How long is the gwb bridge

Smith, Jr. Preliminary designs for a bridge began in July and test borings were made at th Street. The site was chosen as the most desirable because of its topography and for its potential connections to adjacent roadways. Ammann , Hon. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 21, on both sides of the river and with 1, guests aboard the steamship De Witt Clinton anchored in the middle of the Hudson.

Work began with the construction of the towers and anchorages. The world's largest cofferdams were constructed to excavate 80 feet 24 m below the water level to create the foundations for the New Jersey tower. A conventional masonry anchorage weighing , tons , t was built on the New York side, while on the New Jersey side, the main cables would be anchored directly into the rock of the Palisades. A total of , cubic yards , cubic meters of bedrock were also excavated from the Palisades to create the western approach to the bridge.

Ironically the bridge's exposed steel towers, one of its most identifiable features, were never part of the original design. The exposed steelwork gained public acceptance and in French architect Le Corbusier called the George Washington Bridge ''the most beautiful bridge in the world. In , the Port Authority installed metal halide light fixtures that are used to illuminate the interior of the steel towers on major holidays. Work on the steel cables began on July 14, and the final wire was spun on August 7, A total of , miles , km of wire fabricated by the John A.

Each of the four cables is comprised of 26, pencil-thin wires. While the towers and cables were designed to support the future addition of a lower level to expand capacity, the original bridge had single deck and did not include a stiffening truss unlike other types of suspension bridges built in that era. A stiffening truss was not necessary because the long roadway and cables provided enough dead weight to provide stability for the bridge deck, and the short side spans acted like cable stays, further reducing its flexibility.

Completed eight months ahead of schedule and under budget, a dedication ceremony for the George Washington Bridge was held on October 24, The ceremony was chaired by Port Authority chairman John F.

Nearly 30, spectators were on hand to watch the dedication and after the ceremony the bridge was opened to pedestrians for a four-hour period. One of the busiest bridges in the world, the George Washington Bridge originally carried six lanes of traffic when it opened to traffic on October 25, Two more lanes were added to the center median in Although Ammann's original design made a provision for the addition of a lower deck to carry four rapid transit tracks, no interest was taken by railroads in operating commuter service across the bridge and the growing volumes of cars, trucks and buses eventually made the addition of more traffic lanes a necessity.

The lower level of the George Washington Bridge opened on August 29, Hughes attended the dedication ceremony in the midpoint of the bridge that included the unveiling of a bronze bust of bridge designer Othmar H.

Larson presided over the dedication ceremony that opened the bridge to the public. Although the bridge was originally intended to be called the Hudson River Bridge, the Port Authority announced Washington would have his name attached to the project despite there being 25 other bridges in America named after the first U.

There was an outcry, and voting was held to determine a different name, with options like the Palisades Bridge, Knickerbocker Bridge, Interstate Bridge, and even the Charles Lindbergh Bridge favored over "George Washington. Just a year after the opening of the bridge, 5. By , the Port Authority decided to utilize the center lanes, which had been left unpaved for future use as either vehicle lanes or a light rail line, and opened them to improve the flow of traffic.

As traffic increased on the bridge, engineers began work on a second deck in The deck carries six lanes and brought the total number of traffic roadways to About million vehicles drive across the George Washington Bridge each year, making it the most heavily trafficked motor vehicle bridge in the world. The tolls, however, only apply to eastbound traffic; traveling into New Jersey is free. For four days in September , two out of three access lanes to the George Washington Bridge that originated from Fort Lee, New Jersey were closed without warning.

Port Authority Chairman David Samson resigned , Christie aides Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly were charged with nine federal counts, and David Wildstein, director of interstate projects for the Port Authority, pled guilty to multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit fraud.