Friday, November 14, 2008

United States - George Washington Bridge



 

Stamp Issue : 1952-09-08 

George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee in New Jersey by means of Interstate 95, U.S. Route 1/9. U.S. Route 46, which is entirely in New Jersey, ends halfway across the bridge at the state border. The GWB is considered one of the world's busiest bridges in terms of vehicle traffic. The bridge carried 107,912,000 vehicles last year, down slightly from the 2006 volume of 108,529,830 vehicles, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — the bi-state government agency that owns and operates several area bridges, tunnels, and airports.
The GW span is the fourth longest suspension bridge in the United States. It contains two levels — an upper level with four lanes in each direction and a lower level with three lanes in each direction, for a total of 14 lanes of travel. Additionally, the bridge houses a path on each side of the bridge's upper level for pedestrian traffic. The speed limit on the bridge is 45 mph (70 km/h), though heavy traffic is common and frequently makes it difficult to reach such speeds, especially during the morning rush hour into New York City.


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