George Washington Bridge
The
George Washington Bridge (known informally as the
GW Bridge, the
GWB, or the
GW) is a toll
suspension bridge spanning the
Hudson River, connecting the
Washington Heights neighborhood in the
borough of
Manhattan in
New York City to
Fort Lee in
New Jersey by means of
Interstate 95,
U.S. Route 1,
U.S. Route 9. Despite what many think, the bridge does NOT carry
U.S. Route 46 over the entire river. Rather, 46 ends halfway across the bridge, at the state border, which may explain 46's absence on many maps and possibly in the paragraphs to come. The GW is considered one of the world's busiest bridges in terms of vehicle traffic; In 2004, the bridge carried 108,404,000 vehicles, with current
AADT estimates of nearly 300,000 vehicles daily. This number is similar to that of the
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The GW span is currently the fourth largest suspension bridge in the U.S.
The bridge contains two levels, an upper level with four lanes in each direction and a lower level with three lanes in each direction, for a total of 14 lanes of travel. Additionally, the bridge houses two paths on either side of the bridge for pedestrian traffic. The speed limit on the bridge is 45 mph (70 km/h), though heavy traffic is common and frequently makes it difficult to be able to reach such speeds.
Construction of the bridge began in September 1927, a project of the
Port of New York Authority. Its chief engineer was
Othmar Ammann. The bridge was dedicated on
October 24,
1931, and opened to traffic the following day. Initially named the "Hudson River Bridge," the bridge is named in honor of
George Washington, the first
President of the United States. The Bridge is near the sites of
Fort Washington (on the New York side) and Fort Lee (in New Jersey), which were fortified positions used by General Washington and his American forces in his unsuccessful attempt to deter the
British occupation of New York City in 1776 during the
American Revolutionary War. In 1910 the Washington Chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution erected a stone monument to the
Battle of Fort Washington. The monument is located about 100 yards northeast of the lighthouse, up the hill towards the eastern bridge anchorage.
When it opened, the bridge had the
longest main span in the world; at 1,067 m (3,500 ft), it nearly doubled the previous record of 564 m (1,850 ft), which had been held by the
Ambassador Bridge. (The record has since been exceeded
numerous times.) The total length of the bridge is 1,451 m (4,760 ft).
As originally built, the bridge offered six lanes of traffic, but in 1946, two additional lanes were provided on what is now the upper level. A second, lower deck, which had been anticipated in Ammann's original plans was added, opening to the public on
August 29,
1962. The additional deck increased the capacity of the bridge by 75 percent, making the George Washington Bridge the world's only 14-lane suspension bridge, providing eight lanes on the upper level and six on the lower deck. It was also originally planned that the towers of the bridge would be encased in concrete and granite. However, due to cost considerations during the
Great Depression and favorable aesthetic critiques of the bare steel towers, this was never done. The exposed steel towers, with their distinctive criss-crossed bracing, have become one of the bridge's most identifiable characteristics.
Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret) said of the unadorned steel structure, "The George Washington Bridge over the Hudson is the most beautiful bridge in the world. Made of cables and steel beams, it gleams in the sky like a reversed arch. It is blessed. It is the only seat of grace in the disordered city. It is painted an aluminum color and, between water and sky, you see nothing but the bent cord supported by two steel towers. When your car moves up the ramp the two towers rise so high that it brings you happiness; their structure is so pure, so resolute, so regular that here, finally, steel architecture seems to laugh. The car reaches an unexpectedly wide apron; the second tower is very far away; innumerable vertical cables, gleaming against the sky, are suspended from the magisterial curve which swings down and then up. The rose-colored towers of New York appear, a vision whose harshness is mitigated by distance." (
When the Cathedrals were White", 1947.)
Following the
September 11th attacks on New York and Washington, the government prohibited people from taking
photographs on the premises of the bridge due to the fear that terrorist groups might study any potential photographs in order to plot a terrorist attack on the bridge.
The George Washington Bridge is home to the world's largest free-flying
American flag. The flag, located under the upper arch of the New Jersey tower, drapes vertically for 90 feet (27 m). The flag's stripes are about 5 feet (1.5 m) wide and the stars measure about 4 feet (1.2 m) in diameter. Weather permitting, the flag is flown on the following eight holidays:
Martin Luther King Day,
Washington's Birthday,
Memorial Day,
Flag Day,
Independence Day,
Labor Day,
Columbus Day, and
Veterans Day.
The George Washington Bridge carries
I-95,
US-1, and
US-9 between New Jersey and New York.
US-46 terminates at the state border in the middle of the bridge.
I-80 and
NJ-4 also feed into the bridge but end before reaching it. On the New Jersey side of the Bridge, the
Palisades Interstate Parkway connects directly to the bridge's upper level, there were plans to give direct access to the lower level from the parkway but the plan has been postponed. The GW Bridge also connects to the
New Jersey Turnpike.
On the New York side, the twelve-lane
Trans-Manhattan Expressway heads east across the narrow neck of upper Manhattan, from the bridge to the
Harlem River, providing access from both decks to 178th Street, the
Henry Hudson Parkway and
Riverside Drive on the West Side of Manhattan, and to
Amsterdam Avenue and the
Harlem River Drive on the East Side. The Expressway connects directly with the
Alexander Hamilton Bridge, which spans the Harlem River as part of the
Cross-Bronx Expressway (I-95), providing access to the
Major Deegan Expressway (
I-87). Heading towards New Jersey, local access to the Bridge is available from 179th Street. There are also ramps connecting the bridge to the
George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal, a commuter bus terminal with direct access to the
New York City Subway at the
175th Street () station on the
IND Eighth Avenue Line.
