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A 24-year-old climber partially caused massive delays when he started climbing the Manhattan tower's south side shortly before noon May 18.
What began as half-hour backups quickly stretched to more than 90 minutes on both levels during one of the busiest times of the average GWB weekend.
All eastbound lanes were eventually closed at one point as Port Authority and NYPD emergency services officers with rappelling ropes and other rescue gear eventually got him down safely.
One of the NYPD's new drones captured video of the rescue 200 or so feet above a fenced-in around around the base of the tower near the Little Red Lighthouse.Meanwhile, a department chopper hovered in place over Washington Heights.
At the bridge's west end, Fort Lee police and Bergen County sheriff's officers had their hands full diverting traffic coming from the highways and side streets. Horns blared, drivers made illegal turns and the gridlock hardened as the time passed.
The black-hooded climber wasn't believed to be a protestor -- but, rather, someone with emotional issues, responders said.
“There’s no flags, no banners, no statements in connection to any protests,” an NYPD spokesman said.
He was taken in an FDNY ambulance to nearby Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center for a psychological evaluation.
The entire process took nearly four hours, part of it with multiple lanes closed and at one point with traffic stopped entirely.
The Port Authority was expected to file criminal charges.
Specially trained emergency services officers are accustomed to jumpers and those threatening to jump at the GWB. Every know and then it's the other way around.
An experienced mountain climber from Oshkosh, Wisconsin climbed to the top of the New Jersey tower in a tuxedo, wrapped a rope noose-like around his neck and attached it to the bridge in May 2001.
All traffic was stopped as Port Authority Police Officer Michael Warnock talked with the man, at one point connecting him to a TV news reporter.
After 2½ hours, the man relented and was walked down.
"When lives are at stake, and every second counts, no one does it better than our Emergency Service Unit," NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry posted on X following Saturday's drama.
Initial reports were that three people had tried climbing the bridge, but that was never substantiated.
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