I lived in SF for 30 yrs. Every now and then, once or twice a year maybe, there was a horrendous head-on collision on the GGB because there was no physical barrier between the traffic lanes. They used rubber day-glo cones which were shifted manually twice a day for morning and evening rush hour. Every time there was another collision, there was a lot of talk about what to do about the problem. I'm glad to see a solution has been created.
The movable median barrier system allows the use of four of the six lanes into The City in the morning and then four of the six out of The City in the afternoon to improve traffic flow. The previous system of pylons resulted in 16 deaths from head on collisions from 1968 to 2015.
128 head-on collisions with 16 deaths in 40 years in less than one mile is statistically significant. So much so that traffic engineers and planners decided to install a movable median barrier.
I lived in San Francisco from 1973 until 1980. Guess what? The traffic ran better than it does now and the number of accidents has gone up, not down, because of stupid, idiotic drivers.
Many people are complaining about the ridiculousness of this system, saying things like "people can move them by hand" or "just use overhead signs". In terms of people moving them, how exactly will those people be protected from high speed traffic zipping along a road which has pretty much no escape areas, not to mention walking the length of this thing without ANY form of protection. As for overhead signs, that works fine for a normal road on which cars have room to pull over safely (maybe on a sidewalk or nature strip), have access from side streets for tow truck or emergency services. All it would take is one tired driver not paying attention to the overhead signs, causing a multi-car pile up with possible fatalities. Any kind of collision on a bridge this size will cause traffic jams for kilometers and make it very difficult for emergency serevices to get to the accident site. Short of building an extra lane and erecting a permanent barrier down the middle, this is the best solution.
Yeah your theory about overhead lights not working is kinda void consider thats the system we use through out Australia without incident, the sydney harbour for example has no sidewalk or nature strip or access from side streets. This is just straight up dumb, expensive and over-engineering for a simple problem.
@@hiz24airness Sydney Harbour Bridge length: 1149 meters Golden Gate Bridge length: 2737 meters That’s almost three times the distance, which would make emergency vehicle access a veritable nightmare in the event of a major crash. The Golden Gate Bridge is also a significant distance from city centres (3kms in one direction and 6kms in the other) as opposed to the Harbour Bridge which is smack bang in the middle of heavily populated urban areas, making access far easier. Apples Oranges
@@ondrejsedlak4935 wouldnt width be more relevant mate. I noticed u didnt mention that. You dont need emergency vehicles when u dont drive like fuck wits in peak hour.
@@ondrejsedlak4935 You said "have room to pull over safely" thats a width issue not a length issue. The time it takes to set up 3k of road is time wasted in peak hour where you can instantly flick a switch, save on wages, remove a massive obstruction that blocks two lanes while being set up and even make one an emergancy lane that can be triggered by the same lights if there is an incident..
Yeah immediately after I saw this comment I scrolled down and saw a comment on how gay san francisco is and how theres a quote "disco ball in there with 5 men getting it on" 😂
@@simpleman8883 Most if not all of the gay clubs in SF are in a small neighborhood known as the Castro. Maybe you will find your gay disco ball there. The rest of the city actually is pretty comparable to other large cities as far as gay rights and gay businesses are concerned.
I go over that bridge every day and this thing is a life saver. Brilliant to be able to add a lane to one side based on rush hour patterns. In the morning, southbound is one lane wider. Around 4pm they begin to give that lane to the northbound side.
Memphis used to have lanes that changed direction on Union Avenue, using electronic overhead signage. 6 lanes, 4 west and 2 east in the morning, 3 & 3 mid-day, and 2 west/4 eastbound in the evening. It was a NIGHTMARE until finally they just removed them all and made it 3 lanes each direction all the time in the early 2000's. Each lane had a sign overhead every few hundred yards with a green arrow or a red X. It was truly awful trying to drive on that road.
Art Vandelay I had these on my daily commute over Teddy Roosevelt Bridge (from Virginia to DC), and while it was handy, it was also super nervewracking because part of it went around a curve, and the barriers extended 1/4 of the way into your lane on that curve. You just had to be extra mindful of somebody that might be next to you. I also just hated driving 60 mph merely inches away from concrete barriers (so I often went to the next lane)
Some closeups of the Barrier Transfer Machine (BTM) repositioning the new Moveable Median Barrier (MMB) on the Golden Gate Bridge at the tail end of its Thursday morning run on January 15, 2015. It started at the northern (Marin) end and this video is of it reaching the end of its run at the southern (San Francisco) end, near the toll plaza. The new Moveable Median Barrier (MMB) system is about 13,340 feet of 12-inch wide and 32-inch high steel clad units filled with high density concrete pinned together to form a semi-rigid median barrier. There are two barrier transfer machines, aka “zipper” trucks. This replaces, and is a vast improvement over, the old yellow plastic pylon divider system, which you can see still in partial use here to block off some lanes at the toll plaza. #goldengatebridge #goldengate #sanfrancisco #sanfranciscobayarea #medianbarrier #ggbridge #barriertransfermachine
The underlying issue is that the GG bridge is five lanes wide so it's a way to get three lanes for the heaviest traffic flow during commute hours. Way safer than the old method of a guy sitting on a truck moving rubber cones twice a day. I once saw a guy make a three-point U-turn in the middle of the bridge, a miracle nobody was killed.
