Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, also referred to as the Verrazzano Bridge and formerly the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and Narrows Bridge, is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water linking the relatively enclosed Upper New York Bay with Lower New York Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The bridge carries thirteen lanes of Interstate 278, with seven lanes on the upper level and six on the lower level. The span is named for Giovanni da Verrazzano, who in 1524, became the first documented European explorer to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River.

Engineer David B. Steinman first proposed a bridge across the Narrows in the late 1920s. Subsequent proposals of vehicular crossings across the Narrows were deferred over the next twenty years.