New York's Busiest Bridge | The George Washington Bridge
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- Опубликовано: 8 мар 2024
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The George Washington Bridge, one of the most iconic structures in New York City, has stood as a symbol of engineering marvel and vital transportation link since its completion in 1931. Designed by renowned engineer Othmar H. Ammann, this double-decked suspension bridge spans the Hudson River, connecting Fort Lee, New Jersey, to Washington Heights in Manhattan. Initially named the Hudson River Bridge, it was renamed in honor of the first President of the United States. With its majestic towers rising 604 feet above the water and a main span of 3,500 feet, the George Washington Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening. Over the decades, it has become an essential artery for commuters, carrying millions of vehicles annually between New Jersey and New York. Its significance extends beyond transportation, serving as an emblem of the region's resilience and ingenuity. Today, the George Washington Bridge remains a vital lifeline for the bustling metropolis, embodying the spirit of connectivity and progress.
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Can you do Central Park if you haven't already done it?
BAY-OWN, GOTH-ELS, GWB IS THE WORLDS BUSIEST BRIDGE, not just New York
As a Chicago guy - I once crossed the GW Bridge at night about 10:00 PM and looked in amazement at Manhattan and the lit up Empire State Building. It is amazing how this can hold up all those lanes of roadway and the hundreds of heavy vehicles on the bridge at any given time. Truly amazing engineering.
i’m from the bronx, & i I love Chicago bro..driving along that LSD seeing the city far off in the distance was fire 🔥
Amazing view during a clear day. Especially now with NYC new taller skyline.
Last time I drove thru Chicago the toll roads were in worse condition than the non toll roads
@@stax5ave380 Go Yanks.!!! From a Cubs Fan.
@@marblox9300let's go CUBBIES coming from a Yanks fan.
The worst thing about the GW bridge is having to use the Cross-Bronx Expressway, A.K.A. The Pothole Festival, to get to it.
I agree. Cross Bronx is always a nightmare and for seemingly 30 years construction has never been completed.
Atleast you dont have to drive metro detroit roads
Shameful so many American roads are trashed, we should demand better.
Thank you Robert Moses 🤦🏻♂️💀
@@Brianbd where? Those 3 lanes are always open when I drive thru there.
This bridge has special meaning to me. Being raised about 4 miles away in NJ. My grandfather on my father’s side was a blasting and sandhog worker. He worked drilling and blasting the NJ cable anchorage into the solid rock of the palisades in Ft Lee several hundred feet down. The Manhattan side is anchored by a huge monolithic pour of concrete. Being held in place by only massive weight. My grandfather also worked on the Holland tunnel and the Catskill water aqueduct.
it's BayOWN. great vids!
Lol I kept thinking that too
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
11:02 I spy with my little eye San Francisco & not New York 😏
"sharp little eye"
Correct! And at 24:00 is a pic of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Spotted this too, glad someone else recognized Coit tower in the back haha
GW came way before than the golden gate
@10:57 San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge with Golden Gate Bridge in background. Thanks for the visual west coast shoutout!
Yes, I noticed that too. No mountains in Bergen County, NJ.
Thanks. Excellent telling of the story. Back when I lived in Brooklyn, my bike ride trips across the GW, and up RT.9W,including a tough climb to the top of the Palisades, was a trip!
I got stuck on 94 just before the bridge going south in a semi. There was a little s10 blocking one of the lanes just at the split to top side. It took 4- 5 hours to go 2 miles. It absolutely sucked. 😅
I have a feeling you also may not know this, but the Lower Deck is colloquially known as the Martha Washington…more a comment on us irreverent New York/New Jerseyans sense of humour, but still, an interesting fact for you, oh History man.
Suicides from bridges are unfortunately part and parcel of any height, naturally formed or man-made structures. It sounds cold to say that, but it is true. Don’t let those facts get to you, or to anyone. I’m always amazed at the figures…how low they are, really. The bridge has brought many great things to this area. Look at what happened to the Tacoma Narrows. That is really a disaster. This bridge is a success.
i've crossed this bridge millions of times in my life... and every time I curse the insane traffic on the cross bronx expressway just past the bridge... between the insane jog the lanes do under the apartments, to the fact there aqre even apartments built above the roadway makes me want to know who the insane engineers were to think of this.
