The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel opened to traffic on May 25, 1950, with a ceremony officiated by Mayor William O'Dwyer. Part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, along Hicks Street from the Battery Tunnel north to Atlantic Avenue, opened the same day. At the time, the "Brooklyn Daily Eagle" described the Battery Tunnel as "the nation's largest, most modern underwater vehicular tunnel", which took three minutes to traverse from end to end. The "Eagle" also estimated that the tunnel cost $736 for every linear inch that was built. With a cost of $80 million, the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel was also dubbed the most expensive tunnel in the United States. It was expensive enough that the TBTA had been forced to look around the world for a company that could cover the tunnel's $33.5 million insurance policy. However, the cost was expected to be counterbalanced, in part, through the 35-cent tolls and the time savings afforded. Truckers at Bush Terminal, located south of the tunnel's portal, predicted that they would save 35 minutes a day and $1 million a year by driving through the tunnel.