The port authority decides to build a new bus terminal in the footsteps of the current one

After several years of community council meetings and the investigation into 30 different options, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey decided to build a new bus terminal in the same footprint as the current one in 42nd Street.

While the governor, during his speech on the state of the state, tracked down the port authority by indicating the versions and identifying the location, the agency held a presentation this week in which some, but not all, details were filled in. is not.

The agency promised that the project would be similar to the Moynihan train hall that was recently completed, because it would be of an airport-like quality and that its financing would include a large amount of private capital. However, the agency does not want to commit an exact percentage of public / private funding.

The new station is expected to accommodate 30% more buses than the current facility to expect growth. It will be equipped to handle electric and possibly autonomous buses. Except buses that are much larger than those the current terminal is built to handle. To avoid bottlenecks and shock points, the driveway to the facility is wide enough to ride in a bus in the event of a breakdown.

“That should be the plan that’s our end goal, that’s our end goal and that’s exactly what this area is in the city, that’s what the region needs,” said Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority on Thursday. a submission said.

Listen to Stephen Nessen’s report on WNYC:

Cotton said after extensive input from the public and community meetings that the agency had decided not to acquire more land than the port authority already owned. Another important request from community members was to get NJ Transit buses off city streets, as well as buses like Bolt and Megagbus. The new terminal plans therefore include driveways that connect directly to the Lincoln Tunnel, rather than meandering through the streets. And a separate wing of the terminals for the interstate buses.

At the moment, the port authority plans to first build the facility and move the existing buses there when it demolishes the old terminal and builds the new one.

“I think it’s a good plan,” Manhattan President Gale Brewer told Gothamist. ‘After a very bad start seven years ago when the port authority said it wanted to demolish Hell’s Kitchen. It’s all gone, they listened intently to the community and they have come a long way from their original proposal, it says a lot. ‘

The project must undergo a federal environmental review, which could have lasted two years under the Trump administration or died at that point. But it is unclear how long it could last under Biden’s government. Then the project will undergo the city’s ULURP process before construction can begin.

The current terminal opened in 1950 and has undergone several upgrades over the years, but was unable to handle the volume before the pandemic, with 186 gates, 20 bus lines, 17 public bathrooms and 260,000 passengers a day. Over the years, the port has replaced $ 100 million in renovating new bathrooms, LED lights and 60-70% of the ceiling.

John Oliver calls it ‘The worst place on planet Earth’. and commuters told Jim O’Grady, WNYC, “if hell had a hell, it would be it.”

“This is an important link for the city of New York, and the bus is one of the most flexible instruments of commuting, unlike fixed rail it can adapt to new developments,” said Mitchell Moss, director of the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation , said Gothic. “This is an intelligent and important project for the future of the city and the region.”

The port authority hopes that the new terminal will open by 2031.