Around 5:19 a.m. Thursday, the 22nd, a motorcycle collided with a tractor-trailer on the Trans-Manhattan Expressway, on the upper level of the George Washington Bridge in the New York-bound direction. The motorcyclist died at the scene. The upper-level New York-bound lanes were closed and began reopening one by one at 8:15 a.m., but all lanes did not reopen until after 10 a.m. Congestion lasted until noon, and it took an hour just to get onto the bridge from Fort Lee. Around 9 a.m., a passenger car cutting into traffic was also hit on its side by a truck. Together with the fatal shooting on Tuesday, the 20th, two people have died on the same bridge in three days.
Two people have died within three days on the George Washington Bridge, which connects Fort Lee and Manhattan. On the evening of Tuesday, the 20th, a driver was shot and killed on the upper level. Early Thursday, the 22nd, a motorcyclist collided with a tractor-trailer and died at the scene. Both incidents blocked upper-level lanes for hours, and the commute from Bergen County to Manhattan was snarled on alternating days.
Motorcycle Crash Early on the 22nd
According to Port Authority police, the crash occurred around 5:19 a.m. on the 22nd on the Trans-Manhattan Expressway section of the upper level, New York-bound. A motorcycle collided with a tractor-trailer, and the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver was not injured. The identity of the deceased has not been released, and the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Immediately after the crash, all upper-level New York-bound lanes were blocked. The Borough of Fort Lee urged residents to avoid the bridge, and at one point an advisory said the closure could last until noon. In fact, lanes began reopening one by one from 8:15 a.m. At first only one left lane was opened, to let trucks and other vehicles through, and all lanes did not reopen until after 10 a.m. Counting from 5:20 a.m., that is about five hours. On the New Jersey side, Secaucus police warned of eastbound backups on Route 3 and Paterson Plank Road and urged drivers to take detours.
An Hour From Fort Lee to the Bridge
Even after the lanes reopened, the congestion did not clear all morning. Vehicles that had piled up since early morning were backed up through downtown Fort Lee and onto the approaches from I-95 and Routes 46 and 4. One Fort Lee resident who commutes to Manhattan wrote on Threads, "It took an hour just to get from Fort Lee onto the bridge around 9 a.m." The dashcam video the resident posted bore a timestamp of 10:08 a.m.
Another crash occurred amid that congestion. According to the resident, around 9 a.m. a passenger car cutting between lanes was hit on its side by a large truck. The video shows the car stopped beside a truck pulling a trailer and the driver stepping out. It is not known whether anyone was injured. It was a typical secondary crash caused by forcing a lane change in stop-and-go traffic.
Earlier in the Week, a Shooting
Two days earlier, around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, the 20th, Con Edison employee Koran Irvin, 46, was shot and killed while driving on the same upper level, New Jersey-bound. Police believe it was a road rage incident that followed a near collision on an entrance ramp. The next day, they arrested Victor Romero, 62, a retired NYPD detective, on a murder charge. The New Jersey-bound upper level was also closed for five to six hours that time.
The two incidents are unrelated: one was a crime, the other a traffic accident. But with two people dead on the same bridge in three days and two commutes paralyzed, the ripple effect a single incident can have on a bridge that carries nearly 300,000 vehicles a day has become apparent again. When the upper level is blocked, traffic shifts to the lower level, and when the lower level is blocked, it shifts to the Lincoln Tunnel. But Lincoln Tunnel bus routes have also changed starting this week because of Port Authority Bus Terminal construction, so alternatives are limited.
What to Know When There Is a Bridge Incident
The Port Authority posts bridge closure updates on X (formerly Twitter) at @PANYNJ_GWB and via 511NY and 511NJ by phone and app. After an early-morning incident, a quick check before leaving can save an hour. When the upper level is blocked, the lower level is often blocked too, so if you are not in a hurry, it is better to delay your departure or work from home. It is safer not to change lanes in congested stretches. The secondary crash on Thursday morning shows why.
Port Authority police are investigating the identity of the motorcyclist and the cause of the crash, and we will report as soon as they are confirmed.