Millions? C'mon now. Impossible
well it's the only way of getting in and out of new england on I95 with a truck@@SupaEMT134
You'd have to cross it 27.4x every single day for 100 years to cross it just one million times
Imma r/whoosh your two repliers
Especially when the supports on under the apartment appear to be crumbling
New York City’s underrated bridge
Honestly, as someone from Boston this is the bridge I hear about in NYC the most these days
You’re welcome
new yorks worst bridge
The most important one in NYC tbh.
@MarloSoBalJr Actually half of the George Washington Bridge is over the New Jersey side of the Hudson River
First time I knew you could see the Golden Gate from the GW. I need to be more observant when crossing it. 😂
Be sure to look west! 😃❤🙏✌🤣
The March 29, 1976 issue of The New Yorker demonstrates this phenomenon.
That red lighthouse at the base of the bridge on the New York side was supposed to be torn down when the bridge was built. A lady launched a grassroots campaign to save that lighthouse and when it was, she wrote a children's book titled, "The Little Red Lighthouse." The bridge was referred to as, "the big gray bridge."
That book was my older brother's favorite when he was a child, and one of mine as well.
@@stuartaaron613 That book was featured at least once on Captain Kangarro
my teacher read this book for us in washington heights in 2005 .. i never looked at the lighthouse until i was in my 20s...still there standing strong.
Actually, the book came first, 1942! The book was so beloved that when the lighthouse was slated for demolition in 1951, a nationwide campaign saved it. Now it's part of NYC Parks & Rec and a landmark.
@@ginnypoleman643 I'm glad it was saved. I'm sure many of us feel the same way.
My New York 👍 !.
I love you New York City.
T y.
What about the four 32-STORY HIGH RISE APARTMENT BUILDINGS? Failed to mention the fact that Cross Bronx Expressway leading up to the George Washington Bridge on the NY side had 4 high rises BUILT OVER & STRADDLING the 8 or more lanes of approach traffic in 1963 (like 1365 Saint Nicholas Ave) 😮- you literally drive THROUGH the framework of those buildings. Countless times concrete panels have fallen onto cars or have been struck by trucks in the past. An absolute nightmare in gridlock traffic knowing that 32 floors could collapse onto the road surface beneath.
it's actually the world's busiest bridge!
East bound tolls collected daily are roughly a $1,000,000 💵🤑
Ryan, loved this story about the GW. Because of the iconic natureof this wonderful bridge, I wanted to give a shootout to the movie SULLY. Sully used the bridge as a reference point and the movie showed the plan flying close to the tower as it was losing altitude. By the way,, I love trains and train history and I have a special affinity to draw bridges.
As someone that has lived a few blocks away from the bridge most of my life, I really appreciate this vid. I try to walk or jog across the bridge 3-5 times a week for daily exercise. When I tried go discover the length of the bridge, my brief internet search suggested it was just over 1 mile long. I recall seeing the bridge in 3 movies but can only recall 2 of them: Citizen Kane and Cyborg. I recall the other had a great shot from close up at the bus terminal on the NY side and than faded away. I wish I could find out what film that was, I only saw the closing minutes of the film when I tuned in to watch something after. I think it was filmed between the late 70's to early 90's. Please post a reply if you know the film.
Nice shot of the San Fransisco/Oakland Bay Bridge at the 11 minute mark...with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.
....at one time (and I might still have it - buried somewhere) dad had the opening day souvenir packet, commemorating the dedication of the bridge in 1931 when he was 13 years old...
My company is repairing that bridge right now! The jersey side is complete.. now we’re on the NY side! It was estimated to be about an 8 year project! Half of it is done so I imagine about 2-3 more years!!
What is interesting about the Washington Bridge was not providing for rail transportation and in 1963 the Verrazano Bridge additionally not having rail transportation. The result disallowing fast and convenient public transportation. The question now is when will both bridges provide rail transportation? Currently the entire system of private motor vehicle transportation for commuter traffic now has a typical average speed of motor vehicles of in rush hour of under 10 miles per hour and huge toll revenue in tens of millions of dollars.
Allowing rail traffic on these bridges will reduce pollution, provide a much needed area for new housing in suburbs up the Hudson River and to the west New Jersey. Think about it living in Kingston NY and commuting to work in less than 45 minutes to Manhattan. It will happen, it is just a matter of time .
Nice video. My grandmother, who lived in Fort Lee told me the GW was my bridge when I was little. Never gave me the paperwork though.
BTW it's Bay-OWN bridge
The GW as it's known to locals is a pot hole nightmare. People pay good money to cross the bridge, only to have their vehicles damaged. Rims, front end ,flats undercarriage bottom outs all the result of crossing that span. What does the Port Authority do with all the money taken in by tolls? It don't go into bridge repairs that's for sure. It goes into Senators pockets I think.
