George Washington Bridge

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George Washington Bridge
The bridge, looking east from Fort Lee toward Upper Manhattan.
Coordinates40°51′07″N 73°57′07″W / 40.852°N 73.952°W / 40.852; -73.952 (George Washington Bridge)
Carries
  • 14 lanes (8 upper deck, 6 lower deck) of I-95 (entire span) / US 1-9 (entire span) / US 46 (NJ side)
  • Upper deck sidewalk (south side): pedestrians and bicycles
CrossesHudson River
LocaleFort Lee, New Jersey, and New York City (Washington Heights, Manhattan), New York, United States
Other name(s)
  • GWB
  • GW
  • GW Bridge
  • The George
Maintained byPort Authority of New York and New Jersey
Characteristics
DesignDouble-decked suspension bridge
MaterialSteel
Total length4,760 ft (1,450 m)
Width119 ft (36 m)
Height604 ft (184 m)
Longest span3,500 ft (1,067 m)
Clearance above14 ft (4.3 m) (upper level), 13.5 ft (4.1 m) (lower level)
Clearance below212 ft (65 m) at mid-span
History
DesignerOthmar Ammann (chief engineer)
Edward W. Stearns (assistant chief engineer)
Allston Dana (design engineer)
Cass Gilbert (architect)
Montgomery Case (construction engineer)
Construction startSeptember 21, 1927; 96 years ago (1927-09-21) (bridge construction)
June 2, 1959; 64 years ago (1959-06-02) (lower level)
OpenedOctober 24, 1931; 92 years ago (1931-10-24) (upper level)
August 29, 1962; 61 years ago (1962-08-29) (lower level)
Statistics
Daily traffic289,827 (2016)[1]
Toll(Eastbound only) As of January 5, 2020:
  • Cars $16.00 (cash)
  • $13.75 for Peak (E-ZPass)
  • $11.75 for Off-peak (E-ZPass)
  • $6.50 (when carpooling with three or more people with NY and NJ E-ZPass only)
  • $6.88 (New York or New Jersey issued E-ZPass with registered commuter plan and three or more trips into Staten Island, NY during a calendar month)
  • (Peak hours: Weekdays: 6-10 a.m., 4-8 p.m.; Sat. & Sun.: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.)
Location
Map

The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge over the Hudson River. It connects part of New York City, New York to Fort Lee, New Jersey. It is 4,750 feet (1,450 meters) long. It was designed by Othmar H. Ammann. Building began on October 21, 1927. The bridge was opened on October 25, 1931. It cost $59 million.[2] A second level was added below the main level and opened to traffic on August 29, 1962.[2] There are also walkways for pedestrians and bicyclists on the north and south sides of the bridge.

The main span of the bridge is 3,500 feet (1,067 meters) long. It is 119 feet (36 meters) wide.[2] It is suspended by four cables. Each cable weighs 28,450 tons and is made from 26,474 individual wires. The total length of all the wire in the four cables is 107,000 miles (172,200 kilometres).[2]

Ammann chose the location for the bridge because the river was narrower at this point. The banks on either side were high. That meant the bridge could be tall enough for ships to pass underneath, without having to build long rising bridge approaches.[2]

References[change | change source]

  1. "New York City Bridge Traffic Volumes" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation. 2016. p. 11. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "George Washington Bridge". Roads of NYC. Eastern Roads. Retrieved 2009-12-05.

Other websites[change | change source]

Media related to George Washington Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

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