A man died Wednesday morning after climbing over a fence on the George Washington Bridge's Northwalk and jumping into the Hudson River below, according to authorities. The jump happened at approximately 8:43 a.m., and his body was later recovered by the NYPD, with a Citizen NYC report placing it on the New Jersey side of the river near Fort Lee.
Port Authority Police received a report about the man's jump Wednesday, and the NYPD recovered his body the same day, according to Daily Voice. Authorities have not released information about the man's identity. The bridge's pedestrian walkway sits roughly 212 feet above the Hudson River at mid-span, a height that makes falls almost universally fatal due to high-impact water contact and severe currents, according to background compiled on Wikipedia.
A Bridge With a Long, Difficult History
The Daily Voice report notes that people have jumped to their deaths from the George Washington Bridge going back to at least September 2017, when an exceedingly high fence and canopy were installed on the span specifically intended to keep people from jumping. That fencing was part of a much larger and longer effort to secure one of the busiest suspension bridges in the country.
Between 2012 and 2017, before permanent high barriers went up, an average of one person attempted suicide off the George Washington Bridge every 3.5 days, back when the pedestrian walkway was guarded only by a four-foot waist-high railing, per reporting from WNYC. In September 2017, work began on a temporary fence and canopy on the upper-level south sidewalk, according to NJ 101.5. That installation required temporarily closing the upper south sidewalk to pedestrians and cyclists.
Why the Upper Walkways Became the Priority
Port Authority records showed that the vast majority of historical jumping attempts occurred on the upper-level pedestrian walkways, which is why officials prioritized barrier upgrades there over the lower vehicular decks, which don't have pedestrian walkways at all, per CBS New York. Before the permanent barriers were finished, Port Authority Police Department officers relied on walkway patrols and dedicated camera surveillance to intervene.
Designing a fence tall enough to stop jumpers on a bridge built in the late 1920s wasn't simple. Port Authority engineers explained during safety planning that a tall fence required extensive wind-tunnel testing, because an improperly designed barrier could act as a sail catching Hudson River winds and flex the bridge deck, according to KSL.com.
Permanent Fencing Folded Into a $2 Billion Overhaul
Permanent fencing along the bridge's walkways has been described as a 9-foot fence costing $37 million to $47 million, according to BBC News. A separate $1.3 billion project was planned to replace the bridge's suspension ropes, according to WNYC.
The barriers and patrols have also been part of the bridge's broader safety measures.
Physical bridge barriers can reduce jumping deaths, and fencing has been described as effective in preventing jumps. That evidence has underpinned the Port Authority's yearslong push to fence off the walkways where most attempts historically occurred.
Anyone experiencing a crisis can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by phone, text, or web chat, free and confidential, 24 hours a day. The line, which the U.S. officially launched in July 2022, connects people with crisis support nationwide, according to the 988 Lifeline.