I’ve gone over that bridge. I always thought it was beautiful.
Another great episode Ryan.
Being from Florida we don't get to experience these things on a daily basis. The city that never sleeps is an understatement. I went through there at 4 am and it was at a standstill. I was just excited about being on it.
Thanks for sharing!
Hahaha! Jeez that made me laugh. It wasnt Robert Moses's fault that the I-95 passes through the Bronx! The freeways were built after him. If you were headed for New England the Tappan Zee would get you there faster.
I live in NJ and can't stand having to deal with traffic on that bridge . Couldn't imagine being someone not from this area dealing with this for the first time! Literally been in traffic there all hours of the day and night, 3a, 7pm, 11pm....traffic can HAPPEN THERE 24/7
Congrats on an excellant history of the GWB. Unfortunately we had a terrible experience about 50 years ago. Driving north on the lower deck took about 30 minutes and the diesel fumes were dense. It got worse. We were stuck in stalled traffic with transport trucks under the apartments for about an hour. My wife felt ill for at least 3 days after. Have not ventured on the GWB since. Can only guess how much worse it must be after 50 years.
That’s quite a story, thank you for sharing!
Crossed the gw in about 2006
I was young but remember it being wall to wall with semi trucks and a sway gentle yet noticeable
Thank you again for this informative video on US history. Although I am in the Philippines, it is as if I was able to tour a part of the USA already.
When I look at a bridge like the GW,the first thing that pops into my mind is all the tools that got dropped.
11:06 that’s the SF bay bridge
I hope the support piers are well protected, if not better consider making them a lot stronger.
My favorite bridge in the world ❤ growing up blocks away, reminding me of the Eiffel Tower, I’ve driven, rollerbladed, biked, and walked it many times, explored underneath both sides, partied in raves (gwb side), made love, later my sons 1st bday party where they filmed the Big movie (the wish scene) collect GWB art n photography and soon just tattoo it on my forearm so I can see it wen I’m nowhere near it ❤ I love my GWB bridge
Had a bizzare incident happen on the GWB on the night before Thanksgiving. Was driving from PA to Long Island with my greyhound Fred in the backseat. Bumper to bumper traffic on the bridge, when I was rear-ended by another vehicle mid way across the bridge. Now traffic was severly hampered by the accident and Port Authority police showed up to evaluate the situation. My greyhound, Fred, was so upset by the collision, that he pooped all over himself and the backseat. The Port Authority cop looked into the backseat just said "Oh my God" as he waved his hands to get away from the stink. I was directed off the bridge into an area I was totally unfamiliar with, and a dog that was covered with poop. He took the info from myself and the driver that caused the accident and said "Lady, I hope where ever you're going they have a hose."
The metal towers were built as the framework to hold a granite facade. Financial issues caused the bridge to never get that facade instaslled.
I can never forget how eerie it was on that day in September of ‘01, we walked to the park where the bridge can be seen clearly, and so the bridge completely devoid of traffic. It was so quiet, except for the fighter planes passing in the sky back n forth all day. Me and my sister hugged it was so so unreal that day.
The time of the 3 day long traffic jam (2010s) which turned out 2b over some stupid Jersey politicians was the WORST! The nonstop honking day n night, drivers clogging the neighborhood (Nyc side) were super aggressive, almost hitting us ppl walking to stores or the subway! There were fist fights and ppls cars breaking down, it felt horrible living near the bridge in that time.
My ex had a friend who went to jail in the 80s for 20yrs for grabbing his girl with 2 other guys and threw her off the bridge! Thank goodness she was a strong swimmer and was a lifeguard and SURVIVED the fall somehow and put those guys in jail!
Not only New York's busiest bridge but the busiest bridge in the World. Designed for the future addition of a lower deck the towers were built to be adjusted when the added weight of the deck was imposed upon the towers. They could actually move the tops of the towers backwards to allow for the additional weight of the lower deck. Amazing engineering.
It is not the busiest bridge in the world or even New York. The Manhattan bridge, with its quad track subway, carries many more people. The GWB is the busiest exclusively automotive and pedestrian bridge.
@@zeroone8800 well your not comparing apples to apples are you ? Obviously the GW only carries vehicular traffic and it is the busiest bridge in NYC and the world for vehicular traffic. Do your home work next time.