I've never seen any turns on the bridge...a streaker in the early 70s...I grew up w the 🌉🌉... 💕 seeing comments...I remember the guy in on the truck w the cones...I saw him doing it at times 🌉💖🌹.if and when it gets destroyed..part of my life will fade...let's hope it stays around 🌉💖
Yeah, but for that you either need to shut down the entire lane until it's cleared so you can switch, or you need redundant lights/tracking systems to know which part of the lane is cleared to reverse it piecemail. I think this is a better solution. More analog, less room for human error. If being alive has taught me anything, it's that making it harder for humans to screw up is in everyone's best interests.
For all the comments about money...if you can increase traffic flow, you can get more people across, which more pay the tolls that then pay for the zipper. It's likely not very expensive in the end, or breaks even, or makes money. Also, it needs a barrier, there are a lot of cars and most of the time going 50+mph, it's basically a freeway.
Looks like they switched it to favor the side that will be getting the most traffic. It cost about a billion to create another golden gate bridge. Editing this one to add more lanes would be pretty costly I assume. Spending a few million dollars on this is pretty smart.
in morning hours cars drive more from outside city to inside city limits and viceversa in the evening so this helps it. and where road can't be widened. 🎯
If a lot of people watch a video at the same time then the algorithm recommends that video to other people, it's YT trying to get users (especially new users) occupied watching more and more videos
why are there so many idiot comments. The machine allows for higher traffic volumes during peak hours in either direction. when people are heading to work the machine makes that direction have an extra lane and vice versa when people are heading home.
i think this huge truck sitting in the middle of the road (moving the barriers to decrease traffic in the busiest lane), is actually increasing traffic in both lanes more than decreasing. It seems to have a reverse effect to the desired one... Cars even have to slow down when passing near the truck, hence putting pressure in the traffic, then they also have an entire lane closed because of that truck... It just seems pretty stupd...
heavy vehicle used to transfer concrete lane dividers, such as jersey barriers, which are used to relieve traffic congestion during rush hours. Many other cities use them temporarily during construction work
Sure we do, on the Highway, where the lanes already are seperated. You wont find a single road that is seperated only by signs, you need a barrier. Or an alternative marking in the colour yellow, in case of a smaller road.. ;)
never, never toss around any kind of expert title with the word engineer in it...they complicate everything according to their specialty....common sense and a bit of elbow grease will out think an engineer every time...
I like it. The Golden Gate's lanes are narrow, and without the barrier it's nerve wracking. They were probably tired of horrible accidents on the bridge. So this was a good idea.
seths1997 thats pretty smart to use it that way then the traffic going to work in the morning has an extra lane and going home in the evening has an extra lane
The old 2-mile-long Tappan Zee Bridge in NYC used these zippers for many years. In the morning 4 lanes inbound, 3 outbound, in the evening the reverse. The moveable median wall employed two barrier movers working together, each moving the wall half the distance. The new Tappan Zee bridge opened last year and I'm not sure if the zippers are still used there.
They move the divider twice a day, every weekday? In Vancouver they have lights overhead to indicate which lane goes into what direction. There are no dividers just like regular streets.
+ouagadougou62: The three-lane Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver is considerably smaller than the six-lane Golden Gate Brdige and cannot handle the same volume of traffic. Overhead lights will not stop head-on collisions. In May 2008, a driver passed out at the wheel on the Golden Gate Bridge and slammed into Grace Dammann in the opposite lane. The force of two cars going 50 MPH and crashing to each other head-on is equivalent to colliding into a stationary object at 100 MPH. You can see the results in the trailer of this documentary made after the incident. vimeo.com/26124168
In addition, this of you who can can understand why they just don't add lanes...OMG. The cost, the upheaval, the sheer magnitude of widening this iconic bridge built in 4 years in mid-1930's. It's a national landmark, not just a random bridge.
We have the same concept in Denver as HOV lanes. They are a dedicated, separated, 2 lanes in the center of the highway with gates to allow traffic for rush hour in either direction as necessary. A bit safer and less costly in the long run.
I wonder if it would be easier to put up lights to make each lane reversable? One could open or close lanes with the flick of a switch, set to a program, or temporary for certain events. Seems to be more efficient.
Certainly would be easier, no doubt, but if dashcam video's on UA-cam prove anything it's that some drivers' attention spans are short and warning signs or traffic lights go unnoticed... If only one car driver either doesn't notice the lights or thinks it safe to overtake a car using the switch lane, the consequences of a head-on-head collision at 100 kmph (60 mph) could be disastrous. Best to be on the safe side of a road barrier ^.^
Michael Witt Also would be easier by setting a sign(digital maybe, in case of specisl situations or hollidays) at the beginning of the bridge telling the drivers this line is now in which direction.
Michael Witt we have you describe here in Canada. Works like a charm provided people actually follow the lane indicators. We call them "Flex lanes". I'd imagine the people where this is filmed are all either too stupid or too self entitled to follow the lane controls though.
The guys in New Zealand have got this perfected... the lane changes are done in minutes with no disruptions. Peak hour morning traffic gets extra lanes into Aukland and less leaving the city. In the afternoon the process is reversed... like clockwork...
Micah Fischer You ain't kidding! We have the same problem here in NY and these scumbags wonder why they can't stay within local and state budgets. Also the reason behind extremely high taxes! SMH....
