Инженеры Золотых ворот создали крупнейшие в мире тросы за рекордные шесть месяцев

Listen to this article in summarized format That’s the real history behind the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge’s main cables. According to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District’s official page, cable spinning began in October 1935 and wrapped up on May 20, 1936; a total of six months and nine days to spin all 27,572 separate wires per cable. The bridge itself opened nearly a year later, on May 27, 1937, once the roadway deck, paint, and remaining work were finished. This is one of those facts that just sounds insignificant at first, until you begin to realize what it really implies: the team of engineers in the depths of the Great Depression managed to build the largest bridge cables the world had ever seen. The impossible problem hiding above the water One thing people hardly mention about suspension bridges is that their cables don't come from someplace else and then get set up on a bridge. There is no way they can be moved from place to place since they are too heavy and too long. Each of the finished cables is about 7,650 feet long, a little over three feet in diameter, and weighs roughly 12,000 tons, according to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District's own account of the build. So there was no other choice but to install the cable right where it was supposed to stay, mid-air over the water. Aerial view of the Golden Gate Bridge under construction. Image credits: Wikimedia Commons The wild timeline that still makes engineers raise their eyebrows The timeline is truly remarkable in its comparison to the schedule. Roebling's Sons had been allotted roughly 14 months to spin the cables, a figure reported by both PBS's American Experience and Mental Floss's history of the build, and finished in six months and nine days, around eight months ahead of schedule. Multiple strands were spooled out at once, each a different color so as not to get mixed up, with teams switching halfway across the span. The Golden Gate Bridge at sunset. Image credits: Wikipedia Why a 90-year-old cable trick still matters This bridge was declared a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1984 by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and it continues to hold up as an example of what can be achieved when ambition, dedication, and determination come together to turn a 14-month engineering schedule into a job finished in just over six. In an age where American infrastructure projects may often exceed their deadlines and budgets, there is a certain uneasiness in looking back at a 1930s team who did the exact opposite, without a computer, drone, or Gantt chart in sight. (Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates. (Catch all the US News, UK News, Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily International News Updates.