Milestone Reached In $2 Billion 'Restore The George' Bridge Project

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A significant milestone was reached in the project timeline to restore the George Washington Bridge, which links both sides of the Hudson River, as part of a historic $2 billion investment, officials said.

The 1.5-mile North Walk has reopened with renovations that will provide safe and equitable access for all cyclists and pedestrians and will significantly improve the overall user experience, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Tuesday.

Improvements were part of a project to replace the original steel suspender ropes on the G.W. Bridge's north side, the work for which began in September 2018 and completed in 2021.

Associated closure of the path below the cables generated an opportunity to overhaul the path, allowing for newly installed, gentler widened accessible approach paths, and widened known chokepoints around the Bridge's towers.

Other improvements include the removal of stairs that previously inhibited direct bike access and prevented wheelchair and stroller users from reaching the span.

“Now that the North Walk is ADA compliant, people of all abilities can enjoy the views and see the best of what our region has to offer," New Jersey State Senator Gordon M. Johnson sai.

Additionally, there are two new open-air viewing platforms, one to offer views of the Hudson River and Palisades on the New York Side, and the other to provide head-on views of the bridge's upper level and tower on the New Jersey side.

New safety features include enhanced security fencing, sidewalk pavement markings, bicycle-friendly rub-rails, improved lighting, and way-finding signage. Modifications of corners at and around the bridge tower will also allow cyclists to navigate without dismounting.

With the opening of the North Walk, the Port Authority closed the Bridge’s South Walk on Wednesday to accommodate the immediate start of work to replace steel suspender ropes on the south side. Work on the north side suspender cables will be replicated on the south side, which is to be redesigned with similar safety features and accessibility.

Replacement of all 592 cables that suspend from the Bridge's four main cables and hold up the Bridge's two roadway levels is the largest project of the "Restore the George" program, and is "essential to the Bridge's state of good repair," the Port Authority said.

Once the South Walk is complete (expected in approximately four years), cyclists and pedestrians will use separate walkways, with cyclists using the North Walk and pedestrians using the South Walk.

“These improvements represent a major contribution to building a safer, more accessible, and equitable active transportation network, between our two states," Debra Kagan, Executive Director of the New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition.