner lane.
G'day Simon, love your work. Any chance of a mega or side project on the "West gate bridge" in Melbourne Australia? Its massive and collapsed during construction 50 odd years ago. Still got finished and is used every day.
I think the Royal Gorge bridge would make a great Megaproject!! I live in Colorado and have been there many times with visiting relatives. It's the highest suspension bridge in the world.
The St Louis arch, gotta cover the center of the US
@@prescriptivereasoning Missouri
@@prescriptivereasoning Geographic center is Kansas, but also population center is Missouri
No mention of the Humber Bridge?.. Time for a whole video on it!
Awesome beautiful bridge. Can you do the Mackinaw bridge?
Another very interesting topic is the military fort that sits under the bridge Fort Point. It has a very interesting history and is impressively massive in person it looks small next to the bridge but very easy to get lost in there.
You should do a video on the lake tyee - swan lake transmission line in Alaska, incredibly impressive and mind blowing
The documentary "The Bridge" is both haunting and fascinating.
But kyle kinane's bit about it is really funny =]
Eric steel made that shitshow under a lying pretense that he would report people that looked like they were going to jump. He instead filmed them and reported none. If you insist on watching the bridge, please pirate it.
Ya, super sad, if it's the same one I saw about the jumpers,
Simon another bridge that might be worth looking at is the bridge across the mouth of the Columbia River between State of Washington and Oregon.
I can attest to the hair-raising nature of going across it in storm conditions.
That Bridge at Astoria is also truly beautiful, as is Astoria and the entire region. I hope to go there again one day.
Well according to the most recent star trek series the bridge is still standing strong in the 32th century
and according to most action movies, it's been completely destroyed by some giant monster
@@theregularterrarian3933 don't forget all the natural disasters that have destroyed it.
Try and actually say 32th 🤯
@@stevenjones6426 thirty-tooth
*32nd
I suggested this Megaproject months ago.. and here it is, you rock!
Simon, how about another Cold War weapon project idea: The Peacekeeper Rail Garrison (could even touch on the Soviet counterpart).
I can’t imagine the now utterly dysfunctional state of California successfully building anything like this. Case in point... the high speed rail project.
Love the Megaprojects channel. Can you do an episode about Georges-Eugène Haussmann who designed the massive urban renovation program in Paris.
Excellent video. Very well done. Could you do a video on the Brooklyn Bridge?
Sydney Harbour Bridge or Opera house soon please! 😃💙
Great video. Thanks for doing this 👍🏿
Great video about a beautiful structure.
"ma-RIN" county. not "mare in".
Thank you you beat me to it, it's almost as bad as non locals mispronouncing San Rafael
@@daniellloyd2293 Don't forget San Jose or Saint Helena.
Fun fact: the foghorn at center span draws ships to the center, rather that telling ships to stay away... and its MA-RIN... my old home county!! Good stuff!!
As already some people realised, there are some false pictures in this video. You should do better research with your picture material. Sometimes the bridge shown is not the Golden Gate. It's a bridge in Lisbon, Portugal.
...misappropriation of bridge designs? And in Cali, no less!
I found a YT video a few years ago that showed the construction done by Bethlehem Steel. The video (movie, then) was produced by Bethlehem for PR. Every piece in that bridge was made in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and transported by ship through the Panama Canal to San Francisco.
At 00:50 you included a picture of the 25 de Avril Bridge which is on the other side of the planet, in Portugal.
same at 08:37!
Fun Fact: A bacteria present in the San Francisco fog actually lends San Francisco’s famous sourdough bread it’s unique taste.
Wow, that's a doozy. No, the taste comes from the old miner's sweat permeating the bread starter that they had to keep warm against their bodies. Seriously. At least that's the dominant story.
@@frequentlycynical642 Honestly seems about as plausible as fog bacteria.
Please make videos on the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridge!
this guy has more channels than strands of hair on his head
Umm....
Not tough. If he only had one channel, that would be more than strands of hair on his shaved head.
Yeah, no way he has 12 hairs up there 😆
lol
He is working on surpassing his beard hairs.
Very interesting! As always!
You kept showing the 25th of April bridge in Lisbon and the golden gate bridge interchangeably, what the hell Simon?
The Astoria and Mackinaw bridges are amazing too.
Simon any chance you could cover the Forth Bridge outside Edinburgh on here or Sideprojects? It was considered a modern marvel when completed in the 1890's and used groundbreaking techniques during the construction
Depending on how you categorize the venues, the GGB is second in the world for overall suicides. Nevertheless, it is a tragic venue, and the efforts of people trying to intervene in suspected suicide attempts is an amazing and moving story. One of the most famous people doing this was retired CHP officer Kevin Briggs. He is often called the Guardian of the Golden Gate.
His story and the resulting development of suicide prevention efforts on the bridge that grew out of his efforts would be a good video for one of Simon's other channels.
Simon, look into the Machinac Bridge in Michigan. If it’s not Mega enough it’s definitely side project material
I'm Just commenting to support Simon in the algorithm.
That's worth an up-vote.
Simon how about doing a megaproject on nuclear fusion and the unbelievably long time its taken to get even the prototype nuclear fusion reactor that is ITER working?
Yo, y'all showed Lisbon a bunch of times already ahah
Yup, right after then intro. I love how Lisbon just said "screw it" and built a mini golden gate and a Christ the Redeemer. Great city.
@@willgasmic Fun fact: the Lisbon bridge was actually built by the same company that built the Bay Bridge in San Francisco (Not the Golden Gate). It has a very similar design but is painted grey in San Francisco and painted a rust colour in Lisbon.
Kudos, atlast a mega project on megaprojects!
"ma-RIN" county, not "MAR-in" county
(I'm surprised you didn't mention that the bridge is constantly being re-painted; once it's done, it begins again.
That's typical for a bridge that size.
The Fourth Rail Bridge in Edinburgh has the same issue. Even though I've been to Edinburgh multiple times, I've never managed to see the bridge while its not being painted
Too bad they didn't use the type of steel that's self-healing through oxidation, which would have obviated the need for constant painting, although the orange they call "gold" wouldn't have been achieved and it would be a perpetual Rust Gate Bridge, which is far more fitting for Cali's deteriorating fiscal, political, and social climate.
@@galenhaugh3158 it's name has nothing to do with its colour.. the stretch of water that it crosses is called the golden gate.
Do the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, the Mackinac Bridge!
It’s beautiful and it does blend in with the natural beauty of the strait btw SF and The Marin Headlands. And sometimes the fog floats in under the roadways.
One of my favorite memories is being on the bridge at its 50th anniversary celehration in 1987. I plan to be back at its centenary in 2037.
Waiting for a video on the Large Hadron Collider. I find it endlessly fascinating.
Count the number of shots that are actually the 25 de Abril bridge :)
It is easy to identify: the Golden Gate bridge connects the columns with an H, the 25 de Abril bridge does an X.
I did some searching, the bridge pictured at 0:50, 1:00, and 8:38 is in Lisbon Portugal.
Great shirt Simon. I think I have one like it but it has pearl snaps.