George Washington Bridge: A Timeless Marvel. This item is unavailable.George Washington Bridge: A Timeless Marvel

This book presents a behind-the-scenes history of the bridge and its construction, from the very first ideas for a Hudson river crossing to the bridge we know today. We travel back in time to see Othmar H. Ammann, the Port Authority's first chief engineer, successfully applying new engineering concepts to create a clear span of 3,500 feet – more than twice that of any other bridge existing at that time (1931). We learn about the builders who, by necessity developed new construction practices and equipment even as they continued to use established ones on a larger, totally unfamiliar scale. We glimpse the amazing accomplishment of this bridge, through masterful photographs – mostly from the Port authority's own archives – showing how Ammann's engineering vision became a functioning facility that handled 5.5 million vehicles during the bridge's first full year of operation, to more than 107 million vehicles in 2005. Moving forward through time, the author shows how the bridge continues to expand and change to keep pace with increasing traffic demands, and environmental, safety and security needs – and how recent investments have made the bridge one of the world's most advanced in traffic management.