A 54-year-old man was taken into custody after climbing a tower on the George Washington Bridge Friday morning, the Port Authority said.
The upper level of the bridge was closed in both directions around 8:35 a.m. due to the climber, a spokesman said. Lanes gradually started to reopen shortly after 9 a.m., he said.
The man was climbing the tower on the New Jersey side of the bridge, Port Authority said. When Port Authority police and the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit 2 responded, the man was standing on the edge and threatening to jump, police said.
The ESU detectives were able to talk him out of jumping and bring him down safely, the NYPD said.
Video footage from the scene shows him wearing jeans and no shirt. He was taken to Bergen Regional Hospital for evaluation.
The incident caused significant delays on the bridge, a spokesman said.