Current tolls for cars are $6, $5 peak hours with
E-ZPass, $4 off-peak. Current tolls for motorcycles are $5, $4 peak hours with E-ZPass, $3 off-peak. Trucks are charged $6 per axle. The toll is only charged one way (into New York), which is how all Hudson River crossings from the
Tappan Zee Bridge south are tolled. Foot traffic and cyclists cross for free on sidewalks, one on each side of the upper deck, offering spectacular views of the Hudson River, the Manhattan skyline and the
New Jersey Palisades. Pedestrians had to pay tolls of 10 cents shortly after the bridge opened, but non-motorized traffic is no longer tolled. The George Washington Bridge takes in approximately $1 million per day in tolls.
|
The George Washington Bridge during construction on May 22, 2005. |
The George Washington Bridge is also popular among sightseers and commuters traveling by foot, bicycle, or roller skates. Normally the North sidewalk is for pedestrians only, and the South sidewalk (accessible by a long, steep ramp on the Manhattan side of the bridge) is shared by bicyclists and pedestrians. The South sidewalk, while requiring a climb / descent of the ramp on the New York side, offers the easiest access for bicyclists, with a level surface from end to end. The North sidewalk requires stairway climbs and descents on both sides, always an inconvenience, and a greater risk in poor weather conditions.
From
September 12,
2005 through summer 2006, bicycle and pedestrian access to the George Washington Bridge is being affected by Port Authority construction. Currently, the North sidewalk is closed for construction and the South sidewalk is open from 6:00 AM to midnight for both pedestrians and bicyclists until 6/18/2006. Beginning on June 19, 2006 the North sidewalk will open from 6:00 AM to midnight and the South sidewalk will be closed at all times. For up to date information, see
Latest update on pedestrian / bicycle access.
Transportation Alternatives, a New York City advocacy group, has proposed an enhanced River Road connector in Fort Lee, which would create safer pedestrian and bicycle access to the George Washington Bridge on the New Jersey side of the bridge. Details may be found at [
1].
 |
The New York side of the George Washington Bridge as seen from the Hudson River, July 2005. The tarp on the tower is from restoration that was taking place at the time. Note the "Little Red Lighthouse." |
*The GWB's first movie appearance was in
Ball of Fire (1941), and it subsequently appeared in
How to Marry a Millionaire,
The In-Laws,
Desperately Seeking Susan and
Manhattan Murder Mystery. The bridge features prominently in the 1997 movie
Cop Land, its lower deck serving as a site for an important early scene and the entire bridge acting as a symbolic barrier between Manhattan and the small towns across the river in New Jersey.
*
Harry Belafonte encounters the bridge choked with abandoned cars in
The World, the Flesh and the Devil.
*The bridge's construction is featured in the 1942 children's book
The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift and illustrated by Lynd Ward (ISBN 0152045716). In the book, a small
lighthouse on the Manhattan shore fears it will be overshadowed and rendered useless by the bridge's tall towers and bright lights -- but is reassured that the bridge's lights are for airplanes, not ships. The lighthouse is currently owned by the
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
*An episode of
I Love Lucy concludes with the show's four main cast members beginning a motor trip from
New York City to
Hollywood, while driving across the George Washington Bridge and singing
California, Here I Come.
*The bridge was featured in the
Amazing Spider-Man comic books (issue #121) when Spider-Man's girlfriend,
Gwen Stacy, is kidnapped and held at the bridge by the
Green Goblin. However, the artwork in the comic book is of the
Brooklyn Bridge. Further confusing things is that a similar scene in the 2002
Spider-Man movie, when the Goblin holds
Mary Jane Watson hostage, takes place on the
Queensboro Bridge.
*The bridge also appeared in the
X-Men film as the team approaches
the Statue of Liberty.
*In the video game
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the bridge is featured in the opening sequence when
Solid Snake jumps off the bridge onto a passing tanker.
*American composer
William Schuman wrote
The George Washington Bridge for concert band in 1950.
*The GWB appears in
Stephen King's Dark Tower books, both in New York and the city of
Lud.
*In 2005, a
drug bust occurred after a truck driver made the mistake of using the lower deck (which disallows trucks), causing him to be stopped by police, who then found the
marijuana that the truck was carrying.
*In
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, the main character and her family drive across the bridge as they relocate from Manhattan to New Jersey.
*On
The Cosby Show, Cliff anticipates his daughter Sondra's moving out of the house, and says to help her leave, he would, "CRAWL across the George Washington Bridge..."
*Babylon Rising: The Europa Conspiracy, By
Tim Lahaye includes a fictional plot to detonate a dirty bomb over the George Washington Bridge.
*The bridge is mentioned in the song "The Cause of Death" by
Immortal Technique, who claims that on
9/11 there was a news report of four Non-arabs who planted bombs on the bridge. However, the news report went unnoticed and seems only to be a conspiracy theory now.
*
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (official site)*
NYCRoads.com: George Washington Bridge*
George Washington Bridge Webcam*
Fort Lee Online*
Library of Congress "Local Legacies"
*
Official site of Transportation Alternatives, New York{{Crossings navbox
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