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The George Washington Bridge – known informally as the GW Bridge, the GWB, the GW, or the George – is a double-decked suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, New Jersey. , the George Washington Bridge carries over 106 million vehicles per year, making it the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge,.〔(【引用サイトリンク】accessdate=February 16, 2015 )〕 The bridge is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a bi-state government agency that operates several area bridges, tunnels and airports. The bridge, an integral conduit within the New York metropolitan area, has an upper level that carries four lanes in each direction and a lower level with three lanes in each direction, for a total of 14 lanes of travel. The speed limit on the bridge is , though congestion often slows traffic, especially during the morning and evening rush hours. The bridge's upper level also carries pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Interstate 95 (I-95) and U.S. Route 1/9 (US 1/9) cross the river via the bridge. The New Jersey Turnpike (part of I-95, connecting to I-80) and US 46, which lie entirely within New Jersey, both terminate halfway across the bridge at the state border with New York. At its eastern terminus in New York City, the bridge connects with the Trans-Manhattan Expressway (part of I-95, connecting to the Cross Bronx Expressway). ==History== The bridge sits near the sites of Fort Washington (in New York) and Fort Lee (in New Jersey), which were fortified positions used by General George Washington and his American forces as they attempted to deter the occupation of New York City in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. Unsuccessful, Washington evacuated Manhattan by crossing between the two forts.〔In 1910, the Washington Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a stone monument to the Battle of Fort Washington. The monument is about northeast of the Little Red Lighthouse, up the hill towards the eastern bridge anchorage. 〕 Construction on the bridge began in October 1927 as a project of the Port of New York Authority.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=History - George Washington Bridge )〕 Its chief engineer was Othmar Ammann, with Cass Gilbert as architect. When construction started, the estimated cost of the bridge was $75,000,000. Prior to and while under construction, the bridge was unofficially known as the "Hudson River Bridge". That name was the popular choice, chosen over a host of other proposed names as well as the Port Authority's preference for the name "George Washington Bridge", based on 1931 ballot voting submitted to the Port Authority by New York and New Jersey residents. However, the Port Authority named the bridge after George Washington that year. The bridge was dedicated on October 24, 1931, and opened to traffic the following day. The George Washington Bridge, with a span of in total〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Facts & Info - George Washington Bridge )〕 – including a main span of – was the longest main bridge span in the world at the time, at nearly double the of the previous record holder, the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. It held this title until the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937.〔 In 1946, two more lanes were created on the current upper level, widening it from the original six lanes.〔 A second, lower deck, which had been anticipated in Ammann's original plans, was approved by Lt. Col. Joseph R. McCammon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and opened to the public on August 29, 1962. The lower level, nicknamed "Martha" after George's wife Martha Washington, increased the capacity of the bridge by 75 percent, and simultaneously made the George Washington Bridge the world's only 14-lane suspension bridge. The original design for the towers of the bridge called for them to be encased in concrete and granite. However, because of cost considerations during the Great Depression and favorable aesthetic critiques of the bare steel towers, this was never done. The exposed steel towers, with their distinctive criss-crossed bracing, have become one of the bridge's most identifiable characteristics. Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret) said of the unadorned steel structure: The George Washington Bridge was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers on October 24, 1981, the 50th anniversary of the bridge's dedication ceremony.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=George Washington Bridge )〕 As the enclosed lower level is more vulnerable to hazardous material (HAZMAT) incidents than the upper level, most HAZMATs have long been prohibited there.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Transportation Regulations at Tunnel and Bridge Facilities )〕 Following the September 11 attacks, the Port Authority also prohibited people from taking photographs on the premises of the bridge out of fear that terrorist groups might study photographs to plot an attack on the bridge, but the photography ban has since been lifted. Since 2006, the bridge has flown the world's largest free-flying American flag, measuring at long, wide, and . It is hoisted on special occasions when weather allows, and appears on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day, as well as on dates honoring those lost in the September 11 attacks. In December 2011, the Port Authority announced plans to repair the bridge. For the first time, the vertical suspender cables will be replaced, at an expected cost of more than $1 billion paid for by toll revenue. On August 5, 2013, repair crews began an $82-million effort to fix cracks in upper-deck structural steel caused by traffic, particularly heavy trucks. The plan called for replacing 632 road deck panels, which would add at least 20 years of service life to the roadway. The work proceeded at night, and was slated to be complete by year's end. But delays prevented completion and ultimately the work was halted for the winter. It was restarted on June 16, 2014, and was expected to last another 12 weeks. From September 9 to 13, 2013, dedicated toll lanes for one of the Fort Lee entrances to the bridge's upper level were reduced from three to one without notification to local government officials and emergency responders on orders from aides and appointees of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, causing a political controversy. The closures caused massive traffic congestion, with major delays for school transportation and police and emergency service responses within Fort Lee. , the repercussions and controversy surrounding these actions continue to be under investigation by the Port Authority, federal prosecutors, and a New Jersey legislature committee. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George Washington Bridge」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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