Man, I love seeing this stuff, and I also love when people get into fights about it because I just get to laugh at them as I live on the other side of the U.S.
This is the safest way to micro manage traffic congestion at certain periods of the day ie peak hour periods morning and night traffic crossing the bridge to and fro from the city. They have a similar type of BTM in Auckland New Zealand on the Harbour Bridge actually 2 one follows the other moving while opening or closing 2 lanes at time
What is the benefit to this versus those "Check Marks" and "X"'s that I've seen on bridges and tunnels marking which lanes are open and closed to certain directions of traffic?
I was thinking the same LiveTrash. It would be far more cost effective to have a series of overhead signals telling drivers which lanes are open. This looks stupid expensive.
Tim Morgan I was thinking that but they're pretty self regulating. I mean, you go in the wrong lane and you've got a lane full of people coming towards you to contend with.
and how does that prevent loss of life in the inevitable accidental head on collision? it doesn't. The GG bridge used to use cones, and people died because people are generally crappy drivers. you really want people driving face to face at 45 miles each with only a plastic cone between the two of you?
Mark Weinhardt Obviously not, that’s why we only use them to close off lanes or create contra flows, on each respective side of the carriageway, they are never used in the UK, to divide a lane between oncoming vehicles, which would be suicidal.
If you have driven on the GG Bridge that was built in the 1930's, you would know that the six driving lanes are very narrow and the only barrier for decades were cones. Numerous head on accidents have occurred. The MMB is a reasonable alternative even though it takes more footage out of the 'two center lanes'.
Bigger Brudda Gee, thanks captain obvious, i would never have fucking guessed. But this comment is not good enough. I hate UA-cam. We must build a wall. The wall is gonna be huge and i gonna let UA-cam pay for it.
Cool. I didnt realize the bay area had this. Hawaii (Oahu) has had a zipper lane for morning commute traffic from the west side of the island since 1998.
Before the Zipper, moveable plastic pylons divided northbound and southbound lanes. The Golden Gate Bridge has unusually narrow lanes. Sudden gusts of high winds are common. Combined, this meant that even minor swerving by drivers frequently caused head-on collisions. Many of these were fatal. Signals would be as ineffective as the plastic pylons were in preventing collisions. The Zipper provides a hard but moveable barrier between lanes of opposing traffic. Changing the plastic pylons took a crew of at least 3 people, picking up and installing pylons from the back of a truck. The Zipper requires only a driver.
+Coastalcamper Ca I remember those, has this solved the traffic problems? don't think so...I now you can see vehicles splitting lanes to avoid that zamboni, this also increases toll $2-3 since last time I was there (yes its been awhile) but I guarantee you they won't lower the toll once that thing is paid off! there's maintenance and salaries for 3-4 workers (which claims it's a dangerous job, and is!)
How about this? Put barriers on BOTH sides of the lane, a simple gate and light system at each end, and make the changeover at any time, in about two minutes, without moving a single block. Is that too hard?
Umm, think a little before posting. That would be a disaster. People would have to drive in a single lane, close to a barrier on either side...they would end up hitting the barrier and clogging all traffic in the lane. Plus, no one would want to use the lane because they can't switch lanes.
This type of barrier is not useless. The Auckland harbour bridge in New Zealand has had one for 20 years, and there has not been a fatal crash on that bridge since. Anyone who thinks it has no purpose has no regard for the lives it saves every day
Because in the morning there is more traffic going into the city, and in the evening there is more traffic coming out of the city. So to make the most of the space on the road, they shift the barriers.
Because then there is no jersey barrier, and head-on collisions kinda suck almost as much as the average American driver. Seriously though, we do have systems like that here, it's just more dangerous.
It does feel more dangerous than barriers, but I've never heard of anyone actual ignoring the flow of traffic and the signs where I'm from. It must be safer for the amount of money it costs, whatever is safer is better.
John Thorgard ...lights do not stop oncoming traffic from collisions...the Auckland harbour bridge has had this system successfully in place since the late 80's.
FAST FACTS The bridge currently carries average traffic on I-101 of 110,000 vehicles/day, with that volume projected to rise to 138,000 vehicles/day by 2038 11,500 feet of barrier consist of 12-inch wide x 32 inch high steel-clad units filled with high-density concrete In one pass, the barrier is transferred 11 feet and gently set down without damaging the road at speeds up to 10 mph Barriers can withstand the force of a 4,400-pound truck traveling at 62 miles per hour, virtually eliminating crossover collisions
Well, for some reason it randomly popped in my recommended section I am not sure I've never watched anything similar to this, but it looked interesting ha maybe the same happened to others.
Been wondering if there is any law requiring that barrier at all. I have seen many places where they just solve this by overhead traffic lights controlling the middle (or more than one middle) lane.
We have those here in America too. This zipper truck is better in my opinion because it puts a physical barrier between the two directions of traffic, and is much safer.
I have to agree. A digital system may be more cost effective, but it's also far easier for things to go wrong. A physical barrier makes the entire affair simpler, and more idiot-proof, which is a good idea when you're hurtling along in several thousand pound machines. I figure you might be somewhat aware of how dangerous vehicles are, being German and all. ;)
when I was in sfo last time, they still where manually plugging poles into holes in the street. the workers have been very skilled i saw a machine like that in philly once.
