Verrazano Narrows Bridge - lower level
A second (lower) deck had been included in the original plans for the Verrazano Narrows Bridge by the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority (TBTA). When the suspension span was constructed in 1964, provisions were built for a lower deck to be added at a later date. A steel deck was built as a shell, to be outfitted and completed with paved lanes, signage and lighting along with approach and connecting ramps when traffic demand warranted additional lane capacity. The cost of the bridge (including six upper level lanes plus lower level provisions) was $300 million, with the lower level addition at $20 million, to be funded via TBTA toll revenue surplus.
With higher than expected traffic volumes on the single (upper) level in the bridge's first full in year in service (1965), TBTA Chairman Robert Moses began accelerating plans to complete the lower level for six additional lanes. However, newly elected Mayor John V. Lindsay was strongly opposed to adding the second deck (favoring rail transit). Moses committed surplus revenue to the lower level project just before the TBTA was merged into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in early 1968. The lower level opened June 28, 1969, four and a half years after the upper level and six years ahead of schedule.
Verrazano Narrows Bridge - lower level
A second (lower) deck had been included in the original plans for the Verrazano Narrows Bridge by the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority (TBTA). When the suspension span was constructed in 1964, provisions were built for a lower deck to be added at a later date. A steel deck was built as a shell, to be outfitted and completed with paved lanes, signage and lighting along with approach and connecting ramps when traffic demand warranted additional lane capacity. The cost of the bridge (including six upper level lanes plus lower level provisions) was $300 million, with the lower level addition at $20 million, to be funded via TBTA toll revenue surplus.
With higher than expected traffic volumes on the single (upper) level in the bridge's first full in year in service (1965), TBTA Chairman Robert Moses began accelerating plans to complete the lower level for six additional lanes. However, newly elected Mayor John V. Lindsay was strongly opposed to adding the second deck (favoring rail transit). Moses committed surplus revenue to the lower level project just before the TBTA was merged into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in early 1968. The lower level opened June 28, 1969, four and a half years after the upper level and six years ahead of schedule.