Comments on: How San Francisco’s Massive New Suspension Bridge Will Withstand Megaquakes

By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 01:00:53 +0000

Not sure I agree with the negativity on this one.

What do we always say we hate about government? Inaction, gridlock, inefficiency. Yet here is a real response to an identified problem. The government isn’t waiting until after the Big One, they have acted in advance of that.

OK, so it’s expensive. When has building heavily reinforced, earthquake resistant structures been cheap? Would you bet your life on a cheap earthquake resistant bridge? Sometimes you get what you pay for.

By: Veronique Greenwood

Veronique Greenwood — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:58:13 +0000

@Edmund, whoops, you’re right! Fixed.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:21:46 +0000

It’s not a single point, it’s four points that happen to be close to each other. Even if one of the towers breaks lose, the other three will hold it in place.

By: Marc Vader

Marc Vader — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:34:29 +0000

For $6 Billion they could probably (and should) build a whole new public transportation system.

By: Edmund Metheny

Edmund Metheny — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:36:32 +0000

Just a minor correction – the City of San Francisco is not building the bridge, it is a State project.

By: NOYB

NOYB — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:02:58 +0000

A sure Single Point Of Failure (SPOF).

Remember the ‘Unsinkable ship’ (Titanic)?

What a fiasco.

By: Jockaira

Jockaira — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:34:02 +0000

Thanks for the pic and the explanation of the principle of this bridge. As a long-time resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve seen many articles on his subject.

Yours is the best. With very few words and a single picture, you’ve told essentially the whole story of this bridge and its design. Very Nice!