Who else wanted to see that thing go 100 mph moving the barriers 😂
keeblerelmcookies That would be epic.
Lol same
🤣😂😅😵🤔🌹
Probably sound like cracking a whip!
I can sleep better tonight after years and years of wondering how the hell those things moved!
Merchant Ivory same lol
Merchant Ivory hahaha😂😂😂😂
I never knew of the existence of such a machine/vehicle until I came across this video in my feed.
my sentiments exactly
If that thing breaks do people then yell out the window as they drive by "hey, your zipper is down!"?
😁
That's not funny. It's embarrassing
you got me there>.
I live in San Francisco and honestly my dad says it isn't even a traffic hazard, we've never had and bad experiences.
Morty Sanchez
Someone put in pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In case that piece of equipment breaks down.
Does the boss tell the highway worker,
"Your zipper is down"?
I'm going to need this zipper for my old Levis.
I lived in SF for 30 yrs. Every now and then, once or twice a year maybe, there was a horrendous head-on collision on the GGB because there was no physical barrier between the traffic lanes. They used rubber day-glo cones which were shifted manually twice a day for morning and evening rush hour. Every time there was another collision, there was a lot of talk about what to do about the problem. I'm glad to see a solution has been created.
Yep agreed, but solution was adopted rather than created.
I drive across The Golden Gate Bridge on a weekly basis and this moving wall is something to behold. This safety wall has been needed for years.
The movable median barrier system allows the use of four of the six lanes into The City in the morning and then four of the six out of The City in the afternoon to improve traffic flow. The previous system of pylons resulted in 16 deaths from head on collisions from 1968 to 2015.
128 head-on collisions with 16 deaths in 40 years in less than one mile is statistically significant. So much so that traffic engineers and planners decided to install a movable median barrier.
I lived in San Francisco from 1973 until 1980. Guess what? The traffic ran better than it does now and the number of accidents has gone up, not down, because of stupid, idiotic drivers.
@@captainklar4923 are you sure the amount of traffic hasn't increased?
Many people are complaining about the ridiculousness of this system, saying things like "people can move them by hand" or "just use overhead signs".
In terms of people moving them, how exactly will those people be protected from high speed traffic zipping along a road which has pretty much no escape areas, not to mention walking the length of this thing without ANY form of protection.
As for overhead signs, that works fine for a normal road on which cars have room to pull over safely (maybe on a sidewalk or nature strip), have access from side streets for tow truck or emergency services. All it would take is one tired driver not paying attention to the overhead signs, causing a multi-car pile up with possible fatalities.
Any kind of collision on a bridge this size will cause traffic jams for kilometers and make it very difficult for emergency serevices to get to the accident site. Short of building an extra lane and erecting a permanent barrier down the middle, this is the best solution.
Yeah your theory about overhead lights not working is kinda void consider thats the system we use through out Australia without incident, the sydney harbour for example has no sidewalk or nature strip or access from side streets. This is just straight up dumb, expensive and over-engineering for a simple problem.
@@hiz24airness Sydney Harbour Bridge length: 1149 meters
Golden Gate Bridge length: 2737 meters
That’s almost three times the distance, which would make emergency vehicle access a veritable nightmare in the event of a major crash.
The Golden Gate Bridge is also a significant distance from city centres (3kms in one direction and 6kms in the other) as opposed to the Harbour Bridge which is smack bang in the middle of heavily populated urban areas, making access far easier.
Apples Oranges
@@ondrejsedlak4935 wouldnt width be more relevant mate. I noticed u didnt mention that.
You dont need emergency vehicles when u dont drive like fuck wits in peak hour.
@@ondrejsedlak4935 You said "have room to pull over safely" thats a width issue not a length issue. The time it takes to set up 3k of road is time wasted in peak hour where you can instantly flick a switch, save on wages, remove a massive obstruction that blocks two lanes while being set up and even make one an emergancy lane that can be triggered by the same lights if there is an incident..
@@hiz24airness In an ideal world…
This is one of the strangest comment sections I've ever seen. Its just pure unfiltered chaos
Yeah immediately after I saw this comment I scrolled down and saw a comment on how gay san francisco is and how theres a quote "disco ball in there with 5 men getting it on" 😂
We can always get you some filtered chaos. And would you like fries with that?
@@simpleman8883 Most if not all of the gay clubs in SF are in a small neighborhood known as the Castro. Maybe you will find your gay disco ball there. The rest of the city actually is pretty comparable to other large cities as far as gay rights and gay businesses are concerned.
@@mharris5047 Ok, thanks for the trivia, though I never implied malice in my coment, just that there was a comment I found funny.
Can a Brit just say that this idea is utterly brilliant. Way to go Guys.
I go over that bridge every day and this thing is a life saver. Brilliant to be able to add a lane to one side based on rush hour patterns. In the morning, southbound is one lane wider. Around 4pm they begin to give that lane to the northbound side.
Memphis used to have lanes that changed direction on Union Avenue, using electronic overhead signage. 6 lanes, 4 west and 2 east in the morning, 3 & 3 mid-day, and 2 west/4 eastbound in the evening. It was a NIGHTMARE until finally they just removed them all and made it 3 lanes each direction all the time in the early 2000's. Each lane had a sign overhead every few hundred yards with a green arrow or a red X. It was truly awful trying to drive on that road.
