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The Verrazano–Narrows Bridge (sometimes called simply the Verrazano Bridge) is a double-decked suspension bridge in the U.S. state of New York that connects the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger, wide open lower bay. The bridge is named for the Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, whose name is misspelled on the bridge, as well as for the Narrows. In 1524, while in the service of Francis I of France, Verrazzano became the first European to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River.〔 It has a central span of and was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its completion in 1964, surpassing the Golden Gate Bridge by 60 feet, until it was in turn surpassed by 366 feet by the Humber Bridge in the United Kingdom in 1981. It has the eleventh longest main span in the world, while retaining its place as the longest bridge span in the Americas. Its massive towers can be seen throughout a good part of the New York metropolitan area, including from spots in all five boroughs of New York City and in New Jersey. The bridge establishes a critical link in the local and regional highway system, and also marks the gateway to New York Harbor. All cruise ships and container ships arriving at the Port of New York and New Jersey must pass underneath the bridge and therefore must be built to accommodate the clearance under the bridge.〔 Since 1976, the Staten Island end of the bridge has been the starting point of the New York City Marathon. ==History== The bridge was the last great public works project in New York City overseen by Robert Moses, the New York State Parks Commissioner and head of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. He had long desired the span as a means of completing the expressway system he had championed during his tenure. It was also the last project designed by Chief Engineer Othmar Ammann, who had designed most of the other major crossings into and within New York City, including the George Washington Bridge, the Bayonne Bridge, the Bronx Whitestone Bridge, the Triborough Bridge, and the Throgs Neck Bridge. The plans to build the bridge caused considerable controversy in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge, because many families had settled in homes in the area where the bridge now stands and were forced to relocate. Construction on the bridge began August 13, 1959, and the upper deck was opened on November 21, 1964, at a cost of $320 million in 1964 dollars, equivalent to $ in present dollars. Three men died building the bridge, including 58-year-old Paul Bassett〔Man Killed At Narrows Span. August 25, 1962. New York Times. 9.〕 and 19-year-old Gerard McKee. The latter's death became the subject of a chapter of Gay Talese's book ''The Bridge''. Individuals involved in construction included: * Senior partner: Othmar Ammann * Chief engineer: Milton Brumer * Project engineers: Herb Rothman, Frank L. Stahl * Design engineer: Leopold H. Just * Engineer of construction: John West Kinney Fort Lafayette, an island coastal fortification in New York Harbor, built next to Fort Hamilton at the southern tip of what is now Bay Ridge, was destroyed as part of the bridge's construction in 1960; the Brooklyn-side bridge pillars now occupy the fort's former foundation. New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony, which was attended by over 5,000 people. He was the first person to be driven over the bridge. The lower deck opened on June 28, 1969. The bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world (previously held by the Golden Gate Bridge) from 1964 until 1981, when it was surpassed by the Humber Bridge in England. In 2009, all 262 of the mercury vapor fixtures in the bridge's necklace lighting were replaced with energy efficient light-emitting diodes, years before the rest of New York City started to get LED streetlights. In 2014, the city began a major reconstruction project on the bridge. This includes replacing ramps, removing the divider on the upper deck and replacing it with a seventh lane. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Verrazano–Narrows Bridge」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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