That Flag may have been the biggest Freestanding Flag...but the Flag attached to the J.L. Hudson Store in Detroit Michigan was bigger..it measured 235 ft long by 104 ft high and took 1 mile of rope to attach it to the Building.
Anddd in 2024 it’s still NYC’s biggest traffic nightmare…
It will always be a traffic hellscape
We got to come over from Jersey to the city, so we can go back to Jersey and tell everyone we had to go to the city today.
Also when you said it connects "two of the most important states" I thought it must connect to Mass for a second and not NJ 😂
...it was only one tier until the 60s, when construction of the interstate highway system was begun, following Eisenhower's signing of the 1956 legislation that created it...I grew up in Fort Lee and my dad decided to move (ca. 1959) some 25 miles away to Wayne Township to avoid seeing his home town destroyed by increasing traffic, along with the removal of many of his boyhood icons...that second deck was added around 1962 - a year after we'd left - he kept his business in Fort Lee rather than try to relocate it and start over again.....because I traveled with him to work on Saturdays, I saw the construction pretty much until the second deck opened up
Few months back I was gonna cross this bridge at 4am heading north east, traffic was 4hr before we crossed the bridge. Now I make sure to go around just to make sure I don't waste my life
Dude . I like ur new background music 🎶✅️
Thanks 🔥
Ah, the GW where cell phones got cloned...
Also, being from Staten Island, I can see the use for uniting NJ and NY, but I'm not sure about the VZ uniting Staten Island and Brooklyn being a good thing...
1990 walked out on that bridge got as far as the towers where I got sceered
2010 got stuck behind a wreck right in the middle damn near freeked was like standing on a trampoline
Great & thorough history! But you forgot to mention “Bridgegate”. Why??
I'm so grateful to have visited New York City and walked across that bridge, now at 55 I have a full head of hair.
On this all the time . Cross Bronx expressway horrible .. Stuck 6 hours last time to go 10 miles .
Read the book " Power Broker ,Robert Moses".
Excellent book, I've read it three times, each time picking up details that I missed the previous times.
@@stuartaaron613 Somewhat bias against Moses though.
He did far far more good for the poor and not be cancelled because of one comment he made .
Very interesting. Our infrastructure and cities are some of this nations greatest assets. This is very important piece of our country, but I will admit I can understand how it must frustrate its daily users to pay to cross it while sitting still in traffic at times. A magnificent structure.
It is amazing seeing films which were made so long ago.
The world has changed so much since this bridge was built
The busiest bridge in the US is the Manhattan Bridge - when measured by number of people who cross it daily. The Manhattan Bridge, in addition to a roadway, has several subway lines and very busy bike and pedestrian paths. GWB is the busiest when considering vehicles only.
You're my favorite youtuber
The bear mountain bridge was built in 1923 crossing the Hudson
Biggest suspension bridge in the world when built. It’s about 40 miles north of
... NYC. Just south of West Point. There is an amazing view from top of Bear Mountain. In summer hundreds just sit and gaze.
In 1950 the late American composer William Schuman wrote his work for wind band, “George Washington Bridge.”
You should do a video on a very hot topic. The Brent Spence Bridge in NKY
no mention of the little red lighthouse? the sandy hook light? no metion at all? aww. might be a good lead ryan
Underneath the NY towers is an area where people take stolen vehicles to strip them of parts. I got a valve head to a Toyota motor from down there, we had to use a chain to pull it up. And there's a red lighthouse right on the river on a point there too. 20:35
Stan Lee's favorite bridge!!
Another Marvel fan! Cheers.
Why the pic of San Francisco’s Bay Bridge (and Golden Gate Bridge in the background) at 10:56 in the video? And the Golden Gate Bridge again in the closing summary at 23:56? In both instances, those bridges were not part of the narrative.
An extraordinary bridge commemorating an extraordinary man: George Washington.
I been there once by crossing it to NJ and back to Manhattan where I was scared of a dog before I took the Far Rockaway bound A train downtown
I with a passion HAAAAAATTE the Deegan crossing into the bridge. It’s literally the slowest lane due to the need for the outermost lane carrying all trucks to have to cross into the innermost lanes due to the bridge’s need for the trucks to only travel on the upper level, it’s a traffic nightmare no matter what time of day
I follow you. Its a mess.
11:05. Why am I seeing San Francisco's Oakland Bay Bridge here, when we're talking about The George Washington Bridge? Did I miss some valid context?
they need to build a long tunnel for express traffic from ct to nj
Port OF Authority?