Art Vandelay I had these on my daily commute over Teddy Roosevelt Bridge (from Virginia to DC), and while it was handy, it was also super nervewracking because part of it went around a curve, and the barriers extended 1/4 of the way into your lane on that curve. You just had to be extra mindful of somebody that might be next to you. I also just hated driving 60 mph merely inches away from concrete barriers (so I often went to the next lane)
It changes to 3 lanes from 2. Going into S.F. and then going out at evening rush hour. Pretty cool
That is awesome! I could not do that job for long though. It protects the workers, and helps with traffic. Super cool!
Some closeups of the Barrier Transfer Machine (BTM) repositioning the new Moveable Median Barrier (MMB) on the Golden Gate Bridge at the tail end of its Thursday morning run on January 15, 2015. It started at the northern (Marin) end and this video is of it reaching the end of its run at the southern (San Francisco) end, near the toll plaza.
The new Moveable Median Barrier (MMB) system is about 13,340 feet of 12-inch wide and 32-inch high steel clad units filled with high density concrete pinned together to form a semi-rigid median barrier. There are two barrier transfer machines, aka “zipper” trucks.
This replaces, and is a vast improvement over, the old yellow plastic pylon divider system, which you can see still in partial use here to block off some lanes at the toll plaza.
#goldengatebridge #goldengate #sanfrancisco #sanfranciscobayarea #medianbarrier #ggbridge #barriertransfermachine
I'm glad u said what it is in what it does...lol I honestly thought it was a ride or tourist thing so u can look out better than u wud in a car
where is this from ?
The underlying issue is that the GG bridge is five lanes wide so it's a way to get three lanes for the heaviest traffic flow during commute hours. Way safer than the old method of a guy sitting on a truck moving rubber cones twice a day. I once saw a guy make a three-point U-turn in the middle of the bridge, a miracle nobody was killed.
Amazing. Thankyou for explaining
I've never seen any turns on the bridge...a streaker in the early 70s...I grew up w the 🌉🌉... 💕 seeing comments...I remember the guy in on the truck w the cones...I saw him doing it at times 🌉💖🌹.if and when it gets destroyed..part of my life will fade...let's hope it stays around 🌉💖
The God's of UA-cam decided that today this video should be go viral.
In Germany we have lights at the street that show you which direction you gotta drive...so this looks kind of weird xD
Yeah, but for that you either need to shut down the entire lane until it's cleared so you can switch, or you need redundant lights/tracking systems to know which part of the lane is cleared to reverse it piecemail. I think this is a better solution. More analog, less room for human error.
If being alive has taught me anything, it's that making it harder for humans to screw up is in everyone's best interests.
For all the comments about money...if you can increase traffic flow, you can get more people across, which more pay the tolls that then pay for the zipper. It's likely not very expensive in the end, or breaks even, or makes money. Also, it needs a barrier, there are a lot of cars and most of the time going 50+mph, it's basically a freeway.
Fr the conservatives just tryna find anything to shit on 😂. They lack such common sence
Looks like they switched it to favor the side that will be getting the most traffic. It cost about a billion to create another golden gate bridge. Editing this one to add more lanes would be pretty costly I assume. Spending a few million dollars on this is pretty smart.
in morning hours cars drive more from outside city to inside city limits and viceversa in the evening so this helps it. and where road can't be widened.
🎯
How does the UA-cam recommendation process work?
If you're getting random videos recommended to you, then obviously random!!
@@JesseMonster 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Horribly
I can honestly say, I didn't search zipper also.
If a lot of people watch a video at the same time then the algorithm recommends that video to other people, it's YT trying to get users (especially new users) occupied watching more and more videos
1:40 Hopefully the driver will be a big brave boy and try it without the stabilizers next time! We'll all rooting for you Timmy!
O L hahahaha
This comment section is actually the greatest piece of entertainment ive ever witnessed
I agree. This is like the B-Ark from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
why are there so many idiot comments. The machine allows for higher traffic volumes during peak hours in either direction. when people are heading to work the machine makes that direction have an extra lane and vice versa when people are heading home.
@Suchan Kim probably two shifts.
@Suchan Kim They probably only run that machine twice a day. It's not running 24/7.
In Australia, we just have lights overhead that show green and red during peak and off peak. This seems likes overengineering a simple problem.
i think this huge truck sitting in the middle of the road (moving the barriers to decrease traffic in the busiest lane), is actually increasing traffic in both lanes more than decreasing. It seems to have a reverse effect to the desired one... Cars even have to slow down when passing near the truck, hence putting pressure in the traffic, then they also have an entire lane closed because of that truck... It just seems pretty stupd...
@@namewasstolenstresslevel2111 the truck is not running all the time. It moves the wall and gets out of the way.
This shit is like 2 years old and the comments are fresh
Clorox Bleach right lmao
heavy vehicle used to transfer concrete lane dividers, such as jersey barriers, which are used to relieve traffic congestion during rush hours. Many other cities use them temporarily during construction work
I used to be the BEST road zipper in the world 'till this darn machine done took ma jerb!!!
I counted 6 operators in the dual cabs, and two dudes on the ground. Seriously? There is no way that is necessary!
Maybe they were training or something.
They are def training. You can tell by what they are doing.
