Building the San
Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge:
1933 - 1936
(8 of 10 photos)
Closing the cantilever
The
bridge's chief engineer, C. H. Purcell once wrote that next to sinking the
caissons, the closing of the cantilever section was probably the most ticklish
job he faced.
Traveling derricks moved toward each other until a gap of 96 feet remained.
Eight hydraulic jacks pushed and pulled on the cantilever until the final
section was aligned and joined.