Visitors to the Golden Gate Bridge this weekend can expect "a maximum enforcement period" as the country observes the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The California Highway Patrol has not received any "credible threats" against the bridge, which was heavily guarded 10 years ago as a potential terrorist target following the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City. Nonetheless, CHP is taking no chances, with "more patrols via car, bicycle, motorcycle and air" over the weekend, according to the San Francisco Appeal online newspaper.
A veritable web of law enforcement agencies are responsible for bridge security, from federal authorities like the US Park Police and Coast Guard, to the CHP, to the local San Francisco and Sausalito police departments, the newspaper said.
The bridge also benefits from expensive security upgrades, all implemented since 9/11, the newspaper reported. Some $15 million in state and federal grants has allowed authorities to afford district-wide security upgrades on the Golden Gate Bridge, transit and ferry, the newspaper reported.
This has helped pay for "the latest security technology," like the $19 million communications information system to aid inter-agency communication, set to launch next year.
