The Crescent City Connection (CCC), formerly the Greater New Orleans Bridge (GNO), is a pair of cantilever bridges that carry U.S. Highway 90 Business (US 90 Bus.) over the Mississippi River in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. They are tied as the fifth-longest cantilever bridges in the world. Each span carries four general-use automobile lanes; additionally the westbound span has two reversible HOV lanes across the river. It is the farthest downstream bridge on the Mississippi River. It is also the widest and most heavily traveled bridge on the lower Mississippi; the only other comparable bridges on the Mississippi are in the St. Louis area, those being the Poplar Street Bridge, the Jefferson Barracks Bridge, and the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge. History What later became known as the Crescent City Connection was the second bridge to span the Mississippi south of Baton Rouge, the first being the Huey P. Long Bridge, a few miles upriver from the city, and it is the first bridge across the river in Orleans Parish, coterminous with the city of New Orleans. The Mississippi River Bridge Authority, known since 1989 as the Crescent City Connection Division (CCCD), began construction of the first span in November 1954, which opened in April 1958 as the Greater New Orleans Bridge. At its opening, the bridge was the longest cantilever bridge in the world although in terms of main span length, it was third, after the Forth Bridge and the Quebec Bridge. It carried two lanes of traffic in each direction and spurred growth in the suburban area known as the West Bank (named for its location on the western bank of the river although it is geographically southeast of New Orleans). Construction of the second span began in March 1981. Despite promises that it would be ready for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition, it did not open to traffic until September 1988. The second span was originally designated as the Greater New Orleans Bridge No. 2. Both bridges were designed by Modjeski & Masters, Inc. As soon as the new span was opened, the old span was temporarily closed in phases to replace the asphalt-on-steel deck with concrete. All the exits and entrances to the bridge were replaced as well. After the completion of the second span, a public contest was held in 1989 to rename the bridges, which was won by Jennifer Grodsky, of St. Clement