Would you walk on this?
The Glass Bridge Construction of the SkyWalk began March of 2004 and is estimated to be completed by 4th quarter of 2006.
Glass Bridge will be suspended 4,000 feet above the Colorado River on the very edge of the Grand Canyon. On May 2005, the final test was conducted and the structure passed engineering requirements by 400 percent, enabling it to withstand the weight of 71 fully loaded Boeing 747 airplanes (more than 71 million pounds).
The bridge will be able to sustain winds in excess of 100 miles per hour from 8 different directions, as well as an 8.0 magnitude earthquake within 50 miles.
I just can’t help but think to myself: if they have the capability of creating a structure that can withstand such forces as a magnitude 8 earthquake, can’t they put such technologies to better use on buildings along the San Andreas Fault? Just a thought…
More than one million pounds of steel will go into the construction of the Grand Canyon SkyWalk.
