Copies of the plans for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel were submitted to La Guardia's mayoral administration in February 1937. Two tunnels, one in each direction, would connect to the West Side Highway and the East River Drive on the Manhattan side, and to Hamilton Avenue on the Brooklyn side. In the future, the West Side Elevated Highway would be extended from the north, connecting to the new tunnel. There would be a ventilation tower at the midpoint on Governors Island because the tunnels would stretch between the two portals, and it was thought that the ventilation towers at either end might not pull in sufficient air. The tunnels would be designed to carry a maximum of 15 million vehicles per year, but it was projected that only 9 million would use the tunnels during their first year of operation, and that the tunnels would not reach their full capacity for another sixteen years. The cost of the project had increased to $70 million, and La Guardia wanted a $30 million federal grant so construction could start quickly. A toll of 25 cents per motorist, collected at the Brooklyn end, would help finance the rest of the tunnel and make it profitable. The tunnel would also halve travel time between southern Brooklyn and lower Manhattan, since at the time, there was no direct route for traffic between these two areas. This, in turn, was expected to expedite cargo deliveries between these areas, thereby reviving Brooklyn's declining cargo industry. The route between Hamilton Avenue and the West Side Highway was determined to be the cheapest route that could be constructed.