Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Island with the rest of the city. Various issues delayed the start of construction until 1959. The bridge opened on November 21, 1964, and a second deck beneath the existing span was opened in June 1969. The New York City government began a $1.5 billion reconstruction of the bridge's two decks in 2014. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge has a central span of . It was the longest suspension bridge in the world from 1964 until it was surpassed by the Humber Bridge in the United Kingdom in 1981. The bridge has the 13th longest main span in the world, as well
Suspension bridge types Suspension bridge types A suspension bridge is any type of bridge that makes significant use of tension rather than or in addition to compression. A suspension bridge usually has main cables (else ropes or chains), anchored at each end of the bridge. Any load applied to the bridge is transformed into a tension in these main cables. The earliest suspension bridges had the cables anchored in the ground at either end of the bridge, but some modern suspension bridges anchor the cables to the ends of the bridge itself. The earliest suspension bridges had no towers or piers, but these