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 the previous design had been eliminated. This bridge along with its new parallel eastbound bridge is currently the fifth-longest suspension bridges in the United States. When built, the westbound bridge was the third longest suspension bridge span in the world. Like other modern suspension bridges, the westbound bridge was built with steel plates that feature sharp entry edges rather than the flat plate sides used in the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge (see the suspension bridge article for an example). The bridge was designed to handle 60,000 vehicles a day. It carried both westbound and eastbound traffic until the eastbound bridge