The flooding resulting from Hurricane Sandy demonstrated how flood-prone the tunnel was, since the sea level around the tunnel had risen since its opening in 1951, and the portals were located on very low land to begin with. The MTA subsequently began testing inflatable dams at the tunnel's portals. In October 2017, a pair of 25-ton floodgates were installed on the Manhattan-side openings of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel. The Manhattan floodgates were supposed to be accompanied by a pair on the Brooklyn side, as well as a seawall. This combined project was 63% complete . In 2017–2018, the tiled walls in the Queens–Midtown and Brooklyn–Battery Tunnels were replaced due to damage suffered during Hurricane Sandy. The re-tiled white walls have gold-and-blue stripes, representing the official state colors of New York. Controversy arose over the cost of re-tiling the tunnels, which cost a combined $30 million, because of the ongoing transit crisis at the time.