A five-year, $660 million plan is in the works to protect the Golden Gate Bridge from large earthquakes.
The retrofit project would begin in 2019 and end in 2024, provided funding and necessary approvals are in place, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The newspaper reports that the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District has only about one-third of the money needed for the project.
The project involves installing 38 custom “energy-dispersal devices” that are 17 feet long and cost about $1.5 million each, the Chronicle reports.
This is the final phase of a 20-year project to shore up the bridge. The project followed the 1989 Prieta earthquake, which did not damage the bridge but concerned the bridge district about its ability to withstand future large earthquakes.
The district has performed the following retrofit projects on the bridge, according to KTVU news station: retrofitted or replaced the Marin County and San Francisco sides and has ensured the bridge would not collapse in an earthquake even if it were damaged.
The latest project also includes adding a suicide barrier, a model of which is being tested.