In Germany, we have electronic signs that indicate the lanes you can use on your side, but this looks cooler
Poggy LP Americans are to stupid for that. there would be so many head on collisions.
Sean Gillis We have some in Seattle
Sure we do, on the Highway, where the lanes already are seperated.
You wont find a single road that is seperated only by signs, you need a barrier. Or an alternative marking in the colour yellow, in case of a smaller road.. ;)
ToysOmadnesS so you have never been to Berlin I guess?
I´ve lived there for a year. Where the hell should that be?
I love all the self-proclaimed civil engineers on here.
never, never toss around any kind of expert title with the word engineer in it...they complicate everything according to their specialty....common sense and a bit of elbow grease will out think an engineer every time...
it's not just civil engineers lol. mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, ... That specialized truck is honestly pretty ingenious.
I like it. The Golden Gate's lanes are narrow, and without the barrier it's nerve wracking. They were probably tired of horrible accidents on the bridge. So this was a good idea.
got one of these here in Boston; opens HOV for inbound traffic in the morning, southbound in the afternoon
seths1997 thats pretty smart to use it that way then the traffic going to work in the morning has an extra lane and going home in the evening has an extra lane
While in Melbourne we simply got a digital sign telling when the lane is open for inbound or outbound traffic.
seths1997 I just remember a couple years ago that a deer jumped into the open side door of it
Kni same thing in Vancouver last time I was there too lol
Never even knew something like that existed but it makes sense now
Helps with traffic depending on the direction and time of day. Smart.
Well that's 1 way to do your 8 hour work day just roll back and forth the whole day LMAO
How did I live all this time and not know about this!!!! Wow!
The old 2-mile-long Tappan Zee Bridge in NYC used these zippers for many years. In the morning 4 lanes inbound, 3 outbound, in the evening the reverse. The moveable median wall employed two barrier movers working together, each moving the wall half the distance. The new Tappan Zee bridge opened last year and I'm not sure if the zippers are still used there.
The tiny wheel in the back is like a lifeguard at the Olympics.
Things you don't miss when you move to the country! 😉
1 traffic
2 noise
3 people
I would definitely miss people.
That would be a boring ass life being alone in the fuckin country
Unusual, as never seen one of those before. Cheers for posting anyway.
Such a very big improvement on the old system. There were usually three accidents a day under the old system.
A masterpiece in engineering
Thanks UA-cam recommendations
I completely understand the concept of the machinery.
But why in the flying yellow fuck was he going back & forth.
Techxxz ...caltrans hourly employee.
Techxxz the hours won't milk themselves
ever zip pass the franks and beans? gotta back it up
They move the divider twice a day, every weekday? In Vancouver they have lights overhead to indicate which lane goes into what direction. There are no dividers just like regular streets.
+ouagadougou62: The three-lane Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver is considerably smaller than the six-lane Golden Gate Brdige and cannot handle the same volume of traffic. Overhead lights will not stop head-on collisions. In May 2008, a driver passed out at the wheel on the Golden Gate Bridge and slammed into Grace Dammann in the opposite lane. The force of two cars going 50 MPH and crashing to each other head-on is equivalent to colliding into a stationary object at 100 MPH. You can see the results in the trailer of this documentary made after the incident. vimeo.com/26124168
In addition, this of you who can can understand why they just don't add lanes...OMG. The cost, the upheaval, the sheer magnitude of widening this iconic bridge built in 4 years in mid-1930's. It's a national landmark, not just a random bridge.
We have the same concept in Denver as HOV lanes. They are a dedicated, separated, 2 lanes in the center of the highway with gates to allow traffic for rush hour in either direction as necessary. A bit safer and less costly in the long run.
If you crash your car into it, would this be described as getting "caught in the zip"?
AerialExplorer No
Has this video been on everyone's recommended? So many comments from today.
the rush hour will be over before this thing reached the other side....
Very cool, I never saw a thing like this before.
I'm no expert but this seems like an overly complicated way to open and close a lane
It's not simply opening and closing a lane, but swapping the direction of the center lane.
It is rocket science for liberals
What's a much less complicated way to just make or take a lane daily? Put cones out by hand?
@@MeximidgeComedy right? Is this foo stupid?
@@markperry2827 you’re a trumptard?
Anyone else find this satisfying?
you must be fun at parties, it's a joke lol
Why isn't there an app for your cellphone so you can just download extra lanes?
I wonder if it would be easier to put up lights to make each lane reversable? One could open or close lanes with the flick of a switch, set to a program, or temporary for certain events. Seems to be more efficient.
Certainly would be easier, no doubt, but if dashcam video's on UA-cam prove anything it's that some drivers' attention spans are short and warning signs or traffic lights go unnoticed... If only one car driver either doesn't notice the lights or thinks it safe to overtake a car using the switch lane, the consequences of a head-on-head collision at 100 kmph (60 mph) could be disastrous. Best to be on the safe side of a road barrier ^.^
Michael Witt Also would be easier by setting a sign(digital maybe, in case of specisl situations or hollidays) at the beginning of the bridge telling the drivers this line is now in which direction.
Michael Witt we have you describe here in Canada. Works like a charm provided people actually follow the lane indicators. We call them "Flex lanes". I'd imagine the people where this is filmed are all either too stupid or too self entitled to follow the lane controls though.
This is literally what the Peace Bridge between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, NY has.
