SkyscraperPage Forum - The Golden Gate Bridge 'humming' is driving people crazy.

SkyscraperPage Forum (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/index.php)

- Engineering (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=53)

- - The Golden Gate Bridge 'humming' is driving people crazy. (https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246877)

The Golden Gate Bridge 'humming' is driving people crazy.

Quote:

A team of engineers is working to shut it up
Photo of Steve Rubenstein
Steve Rubenstein
May 14, 2021
Updated: May 15, 2021 8:27 a.m.

An loud hum emanates from the Golden Gate Bridge on windy days since a sidewalk railing was retrofitted about a year ago.

Somewhere in eastern Canada, some of the greatest minds in aerodynamics are hard at work on a slightly secretive mission of the utmost importance to many San Franciscans’ ear drums.

Their goal? To make the Golden Gate Bridge shut up.

It’s been nearly a year since the beautiful bridge began making its beastly racket, much to the chagrin of many who live nearby.

The noise, usually characterized as a loud hum, occurs on windy days and came about following a retrofit of the sidewalk safety railing on the bridge’s western side. Twelve thousand narrower slats were installed — replacing the original, fatter ones — to give the bridge a slimmer profile and make it safer in high winds.

But along with safety came the hum, as winds whipped through the new, narrower slats. Commuters on the bridge can hear it. Neighbors can hear it. Folks as far away as Daly City can hear it . . . .

https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/ar...photo-20993250

What an awful noise....holy smokes. It reminds me of the sound from that tower in the UK...the giant one with metal cladding which created a hum in the wind....or well, the big tower in my neighbourhood which at one point did hum until the fixed the problem.

^^What drives me crazy is that even though I live 4-5 miles from the GG Bridge (and a couple miles from any water) I can hear its fog horn clearly on foggy nights. I think the sound bounces off the low-hanging cloud layer or something. I don't hear this new sound though or if I do I didn't notice it mixed with traffic noise and such.

Worse than cicadas

It can be loud, and wakes you up.