Top 5 Facts About the George Washington Bridge
Tourists and history buffs alike love the interesting facts about the George Washington Bridge. There is certainly no shortage of fun facts about the George Washington Bridge. Here are five of the most unusual.
1. Radio fans save bridge
Howard Stern fans were called into action on December 7, 1994. A young man called Stern’s radio show and announced that he was about to jump from the George Washington Bridge. Westbound listeners stopped his cars and tried to dissuade him. A Port Authority police officer, who was also listening in on Stern, rescued the man and then used the would-be jumper’s cell phone to tell Stern and his listeners that the man was safe.
2. Deviations from Flight Plans
Motorists on the George Washington Bridge were shocked on Christmas Day 1965 when a small plane plunged onto the westbound lanes. A young pilot had skimped on his previous flight and left the fuel flap open. An old pilot adage is: “A good landing is the one you walk away from. A great landing is the one where you can use the plane again.” This was a good landing, as the pilot and his passenger came out with minor injuries. However, it did not turn out to be a great landing, as the plane was demolished. He also hit a truck, whose driver must have had fun explaining to his dispatcher why he was late and his equipment was damaged. Motorists got another aviation surprise on January 15, 2009, when US Airways Flight 1549 approached them. Pilot Chesley Sullenberger managed to clear the bridge by just 900 feet before splashing down in the Hudson.
3. What’s in a name?
Local newspapers called for a cleverer name than the original Hudson River bridge. Among his suggestions were Bistate and Mother’s Bridge, Bridge of Prosperity, Gate of Paradise, and Pride of the Nation. However, it was New York City school children who managed to push for it to be renamed after George Washington. The name is particularly apt, as the Manhattan end of the bridge is near Fort Washington, from where Washington once withdrew forces from it to Fort Lee, near the New Jersey end of the bridge.
4. The heaviest traffic in the world
On the day the George Washington Bridge opened, it welcomed more than 55,000 vehicles, 33,000 pedestrians, and a rider on a horse named Rubio. The bridge now carries approximately 106 million vehicles a year, an average of nearly 300,000 a day, the most of any motor vehicle bridge in the world. Pedestrians, as well as skateboarders and cyclists, still traverse the upper deck.
5. Junk Dump
With all that traffic, mishaps are inevitable. Trucks have occasionally overturned and spilled their cargo. Among the unscheduled deliveries were beer, frozen chicken pieces and watermelons. A truck released a herd of goats that trotted along the roads. Another truck gifted motorists and bridge employees with free fertilizer when it couldn’t hold its load of manure.