Golden Gate Bridge closes to install new collision barrier

Author: AP
Published:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Officials say the Golden Gate Bridge shut down to private vehicles early Saturday so workers can install a moveable median barrier designed to prevent head-on collisions.

Lt. Hector Bough of bridge security says the iconic structured closed around midnight and will remain closed until 4 a.m. PST Monday.

Transit buses, emergency vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists will still be able to cross the bridge while the steel and cement barrier is being installed.

The closure will be the longest in the bridge’s history and the first since 1987, when it closed for a few hours for a celebration of its 50th anniversary.

Currently, small plastic tubes are all that separate vehicles traveling in opposite directions.

They have done little to prevent crashes. Since 1970, 16 motorists have died in head-on collisions on the famous span.

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