George Washington Bridge
The George Washington Bridge named in honor of George Washington the first President of the United States of America is a suspension bridge located over the Hudson River, between New York City, near the northern end of Manhattan Island, and the city of Fort Lee, New Jersey. Its chief engineer was Othmar Ammann. Construction of the bridge began in September 1927, a project of the Port of New York Authority. It was dedicated on October 24, 1931.It had the longest main span in the world when it opened, and at 3500 feet (1067 m), nearly doubled the record, 1850 ft., with a total length of 4760 feet which had been held by the Ambassador Bridge. (The record has since been exceeded numerous times.)
It was originally constructed with only a single deck, but a second, lower deck, which had been anticipated in its design, was added in 1962. It was also originally planned that the towers of the bridge would be encased in concrete and granite. However, due to cost and favorable aesthetic critiques of the bare steel towers, this was not done.
Current tolls for cars is $6, $5 peak hours with E-ZPass, $4 off-peak. Trucks are charged $6 per axle.
The bridge carries Interstate 95, United States Highway 1, and United States Highway 9 from New Jersey to New York. United States Highway 46 terminates at the state border in the middle of the bridge.
The bridge is a significant setting for the Spider-Man comic books and the 2002 movie. In the comic, Peter Parker's girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, is thrown from the bridge, and Spider-Man's attempt to save her by using web to catch her fails as her neck breaks. Gwen Stacy is not in the 2002 film, and instead Mary Jane Watson is thrown from the bridge. Watson is caught by Spider-Man and survives.
