FORT LEE, NJ — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announces that it has completed its seven-year effort to replace all 592 original suspender ropes on the George Washington Bridge, marking a major milestone in the agency’s comprehensive $2 billion rehabilitation of the world’s busiest vehicular bridge as it nears its 100th birthday.
Replacing all 592 of the bridge’s steel suspender ropes was the largest and most impactful component of the Restoring the George program, which includes 11 distinct projects to rehabilitate, repair, or replace major components of the 94-year-old span. The major engineering feat to replace the bridge’s steel suspender ropes, which connect the bridge’s main cables to the roadway decks below, began in 2018 while the bridge remained open and operational.
Completion of the suspender rope project also enables the agency to completely rebuild both of the span’s shared-use sidewalks, which are adjacent to the ropes’ connection points on the main span. During the project, one sidewalk was closed at a time to allow access to the ropes for work crews, requiring pedestrians and bicyclists to share use of the remaining open sidewalk. The completely rebuilt north sidewalk reopened after every suspender rope on that side of the bridge was replaced, while the south sidewalk was closed in February 2023. With the suspender rope project completed, the agency expects to complete work on the span’s south sidewalk and reopen the path next year. Both paths open to the public will enable significantly improved bridge access for bicyclists and pedestrians by separating use of the sidewalks to bicyclists on the north sidewalk and to pedestrians on the south sidewalk.
“Replacing all 592 suspender ropes on the George Washington Bridge is a remarkable feat of engineering as we work to rehabilitate and renew nearly every major component of the world’s busiest bridge,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said. “Over seven years, our teams diligently planned and worked with precision and perseverance to ensure the bridge remains safe and reliable for millions who depend on it for work, commuting, or travel. As the bridge nears its centennial, we’re proud to help preserve its legacy as an engineering marvel while securing its future for decades to come.”
Replacing each of the bridge’s 592 suspender ropes was a complex, meticulous process over seven years. At each panel point along the bridge, crews secured temporary ropes being replaced as well as the adjacent panel points to support the bridge’s weight at that location, then disconnected and removed the original ropes. Crews then installed and secured the new ropes to the span’s girders, finally disconnecting the temporary ropes. The work was accomplished while allowing traffic to continue flowing across the span. The suspender ropes range in length from 38 feet to 674 feet, with the longest near the bridge’s two towers and the shortest at the center of the span.
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The bridge’s main cables were also rehabilitated as part of the project. The 26,474 compacted wires within each cable were recoated and rewrapped. To further extend the lifespan of the main cables, a new elastomeric wrap was added, along with a new dehumidification system to reduce moisture within the cables. The main cable wires from all four cables, laid end to end, would be long enough to wrap around the Earth four times.
Once the south sidewalk’s construction is complete, bicyclists and pedestrians will each use separate walkways. Pedestrians will have dedicated use of the south sidewalk, while bicyclists will exclusively use the north sidewalk. When the south sidewalk was closed for the suspender rope project, the north sidewalk supported both pedestrians and cyclists. The north sidewalk reopened in February 2023, featuring fully accessible entrances and exits, new open-air viewing platforms, and improved safety and security measures including new lighting and signage. Plans for the newly reconstructed south sidewalk include a new crosswalk at Hudson Terrace, new entry plazas, a 14-foot-wide accessible ramp onto the bridge, and a viewing platform in New York similar to those installed on the north sidewalk. The south sidewalk is scheduled to reopen by the end of 2026.
The $2 billion Restoring the George program is the most comprehensive rehabilitation since the bridge opened 94 years ago. It touches nearly every major component of the bridge and connecting roadways on both sides of the span, addressing wear and tear from the approximately 100 million vehicles that use the crossing annually. The entire once-in-a-generation program is expected to be completed in 2030. Projects include:
- The rehabilitation of steel main cable strands in the bridge’s New York and New Jersey anchorages (completed in 2017)
- The pavement rehabilitation of the lower level’s eastbound roadway on the main span and access roads (completed in 2016)
- Replacement of the Palisades Interstate Parkway helix ramp and rehabilitation of the upper-level roadway over Hudson Terrace and the New Jersey anchorage (completed in 2020)
- Rehabilitation of the Trans-Manhattan Expressway’s median barrier and water system, and repair of concrete fire-proofing encasement on steel columns (completed in 2023)
- Rehabilitation of the 178th and 179th street ramps, bus ramps, and bus turnaround, and construction of new street-level sidewalks from Cabrini Boulevard to the New York anchorage (ongoing)
- Replacement of roadway finger joints and 32 deck panels at the two towers (ongoing)
- Rehabilitation of upper-level eastbound roadway pavement (ongoing)
- Rehabilitation of the Center Avenue and Lemoine Avenue bridges (ongoing)
- Rehabilitation of lower-level steel, paint removal, and replacement of movable maintenance platforms (ongoing)
- Rehabilitation or replacement of components of the Fort Washington Avenue, Broadway, Wadsworth Avenue, St. Nicholas Avenue, Audubon Avenue, and Amsterdam Avenue bridges over the Trans-Manhattan Expressway (future)
