The George Washington Bridge, AKA "The George," "GWB" or "GW," was dedicated on this day in 1931. Traffic on the span began on the following day. The GWB is the major link between NYC and Jersey. In 1962 a lower deck ("The Martha Washington Bridge") was added due to high amounts of traffic. The lower deck has 6 lanes of traffic, the upper has 8. That's 14 lanes of traffic making the GWB one of the busiest in the world. Speed limit is 45 MPH. I have personally crossed this bridge many times and after 79 years, they are still collecting tolls($8)to pay for the thing! That's not entirely true, they collect tolls to pay for the upkeep and to pay for the toll collecting.
Original plans were to cover the steel supports with stone. Times were tough, back then.
I'm sure that there will be a large celebration, next year for the GW's 80th birthday...I thought I'd get the scoop and tell you about it now...
