On this day in New York · August 29, 1962
The George Washington Bridge Gets Its Martha
One August morning the world's busiest bridge doubled its lanes and picked up a nickname borrowed from George Washington's wife.
The facts
- Opened
- August 29, 1962
- Nickname
- "Martha," after Martha Washington; the name was already in newspaper use by April 1961, before the deck even opened
- Capacity added
- Six new lanes below the original eight, a 75 percent capacity increase, making the GWB the world's only 14-lane suspension bridge
- Project cost
- $183 million, covering the lower deck plus a new bus terminal and highway connections
On August 29, 1962, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey opened a second deck beneath the George Washington Bridge, adding six lanes below the original eight and making the span between Manhattan's Washington Heights and Fort Lee, New Jersey, the only 14-lane suspension bridge in the world. Newspapermen and commuters had already been calling the new lower level "Martha," for Martha Washington, at least a year before it opened. The extra deck was not just about clearing traffic: it also stiffened the whole structure, calming a bridge that in high winds used to sway as much as 30 inches. Governors Nelson Rockefeller of New York and Richard Hughes of New Jersey marked the day riding across in 1931-vintage convertibles, echoing the cars used at the bridge's original opening three decades before.
In their words
The day in the words of the people who were there. Every quote is verbatim, and every source links out so you can check it.
-
The George Washington Bridge's second level, now being completed, is referred to as the Martha Washington Bridge.
The New York Post, "The Lyons Den" by Leonard Lyons, April 28, 1961
Source: The Big Apple (Barry Popik)
Why it still matters
Martha is the reason the George Washington Bridge kept up with New York's car culture instead of choking on it, and it is still how most drivers cross between New Jersey and Manhattan without ducking into a tunnel.
Sources
Get the day it happened, the day it happens.
Every morning brief ends with this day in New York history, and every day adds a page to this almanac. Free, in your inbox.
Free to start. The unsubscribe link actually works.