Simultaneous with the rebuilding of the Brooklyn Bridge, a double-decked viaduct for the BQE was being built through an existing steel overpass of the bridge's Brooklyn approach ramp. The segment of the BQE from Brooklyn Bridge south to Atlantic Avenue opened in June 1954, but the direct ramp from the northbound BQE to the Manhattan-bound Brooklyn Bridge did not open until 1959. The city also widened the Adams Street approach in Brooklyn, between the bridge and Fulton Street, from between 1954 and 1955. Subsequently, Boerum Place from Fulton Street south to Atlantic Avenue was also widened. This required the demolition of the old Kings County courthouse. The towers were cleaned in 1958 and the Brooklyn anchorage was repaired the next year.