George Washington Bridge
View North from the top of the Rockefeller Center
The George Washington Bridge (known informally as the GW Bridge, the GWB,
the GW, or the George) 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
1/9. U.S. Route 46, which is entirely in New Jersey, ends halfway across the
bridge at the state border. 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 estimates of nearly 300,000 vehicles daily. The GW span
is the fourth largest suspension bridge in the United States.
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 a path on each 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 reach
such speeds.
Photo 140, Dec 2007