Goes to show most of these non natives just DON'T KNOW.
Also People tend to forget the older bridges in NY is not the Brooklyn Bridge but the High bridge bridge.
Years ago I was visiting my friend in the psych ward (she was homeless & had nowhere to go) & the person that apparently jumped off & survived was in there as well.. he was in a suit of metal basically 😢 I couldn’t believe he was alive
The bottom deck should have been for rail.
I remember reading there were plans a long time ago to have the C train go over the bridge. Obviously that never came to be.
Because of the forward thinking of adding a lower deck in the future the price was too high so they decided to not install steel cladding on the towers that is why they are open.
Partly. Many just liked the look. Was it to be steel? I thought granite.
Did you mention how particularly popular it is for suicides? I've seen a few rescues or I guess, attempts to retrieve the body.
Those wailwaywagons @ 3:41
Expecting Ryan to double check his videos is asking too much lol
It’s going to get more busier when congestion pricing starts
Most maybe wont understand. Congestion pricing is due in June for Manhattan south of 60th Street, and so many will take the GW rather than the tunnels to get from Jersey to further east and north Manhattan.
Potholes are a massive traffic generator. One day civil engineers will realize this.
Lotta people dont realize they're going to have to replace it here in the near future bc that damn bridge is starting to fall apart
Its in the middle of a huge refurbishment project. North side is done.
What wAs the "inexpensive" device?
I think they can have a train line run on the GWB into NJ from GWB Bus terminal cause doesnt GWB Bus terminal have provisions for a train line to run from it?
12:33 I trust that the long line of men with hair loss in your lineage is maternal side. I understand that hair loss is genetically passed on from the mother's side. My maternal grandfather had lost most of his hair. I will try the Keeps. Aarre Peltomaa
"Don't jump! We don't have cam crews there yet!"
Attaching a death sentence to suicide attempts would curtail most of them.
New fencing is now too high.
I live right next to it in fort lee
I hate bridges so scary.
Jesus, can you say Goethals, Bayonne, Verrazanno, or Port Authority right? Can't watch!
I agree. There are a lot of discrepancies in his dialog in many of his videos. Incorrect pronunciations of people places and things. I picked up too his mispronunciation of the Goethals bridge especially. Makes his research accuracy of subjects questionable.
Say Houston😅
Yeah man. I was cringing the whole time.🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤣🗽
@@skizztrizz4453 hahahahahaha!!! He drives me crazy!
Complain much? Dude is very informative if you don't like his videos watch something else
I think that this is the busiest bridge in the world, let alone New York City.
Next up...the Tappan Zee Bridge
The old one or the new one?
HELL YEAH JERZ 4 LYPHE
The TZ, The Tap reincarnated will live forever.
They should have done the light rail option instead of adding lanes, who else agrees?
GWB needs a high speed rail line over it and no slow Amtrak trains. I wanna see some
189MPH/300KPH style trains connecting Allentown PA with nyc getting us there in under an hour. Would explode the job opportunities for those in northeastern PA and can give affordable housing for future ex New Yorkers fleeing expensive rents. Robert Moses made everything too car dependent. He build zero train infrastructure. Whitestone and throggsneck and the Verrazano should have had subway lines running on them.
Great vid! However, in English "and" is not used in year dates. It is nineteen fifty seven, nineteen thirty one, two thousand fifteen (or twenty fifteen) No 'and' is needed as in two thousand and five.
The bridge was also closed during Hurricane Sandy.
You need to research how to pronounce names of bridges and locations. My head popped off 1 minute in.
Bay-own and the Go-thels.
The original Goethals Bridge has been replaced with a cable stay bridg
Please, put subtitles with metrical units.
Just do what I do LOOK IT UP when I encounter the Metric System.
Stop being lazy the Gods of Google got answers at your fingertips.
It also has confederate flags in it awsome bridge and its in new york so the north admires our flag of the south [>
There are no Confederate flags.
cost - $59M and 12 dead
@10:56 Are you testing your audience to see whose paying attention? That's not the George Washington Bridge near the EAST end of Interstate 80, that's the Bay Bridge on the WEST end of Interstate 80.... AND probably near the end or after the end of construction judging by the Golden Gate Bridge in the background...
how come they don’t make it like California where the upper level goes one way, and the lower level goes the opposite way instead of each level doing evenly?
Lol I think I mentioned once you have great hair and should endorse a hair product.
Sport please
Picture at 11:05 is not nj / nyc