Image via CNN
Completely counter to watching a grown American male do the same, watching the Golden Gate Bridge zip itself up is actually an interesting and wholly intriguing process.
That's right. Apparently San Francisco's iconic bridge has for years been caught with its zipper down, forced to maintain a constant traffic flow with pylons and human efforts.
Now, thanks to a behemoth truck, 1,500-pound barriers and a sweet sounding name, the bridge gets a regular tug of the zipper truck.
CNN reports on the $30 million installation that makes crossing the bridge safer and also allows we juvenile folk a chance to make zipper jokes for the duration of any future bridge-crossing trip.
The Road Zipper is truly amazing, and we will get back to the particulars. However, we have to point out the antiquated and entirely WTF manner pylons were once placed on the bridge.
Take a look at about one minute 18 seconds into this video, and you will see workers placing pylons into the road right next to oncoming traffic.
Actually, just watch a more detailed version here:
We always thought they had people come out and just place those things in the road, but we never thought it would cause sudden onset jaw dropping to occur.
Thankfully there is a mechanical solution to the dilemma, and it comes in the form of a truck that zips up an entire bridge, garnering obvious fat jokes.
Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District Manager Kerry Wit spoke with CBS San Francisco and explained the tandem effort aboard the truck: "There are two operators in the machine; one in the front end who is responsible for picking up the barrier and driving the machine itself in a straight line. The person in the back is actually steering the back wheels to precisely place the barrier where it needs to be."
The Los Angeles Times states the truck will move over 3,200 barriers on one trip at a time, sliding 1,500 barriers with tremendous ease.
Now the Golden Gate Bridge is a bit safer for the 40 million cars that traverse its expanse each year. And, most of all, it can now hold its head high knowing that its zipper is up.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
