Flying over snow-covered Manhattan and the infamous George Washington Bridge!

GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE. Spanning the Hudson River between Fort Lee, New Jersey, and 178th Street in Manhattan, the George Washington Bridge was designed by Othmar H. Ammann and constructed by the Port Authority (now Port Authority of New York and New Jersey). It was completed in October 1931, at a cost of $59 million. With a center span of 3,500 feet, twice as long as any bridge span constructed to that date, it became a symbol of the art and craft of the civil engineering profession. Between anchorages, the total length is 4,760 feet; and the deck is suspended from cables composed of galvanized steel wire, with each wire at 0. 196 inches in diameter and the total length of wire at 105,000 miles. A second deck, also designed by Ammann, opened.

George Washington Bridge, vehicular suspension bridge across the Hudson River, between Manhattan borough of New York City and Fort Lee, N.J.; constructed 1927–31. It is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. Its main span is 3,500 ft (1,067 m) long and 250 ft (76 m) above the water. Cass Gilbert was the consulting architect, and O. H. Ammann was in general charge of the planning and construction. In 1962 a lower deck of six lanes was completed.

In 1776, George Washington fought the British armies at Jeffrey's Hook, New York, sinking ships between New York's Fort Washington and New Jersey's Fort Lee in an attempt to block the passage of British ships up the Hudson River. The attempt was a failure, and Fort Washington (and soon after, all of New York City) was lost to the enemy. Nearly two centuries later, a bridge was built on the site and dedicated to those who gave their lives trying to defend it, and given the name of the general who inspired them to do so.

The historic nature of this area was not the only consideration for the location of the bridge; indeed, it was probably only the source of its name. The Hudson isnarrowest between Washington Heights and the Palisades, with solid enough rock on either side to minimize the amount of foundation building. Both sides of the riverbank were also quite high up, limiting the need for extensive approaches.

The bridge was originally planned, in the work and dreams of Gustav Lindenthal, to be located in midtown Manhattan; there, it would serve as a link in the railroad chain between the New York City/New England area to New Jersey and points west. Lindenthal saw part of his dreams realized with the Hell Gate Bridge, although his Hudson River rail bridge was never to be. The railroads decided that they would rather build tunnels for their exclusive use, and Othmar Ammann, one of Lindenthal's lead engineers, realized that building a bridge in midtown Manhattan would be politically unfeasible and financially painful

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