[Animats]

I would not be surprised to see further supports and beams added to the initial architectural concept though.

Um, yes. The Golden Gate Bridge had a big stiffening retrofit in the early 1950s, with huge rectangular frames added underneath.

As for putting in bearings, the SF Bay Bridge west span was given bearings after the 1989 quake. (The east span was totally replaced.) The roadway was jacked up at each tower, and big stainless steel plates inserted so the roadway could slide relative to the tower if necessary. Plus, 17 million pounds of structural steel and half a million high-strength bolts were added, so the roadway is strong enough to slide under extreme stress without coming apart.

And that's steel, which has reasonable elasticity. Glass, not so good at that. Is it really glass, or polycarbonate? Polycarbonate has some stretch; you can bend it in a sheet metal brake and it won't crack.

[PaulDavisThe1st]

From the nypost link cited:

> The structure, said to be the “largest single piece of load bearing acrylic in the world,” has been in the works for several years and was built in a Colorado factory.