FIRST -- Bridge Constructed Using Workers Wearing Specialized Gear - San Francisco, CA
Posted by: 
bluesnote
N 37° 48.489 W 122° 28.550
10S E 546140 N 4184659
Located on the "All in a Day's Work" plaque.
Waymark Code: WMRBJ3
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/04/2016
Views: 9
The sign says, "Bridge construction began in 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression. The unemployment rate was 25 percent, and jobs were much sought after. With the expiation of highly specialized jobs, the Bridge was built by local labor. Besides the pay, the men working on the Bridge has a special incentive. They knew they were building more than just another bridge. this was going to be one of the greatest works of modern engineering.
The weather was often cold, windy, and foggy. Work had to go on inside cramped spaces. Claiming up and walking high atop the Bridge was as dangerous as it was scary.
Safety was a priority. Workers wore helmets, special wind google, and headlamps for the dark, enclosed areas- a first in bridge construction. The undercoat of paint, the primer, contained lead to prevent the steal from rusting. Worker wore respiration to protect them from the lead fumes realize during the installation of red-hot rivets. Today, the paints used on the Bridge contain no lead.
Another first in bridge building was the installation of a safety net during construction. The 19 men who fell and were saved by the net called themselves the Halfway to hell Club. The Bridge had only one fatality until February 1937. The heavy scaffold fell through the net causing 10 men to fall through their deaths. Although tragic, the number of lives lost was very low compared to the size of the project and dangers involved."
FIRST - Classification Variable: Item or Event
Date of FIRST: 01/01/1937
More Information - Web URL: Not listed
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