was highly controversial. In early 1953, Bronx borough president James J. Lyons proposed relocating the Cross Bronx Expressway near Crotona Park in order to preserve 1,000 houses in the expressway's right-of-way. Under Lyons's plan, the highway would curve slightly southward and run along the northern edge of Crotona Park, creating a "kink" in the routing. Moses, who called Lyons's proposal "unreasonable", threatened to resign from his position as city construction coordinator if Lyons's alternative was approved. Moses also threatened to cancel federal funding for the entire project. After an acrimonious public hearing in April 1953, the Board of Estimate could not agree on whether to relocate the expressway along Crotona Park. State officials supported Moses's original plan, saying that the Crotona Park alternative would create "curves and reverse curves of sub-standard radius". Ultimately, the Board of Estimate approved Moses's original alignment that May. By 1954, the project's cost had increased to $86 million, but land for the western section of the expressway had not even been purchased, leading The New York Times to describe the existing sections as a "road to nowhere". Although the Cross Bronx Expressway had been one of the first highways planned in New York City, it was estimated that the expressway would be the last project to be completed. In November 1954, the Board of Estimate voted unanimously to buy land for the section between Anthony and Longfellow Avenues, despite continued opposition from Bronx residents. At the time, officials estimated that the central section of the expressway would cost $21 million. Of this cost, $8 million would be spent on acquiring the land and relocating 1,462 families. By 1956, the Times reported that the center section was not expected to be completed for several years because of the expense of relocating tenants. Construction of the section between exits 3 and 2B began in early 1958, at which point the project's total cost had increased to $101 million. The most expensive part of the project was the segment between exits 2B and 2A in Tremont, Bronx, which was planned to cost $11.788 million; it included a tunnel under the Grand Concourse and the underground Concourse Line, as well as an open cut that passed under five avenues. On April 27, 1960, another 1.2-mile (2 km) piece opened, taking the road west to Webster Avenue. Later that year, the westernmost of the expressway was closed to allow the