George Washington Bridge

The George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge over the Hudson River, that connects part of New York City, New York to Fort Lee, New Jersey. It is 4,750 feet (1584 meters) long and was designed by Othmar H. Ammann. Building began on October 21, 1927, and it was opened on October 25, 1931, at a cost of $59 million. A second level was added below the main level and opened to traffic on August 29, 1962. There are also walkways for pedestrians and bicyclists on the north and south siides of the bridge.

The main span of the bridge is 3500 ft long and it is 119 ft wide. It is suspended by four cables, each cable weighing 28,450 tons, and each is made from 26,474 individual wires. The total length of all the wire in the four cables is 107000 mi.

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