Crews from MTA Bridges and Tunnels today replaced the first of 19 signs on agency property to feature the revised spelling of the bridge’s name, incorporating an additional ‘z’ in the name Verrazzano.

 

Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation in October 2019 to officially change the name of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to reflect the spelling of Giovanni da Verrazzano, who, in 1524, was the first European explorer to sail into New York Harbor.

 

MTA Bridges and Tunnels is replacing the signs on its property gradually, under normal schedule of maintenance, to avoid incurring costs above and beyond normal replacement.

 

The crews today replaced a sign at 92^nd Street near Fort Hamilton Parkway in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, that points to an entrance ramp to the bridge.

 

When it opened in 1964, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, then spelled with a single ‘z’, was the longest suspension span in the world, linking historic Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn and Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island. Today, it remains the longest suspension span in the United States and handles close to 70 million vehicles annually.

 

Since the first MTA Capital Program in 1992, capital investments of $1.5 billion have been made at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and MTA Bridges and Tunnels continues to invest through the current Capital Program to ensure that the 54-year-old bridge continues to meet modern traffic demands.