No-one died during the construction of the Humber Bridge in the 1970s, which was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Construction took nine years and cost £530 million (adjusted to 2016 prices).

No-one died during the construction of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge (Dartford Crossing) in 1988-1991, which was the longest cable-stayed bridge in Europe. Construction took less than three years and cost £260 million (adjusted to 2016 prices).

The bridge's safety record was revolutionary at the time, mainly due to the introduction of hard hats and safety nets (https://www.history.com/news/6-things-you-may-not-know-about...). It's hard to find a comparison to an equivalent project in America today, but looking around the world the numbers aren't much better (e.g. 9 people died in 2019 building world cup stadiums in Qatar - https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/mar/16/q...). And construction is still in the top 3 most fatal job categories in America (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.nr0.htm).

So, in other words, your statement "a safety record matching or surpassing most modern projects" is something you made up.

Bringing up the stadium in Qatar only further highlights that point: I remember that building project getting tons of press outlining how shockingly bad the safety record was compared to what should be expected.

Take some time to research safety and deaths in large construction projects happening today at the scale of bridging the Golden Gate back in the 1930s. E.g. Channel tunnel - 10 deaths, Panama Canal Expansion - 7, Three Gorges Dam - 100+, Gotthard Base Tunnel - 8, Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge - 19, Istanbul Airport - 55. I'm not sure what statistics you are looking for, but construction isn't a no-risk profession even in modern times. If you want to just look at America - 3 people died at the Hard Rock Hotel construction site in New Orleans last year. Two people have died in the last two months building the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Two more died digging a trench in Phoenix two weeks ago.

You're getting downvoted because more than half of your examples are from non-Western countries with appalling safety regulations.

We already know authoritarian dictatorships (China, Turkey) can still achieve amazing infrastructure projects, damn the cost to human life or displaced poor people.

Fromt eh Western examples, Gotthard Base Tunnel work began in 1999 and it opened almost 17 years later, so that's less than 0.5 deaths/year. The Channel tunnel is then probably the only remaining example.

The other examples prove the point - safety standards have gone up and very few people die during major construction projects

For Channel tunnel, you are comparing a 50km tunnel under the sea to a 2km bridge in a bay ?

No idea why you're getting downvoted. That's solid evidence that you're right.

" but looking around the world the numbers aren't much better"

? Qataris use indentured servitude, paying subsistence wages, forcibly holding passports and people in work conditions, not letting them leave, no access to healthcare, making workers 'pay for their debt' of the 'flight from India to Qatar'.

So this is not remotely any kind of basis of comparison for 'why we have a hard time making bridges'.

Japan has a different attitude, they're able to 'make stuff safely' but it's a different culture.