STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It's official.

After nearly 54 years, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge's name has been corrected to include a second "z", now accurately mirroring the crossing's namesake explorer, Giovanni da Verrazzano.

On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation to correct the spelling of the iconic piece of New York City infrastructure.

"The Verrazzano Bridge is a vital transportation artery for millions of Staten Island and Brooklyn residents," Cuomo said. "We are correcting this decades-old misspelling out of respect to the legacy of the explorer and to New York's heritage."

The correction comes as a result of Senate Bill S419A, sponsored by Republican Sen. Marty Golden, who represents parts of Brooklyn, and co-sponsored by State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island).

"The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge was named in honor of Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano and connects the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island. Unfortunately, the name of this historic bridge has been spelled wrong for decades, and out of respect for simple correctness, should be fixed," said Golden.

"For more than 50 years, State law permitted the continued misspelling of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Over these decades, the misspelling was replicated time and again - in highway law, navigation law, environmental conservation law, public authorities law, and the Administrative Code of the City of New York. Today, with Governor Cuomo's signature, it will not be repeated again," said Lanza.

The bill was amended between the Senate and Assembly votes to only require the changing of signage when necessary to avoid additional costs to taxpayers following public criticism by Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-East Shore/Brookyln).

"This legislation will not result in any additional taxpayer funding as it instructs state and city agencies to correct the spelling in the normal course of sign replacement," said Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island).