San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is about to get a facelift thanks to a $400 million federal investment. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg revealed yesterday that the investment will fund seismic retrofitting upgrades to improve the bridge’s resiliency against earthquakes.
Buttigieg announced the news on Monday, Jan. 23rd, gathering before the Golden Gate Bridge with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, SF Mayor London Breed, and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu. Pelosi was credited multiple times with securing the necessary funds and getting the bill passed.
The funding comes from Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides $550 billion in funding for transportation infrastructure improvements throughout the U.S. between 2022-2026.
About $2.1 billion was allocated to the Bridge Investment Program, which chose 4 main bridges to upgrade including our very own Golden Gate. The other bridges receiving grants are the Brent Spence Bridge in Kentucky/Ohio, the Calumet River Bridges in Illinois, and the Gold Star Memorial Bridge in Connecticut.
“There is only one Golden Gate Bridge, and we are going to protect it.” said Buttigieg to applause. He elaborated that the the project will “install 40 energy-dissipation devices, strengthen the bracing and floor beams, retrofit the towers, and more.” It will also create “years and years of new good union jobs for ironworkers, sheet metal workers, electrical workers, laborers, [and] operating engineers.”
“From the very moment that it opened, this bridge has stood as one of the most essential and recognizable in our country,” said Buttigieg. “…but of course the significance of the Golden Gate Bridge is not just a matter of its vivid place in our American landscape. It’s also very much a working piece of infrastructure and an essential one at that. This bridge plays an indispensable role in the save movement of countless people and goods across this region.”