Why the Golden Gate Bridge suddenly sounds like it’s ‘singing’
It sings in the wind, so that it won’t swing in the wind.
On Friday, San Francisco’s famed Golden Gate Bridge emitted an angelic-sounding, yet slightly creepy, hum amid high winds that could be heard from three miles away, according to CNN.
The high-pitch sound is a side effect of a recent handrail retrofit to make the nearly 9,000-foot span more aerodynamic during windy spells.
Oops. Engineering fail. New sidewalk barriers supposed to help with wind resistance but they didn’t take into account th crazy loud sound it makes when wind passes through it. Unbearably loud! pic.twitter.com/4jMgWIANVI
— StrategikDJ (@StrategikD) June 6, 2020
“We knew going into the handrail replacement that the bridge would sing during exceptionally high winds from the west,” Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District spokesperson Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz told ABC.
Indeed, during design and testing, it was discovered the bridge would sing because of air passing over the roadway more freely.
“Hypnotizing!” says Twitter user Shirin Kermani, who uploaded a video of Friday’s wind-induced, organ-like sound. The tweet earned more than 800 retweets and 2,600 likes, as well as comments including “so peaceful.”
As much as I would‘ve loved this eerie sound to be aliens coming for us, apparently it’s the installation of new wind resistance railing that has turned the Golden Gate Bridge into a huge instrument that can be heard all around the Bay!Hypnotizing! #goldengatebridge #SanFrancisco pic.twitter.com/DhWEnttp2X
— Shirin (@Shirin_Jnk) June 6, 2020
But not everyone finds the sound enchanting. “Makes me feel like I’m in a dystopian video game,” said one commenter, while another remarked: “Sounding like a horror movie. Imagining the sounds at night.”