During the George Washington Bridge's construction, the cost of the bridge was estimated at $75million, and the bridge was expected to carry eight million vehicles and 1.5million pedestrians in its first year of operation. When the George Washington Bridge opened, it was estimated that eight million vehicles would use the bridge in its first year, and that the bridge could ultimately carry 60million vehicles annually after a second deck was added. The bridge's final cost was estimated at $60million. Real-estate speculators believed that the bridge's construction would raise real-estate values in Fort Lee, since the borough's residents would be able to more easily access New York City. During the construction of the George Washington Bridge, speculators spent millions of dollars to buy land around the bridge's New Jersey approach. The bridge was later credited with helping raise land prices and encouraging residential development in formerly agricultural parts of Bergen County. It also spurred the rise of the trucking industry along the United States' East Coast, supplanting much of the freight railroads that used to carry cargo.