The Verrazano Bridge is located over the Verrazano Narrows Strait at the mouth of the Hudson River which is the western most area of Long Island. It provides a vital connection between Staten Island and Brooklyn. Construction of the bridge began in August 13, 1959 and ended in 1964. The Verrazano Bridge gained distinction for being the largest suspension bridge of its time, and became an architectural icon. Prior to its completion, the only access NYC residents had to Staten Island, was through the ferries. The double deck suspension bridge was engineered by a renowned Swiss immigrant named Othmar Ammann, the same man who designed the Triborough Bridge. The Verrazano Bridge was the longest and heaviest suspension bridge of its time: it spans 6,690 feet of water and weighs 1,265,000 tons. The bridge has two decks; each has six lanes. The two levels are reinforced by heavy steel trusses. When the Verrazano Bridge was completed, only the upper deck was available for automobile traffic. However in 1969, the lower deck was opened six years ahead of schedule owing to heavy traffic on the upper level. Since 1888, several plans had been proposed for connecting Staten Island to Brooklyn. Some of the earliest plans drafted suggested tunneling the narrows rather than building a bridge. In 1923, John F. Hylan, the New York City mayor at the time, raised $500,000 to begin partial excavation of the access shafts at each end of the Verrazano Narrows Strait. However, as the costs began to mount the project was discontinued. Later, in 1927 and 1937, similar plans for a tunnel were proposed; these plans never materialized. In 1949, Robert M. Moses, chairman of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority gained approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for his proposal for the Verrazano Bridge. The building of the bridge was delayed for several years owing to lack of funding. However, in 1959, Robert Moses negotiated a deal with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who agreed to finance the construction of the bridge. The Port Authority decided to finance the Verrazano Bridge in hopes that it would boost automobile traffic into Staten Island, as well as increase traffic over the Goethals Bridge and the Outerbridge Crossing from which the Port Authority collected tolls. The building of the Verrazano Bridge may have brought prosperity for New York in the long run, but its construction severely disrupted the neighborhood of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. The building of the Verrazano Bridge also made it necessary to construct the Staten Island Expressway, and the Gowanus Expressway (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway). To build the approach in Brooklyn to the Verrazano Bridge in the neighborhood of Bay Ridge, 800 homes had to be demolished, resulting in the displacement of 7,000 residents. Opponents challenged this plan vehemently. However Robert Moses was once again able to obtain approval from New York City Government.