Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge anchorage on the Staten Island side contains a facility for heating cinders that are used to de-ice the bridge deck during winter. At the time of opening, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world; its 4,260-foot center span, between the two suspension towers, was longer than the Golden Gate Bridge's center span. Despite being only slightly longer than the Golden Gate Bridge, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge could carry a 75% greater load than the former could. In 1981, the Verrazzano Bridge was surpassed by the Humber Bridge in England, which has a center span of , as
Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1950) carried both directions of traffic across the strait until 2007. At the time of its construction, the bridge was, like its predecessor, the third-longest suspension bridge in the world in terms of main span length, behind the Golden Gate Bridge and George Washington Bridge; it is now the 46th longest suspension bridge in the world. Design work on a new Tacoma Narrows Bridge began shortly after the collapse of the original bridge. However, several engineering issues, the demand on steel created by the United States' involvement in World War II, and the state of Washington's inability to find an insurer,