In May 1987 , as part of the 50th anniversary celebration , the Golden Gate Bridge district again closed the bridge to automobile traffic and allowed pedestrians to cross the bridge . However , this celebration attracted 750,000 to 1,000,000 people , and ineffective crowd control meant the bridge became congested with roughly 300,000 people , causing the center span of the bridge to flatten out under the weight . Although the bridge is designed to flex in that way under heavy loads , and was estimated not to have exceeded 40 % of the yielding stress of the suspension cables , bridge officials stated that uncontrolled pedestrian access was not being considered as part of the 75th anniversary on Sunday , May 27 , 2012 , because of the additional law enforcement costs required " since 9/11 . " Until 1964 , the Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension bridge main span in the world , at . Since 1964 its main span length has been surpassed by fifteen bridges ; it now has the second-longest main span in the United States , after the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York City . The total length of the Golden Gate Bridge from abutment to abutment is
9/11 .
September 11 attacks
Golden Gate Bridge