The guys in New Zealand have got this perfected... the lane changes are done in minutes with no disruptions. Peak hour morning traffic gets extra lanes into Aukland and less leaving the city. In the afternoon the process is reversed... like clockwork...
Two years later and I'm fascinated about this 😳😤😂
Very slow and look how many people the thing takes to operate. Should be a one man job with a machine that size.
So what do you do for a living? - I swap lanes
And probably makes over $100K also.
Micah Fischer You ain't kidding! We have the same problem here in NY and these scumbags wonder why they can't stay within local and state budgets. Also the reason behind extremely high taxes! SMH....
+Scott Guzman "extremely high taxes"
Man, I love seeing this stuff, and I also love when people get into fights about it because I just get to laugh at them as I live on the other side of the U.S.
This is a most interesting machine! Looks like it could save a life or two
hammer slamper what are you talking about
Chuck King no bodies moving cones!
This is the safest way to micro manage traffic congestion at certain periods of the day ie peak hour periods morning and night traffic crossing the bridge to and fro from the city. They have a similar type of BTM in Auckland New Zealand on the Harbour Bridge actually 2 one follows the other moving while opening or closing 2 lanes at time
2:52 Hold up is that fucking BMW Missing a Full Headlight?
Yes
Don't worry about it. they never work anyway. Just like the blinkers, speedometer and mirrors. :P
What is the benefit to this versus those "Check Marks" and "X"'s that I've seen on bridges and tunnels marking which lanes are open and closed to certain directions of traffic?
LiveTrash That if people dont follow the rules here they'll crash into a yellow UFO
I was thinking the same LiveTrash. It would be far more cost effective to have a series of overhead signals telling drivers which lanes are open. This looks stupid expensive.
Why not just have lane control with lights above the lanes.... like everywhere else in the world (including the US)
L4RRY because drivers ignore signs and road markings all the time but they're much less likely to ignore something more physical maybe.
Tim Morgan I was thinking that but they're pretty self regulating. I mean, you go in the wrong lane and you've got a lane full of people coming towards you to contend with.
L4RRY Yeah you'd think so but some people end up on the wrong side of roads even divided ones when the lanes don't keep changing
In case of accident the barrier protects the other side of the lane from the accident
In England, two men in a truck, one driving, the other chucking cones out, 1 mile covered in about10 minutes, simples !
and how does that prevent loss of life in the inevitable accidental head on collision? it doesn't. The GG bridge used to use cones, and people died because people are generally crappy drivers.
you really want people driving face to face at 45 miles each with only a plastic cone between the two of you?
Mark Weinhardt
Obviously not, that’s why we only use them to close off lanes or create contra flows, on each respective side of the carriageway, they are never used in the UK, to divide a lane between oncoming vehicles, which would be suicidal.
Which is why this was such an incredible deployment. Head on collisions on the GGB were horrible...
I wonder what other type of vehicle machines exist in the world that we don't even know about.
Hello internet and welcome to Barrier Transfer Machine
If you have driven on the GG Bridge that was built in the 1930's, you would know that the six driving lanes are very narrow and the only barrier for decades were cones. Numerous head on accidents have occurred. The MMB is a reasonable alternative even though it takes more footage out of the 'two center lanes'.
The video starts at 0:00 if anyone is wondering
You could thank me now
Bigger Brudda
Ahaha thanks for the info
Bigger Brudda Gee, thanks captain obvious, i would never have fucking guessed. But this comment is not good enough. I hate UA-cam. We must build a wall. The wall is gonna be huge and i gonna let UA-cam pay for it.
They've got a budget for 2018 to buy a Velcro lane divider instead.
Neighbors oppose the idea based on the sound.
at 2:51 the BMW has a missing headlight :p
I think it needs at least 4 strobe lights or rotary beacons on it's 4 corners
very first time i ever seen one thnks for sharing
Would love to see a timelapse of it
Cool. I didnt realize the bay area had this. Hawaii (Oahu) has had a zipper lane for morning commute traffic from the west side of the island since 1998.
Impressive bit of kit, but this seems like a lot of effort for something which I've seen done elsewhere with overhead multiple aspect signals.
+podcastwookie -- See my reply to John Milner.
+Coastalcamper Ca
What reply, I see you've don't this to a number of comments. If you can't be bothered to reply in line, why bother to post at all.
+podcastwookie I noticed that too, but was being nice after looking through few of these thousands post I can't find his/her reply lol
Before the Zipper, moveable plastic pylons divided northbound and southbound lanes. The Golden Gate Bridge has unusually narrow lanes. Sudden gusts of high winds are common. Combined, this meant that even minor swerving by drivers frequently caused head-on collisions. Many of these were fatal. Signals would be as ineffective as the plastic pylons were in preventing collisions. The Zipper provides a hard but moveable barrier between lanes of opposing traffic.
Changing the plastic pylons took a crew of at least 3 people, picking up and installing pylons from the back of a truck. The Zipper requires only a driver.
+Coastalcamper Ca I remember those, has this solved the traffic problems? don't think so...I now you can see vehicles splitting lanes to avoid that zamboni, this also increases toll $2-3 since last time I was there (yes its been awhile) but I guarantee you they won't lower the toll once that thing is paid off! there's maintenance and salaries for 3-4 workers (which claims it's a dangerous job, and is!)
