WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The Port Authority is celebrating 80 years since the passage of the first vehicle across the gray cable-and-steel bridge that connects Upper Manhattan to New Jersey.
The George Washington Bridge opened to vehicular traffic on Oct. 25, 1931, after a dedication ceremony was held a day earlier to mark the urban planning achievement, according to the authority.
The bridge, originally called the Hudson River Bridge, received a lower level in 1962.
A massive American flag was draped from the highest point of the bridge to mark the anniversary Tuesday. The bridge’s towers will also be illuminated with thousands of small lights Tuesday evening, a Port Authority spokesman said.
The bridge is currently lit with pink bulbs that remain throughout October for Breast Cancer Awareness month.
More than 300,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day, according to the authority.
In 1942, the bridge was the focal point of children’s book “The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge,” by Hildegarde H. Swift. The book led to the preservation of a beloved lighthouse that sits in the shadow of the bridge.
