06/18/2026
On this , we revisit the gala 1956 celebration of the completion of the Great Egg Harbor Bridge. The 1.2 mile Great Egg crossing was the last piece of the original route of the Garden State Parkway to be completed. Gov. Robert B. Meyner hailed the new bridge as a vital link between North and South Jersey.
The Governor and his mother, Sophie, watched from a reviewing stand as 150 antique cars crossed on the bridge, a floatilla of boats passed beneath it, and a group of Navy jets flew above it.
Governor and Mrs. Meyner joined New Jersey Highway Authority Chairman Katharine White in cutting a ribbon to declare the bridge open (it had actually been opened to traffic a few weeks earlier and closed again for the day to accommodate the celebration.}
The full length of the modern-day Parkway was reached the following summer when the nine-mile stretch connecting the Parkway to the New York State Thruway opened to traffic.