How about this? Put barriers on BOTH sides of the lane, a simple gate and light system at each end, and make the changeover at any time, in about two minutes, without moving a single block. Is that too hard?
nah man thats too simple... gotta make it stupidly complicated
Hopelessand Forlorn, well, it is Cali we're talking about here...the land of money wasting leftists like Feinstein & Kamala Harris.
It moves two lanes most times. The barriers would take up way too much space. And you couldn't change lanes. Imagine a break down in there.
So then what would you do when you need to switch lanes
Umm, think a little before posting. That would be a disaster. People would have to drive in a single lane, close to a barrier on either side...they would end up hitting the barrier and clogging all traffic in the lane. Plus, no one would want to use the lane because they can't switch lanes.
"I went to school for 8 years and got my engineering degree and 50k in debt:" I get paid 14$ an hr
Quit and get a job at McDonalds. They make 15.
Lol you're only 50k in debt?
Lmao probably gets $250K a year and overtime because public servant, probably has no college education or minimal, that’s how you live in the Bay Area
Ouch
Go work for GE in the medical department.
I assume the 1.7k people that dislike this have to drive with this thing on the road everyday
iwant crawfish only time it's on the road is when it's moving the barriers.
They use this same system in San Juan Puerto Rico. It did a good job reducing gridlock, back when they had a lot of people there.
This type of barrier is not useless. The Auckland harbour bridge in New Zealand has had one for 20 years, and there has not been a fatal crash on that bridge since. Anyone who thinks it has no purpose has no regard for the lives it saves every day
I get that it is moving the barriers.. but why?
Because in the morning there is more traffic going into the city, and in the evening there is more traffic coming out of the city. So to make the most of the space on the road, they shift the barriers.
Ah okay, gotcha. Thanks
wow your nick suits you so well
Why not just have changeable light up signs that indicate the switch the middle lanes direction? It works in Australia.
Because then there is no jersey barrier, and head-on collisions kinda suck almost as much as the average American driver. Seriously though, we do have systems like that here, it's just more dangerous.
It does feel more dangerous than barriers, but I've never heard of anyone actual ignoring the flow of traffic and the signs where I'm from. It must be safer for the amount of money it costs, whatever is safer is better.
John Thorgard ...lights do not stop oncoming traffic from collisions...the Auckland harbour bridge has had this system successfully in place since the late 80's.
John Thorgard ha I was just gonna say that ! This must cost a fortune and it's so slow
Because this is the U.S. and they can't drive.
What were they smoking when they came up with this idea?
FAST FACTS
The bridge currently carries average traffic on I-101 of 110,000 vehicles/day, with that volume projected to rise to 138,000 vehicles/day by 2038
11,500 feet of barrier consist of 12-inch wide x 32 inch high steel-clad units filled with high-density concrete
In one pass, the barrier is transferred 11 feet and gently set down without damaging the road at speeds up to 10 mph
Barriers can withstand the force of a 4,400-pound truck traveling at 62 miles per hour, virtually eliminating crossover collisions
Idk but whatever it was made them GENIUSES. This shit was invented in the early 90s
I can think of about 25 roads around metro Atlanta that needs this.
Pretty amazing machine. In O'ahu HI, they had that machine about 20 years ago. Not much of those machines exist in our country.
"...Zipper in action at the tail end". Just another day in San Francisco.
spookym123 Ooh, cheeky!
WAIT WAIT wat? this video was uploaded in 2015. why are all the comments so new?
Well, for some reason it randomly popped in my recommended section I am not sure I've never watched anything similar to this, but it looked interesting ha maybe the same happened to others.
Intense stuff right here
Jack Mehoff diabetes
diabeetus!
it really is mindblowing to me how u guys are asking wat the point of this is?
just no ur mind is blown away..so u r not able to understan the point here...so go find the mind..to understan the point ..!!!
in english please?
just no ok..ggdg gddry hjfd fdrth jjhvfde hgfrdv de3tg vvfssv gfdcv idiotn ggff dsfg mc ggff idiotggh ggg blah blah gdf?
Been wondering if there is any law requiring that barrier at all. I have seen many places where they just solve this by overhead traffic lights controlling the middle (or more than one middle) lane.
You forgot this is in America, not in Europe :P
here in Germany we have changing digital symbols above the streets... way better
HeavyHanded that doesn't make sense, you would just have to throw up some signs, not that hard.
In Vancouver the lions gate bridge has that
We have those here in America too. This zipper truck is better in my opinion because it puts a physical barrier between the two directions of traffic, and is much safer.
But it's not as cool as a giant zipper lol
I have to agree. A digital system may be more cost effective, but it's also far easier for things to go wrong. A physical barrier makes the entire affair simpler, and more idiot-proof, which is a good idea when you're hurtling along in several thousand pound machines. I figure you might be somewhat aware of how dangerous vehicles are, being German and all. ;)
Wasn't it easier by making the bridge one lane wider?
That would be pretty expensive.
The bridge can't be widened. You'd have to build a new Golden Gate Bridge--billions of dollars.
As said, the bridge was built a long time ago. One cannot simply "widen it".
one big yellow caterpillar...no?
when I was in sfo last time, they still where manually plugging poles into holes in the street.
the workers have been very skilled
i saw a machine like that in philly once.
When this zipper gets stuck do they use WD-40?