Furthermore, the location was at a relatively narrow point on the Hudson River, simplifying construction. The location of the bridge would be at high points in Manhattan and New Jersey, allowing enough clearance for tall ships without extensive approaches. Instead, Ammann pushed for a Hudson River Bridge between 179th Street in upper Manhattan and Fort Lee, New Jersey, which would accommodate both motor vehicles and light rail. Ammann argued that the Lindenthal plan would require expensive approaches in already congested midtown Manhattan, which would be politically controversial. Part of this rail link was completed in 1916, when his Hell Gate Bridge opened over the East River.Ī protégé to Lindenthal, Othmar Ammann, who would become synonymous with mid-20th century bridge design, opposed his superior's idea. Lindenthal's Hudson River Bridge was designed to connect rail lines in New Jersey with those in New York City and New England. This site has not been bored, but in our engineer's opinion, from the apparent geological condition, 10 million dollars will cover the cost of a bridge at this point for highway and speed trolley service, being in their opinion one-third the cost of a bridge lower down the river.ĮXIT LINDENTHAL, ENTER AMMANN: One of the great bridge builders of the early 20th century, Gustav Lindenthal, had dreams of constructing a Hudson River bridge from midtown Manhattan to New Jersey. Furthermore, the channel span need not, in our engineer's opinion, be over 1,400 feet or thereabouts, which will give abundant passage for all river traffic, the north limit anchorage for large vessels being below this crossing. The rock is on the surface at Fort Washington point, involving no foundation work whatever, beyond leveling off the same. The foundation problems are not likely to be of great magnitude as far as can be judged in the absence of borings. The approaches over land are short, that from New York reaching 179th Street over Fort Washington Park, and that from New Jersey over the proposed limits of Palisade Park. A 1910 report from the Commission recommended the Fort Lee location as follows:įrom the purely engineering point of view, it is the most economical crossing from Manhattan over the Hudson River that it is possible to select, it being the narrowest part of the river, with comparatively small land damages on either side. That year, the governors appointed an Interstate Bridge Commission for the purpose of constructing one or more trans-Hudson bridges at the joint expense of the two states. IN THE PLANNING STAGES: As early as 1906, the governors of New York and New Jersey proposed a bridge over the Hudson River between 179th Street in Manhattan and Fort Lee. The rose-colored towers of New York appear, a vision whose harshness is mitigated by distance." - Le Corbusier
When your car moves up the ramp, the two towers rise so high that it brings you happiness their structure is so pure, so resolute, so regular that here, finally, steel architecture seems to laugh… The second tower is very far away innumerable vertical cables, gleaming across the sky, are suspended from the magisterial curve that swings down and then up. It is painted an aluminum color and, between water and sky, you see nothing but the bent cord supported by two steel towers. It is the only seat of grace in the disordered city. Made of cables and steel beams, it gleams in the sky like a reversed arch.
"The George Washington Bridge over the Hudson is the most beautiful bridge in the world. Passenger car EZ-Pass off-peak toll (west/south only): Passenger car EZ-Pass peak toll (west/south only): Passenger car cash toll (west/south only): Steel used in towers and suspended structure: (Photo by Mike Tantillo.)Ĭlearance at mid-span above mean high water: This 2000 photo shows the George Washington Bridge (I-95, US 1, and US 9) from the Fort Lee shoreline. George Washington Bridge (I-95, US 1 and US 9)
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