By September 1944, the war was winding down and Mayor La Guardia was petitioning the U.S. government to allow the manufacture of washers, nuts, and screws for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel construction effort. The federal government gave its permission the next month. During the war, the tunnel shafts had flooded, so they had to be drained first before construction could continue. In mid-1945, after the war ended, the Triborough Bridge Authority was merged with the Tunnel Authority, allowing the new Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) to take over the project. Moses, the TBTA head, promptly fired Singstad and replaced him with TBTA Chief Engineer Ralph Smillie, who designed the remainder of the tunnel. The WPB approved the resumption of tunnel work in September of that year. The TBTA advertised for bids to construct the Brooklyn toll plaza in May 1946. Because of objections to the proposed Manhattan ventilation building's design, the TBTA changed the plans so that the tower would look like a granite monument rather than a simple ventilation tower.