The George Washington Bridge, opened in 1931, has begun a $1.9-billion state-of-good-repair (SGR) program to rehabilitate the facility, scheduled to be completed in 2025. One of the principal components of this rehabilitation includes the replacement of the suspender ropes that support the bridge decks from the main cables. As a result of this program, new access paths to the bridge’s main pedestrian walkways will be constructed. The challenge to respond to the SGR requirements created an opportunity to create substantial improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists who use the bridge for both passage and as a destination in its own right, as well as for the neighborhoods that interface with the access points. The presentation will illustrate how the conservation of transportation infrastructure can serve not just to maintain facilities, but to actually improve them.
