New tourist access to Golden Gate possible

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Officials in charge of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge say they may open up more of the span to tourists as means of raising revenue.

The idea includes allowing visitors to ride the elevator to the top of the towers, climbs its huge support cables and poke around the underside of the famed bridge for a modest fee.

Estimates are the new access could raise as much as $9 million a year for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which is currently projecting a $132 million budget deficit for the next five years and relies heavily on vehicle tolls for funding.

The idea is based on a similar program in Australia where visitors pay about $200 to explore the length-and-breadth of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the San Francisco Chronicle said Wednesday.

"We want to offer an experience where people can go out on the bridge and experience something that's not available to the public," said district spokeswoman Mary Currie. "If we can come up with something that would be a real educational experience and something fun and exciting, it will benefit our toll-payers."

The Chronicle said the details of the plan were still being worked on so that visitors would not be exposed to anything too dangerous or interfere with the constant maintenance work.