To help prevent collisions and provide a more effective way to change traffic patterns throughout the day on the Golden Gate Bridge, the city has installed a neat new median feature. The recently installed divider uses something called a "zipper truck" that literally looks like it's zipping up and unzipping the road at different times of the day.
If you've traveled on the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, you probably know how minimal and slightly scary the old "median" was. It provided little protection from cars traveling in the opposite direction and was actually changed by hand. Every day, bridge workers would add pylons across the road to mark off lanes; they'd sit in moving trucks, aim the pylons at holes lined up on the road and hope not to miss. Just see exhibit A to the right.
Today this is no longer necessary. Instead, a zipper truck swiftly lays down a divider in different areas throughout the day according to traffic needs. For example, in the a.m., traffic flowing in one direction might have four lanes, then later it might be reduced to fewer lanes when more people are traveling in the reverse direction. Having a movable median on the Golden Gate Bridge, rather than a permanent concrete divider, was a smart choice for this very reason, and we think local commuters will greatly benefit from the new change.
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