Construction at LaGuardia Airport causing gridlock, traffic nightmares

EAST ELMHURST, Queens (WABC) -- Construction is causing a traffic nightmare at LaGuardia.

Josh Einiger tweeted a video showing a mess on the Grand Central Parkway, where many say this is an all too familiar occurrence:

The construction has not only caused delays and missed flights, but it also creates a dangerous situation on the roads.

"I been at this airport going on 17 years, never seen nothing like this before," says shuttle bus driver Martin Tew/

This is what happens when you build a new airport and tear down the old airport at the same time, without cutting any service. At LaGuardia, the final product will be a sight to see in 2024 with new terminals, new taxiways and less congestion, but until then? Complete gridlock.

"I work here. I just came from vacation. It took me an hour and a half to get to the terminal to the employee parking by Rikers, to come back over here and pick up my wife and kids," said Gus Pappas.

"Traffic every day - everybody ready to fight somebody else, it's insane," adds Tew, "sometimes it takes an hour and a half to two hours to pick a customer up. It's insane."

The Port Authority says it went through extensive planning on how to reduce the impact on travelers. It has deployed police officers, added new cell phone and pickup lots, and moved the taxi stand. Lately, things have been so bad, passengers have taken off on foot.

"About two weeks ago, the entrance to the airport was so congested. I didn't want to miss my flight, so I literally got out of the car on the highway. I had to run outside on the Grand Central because it was so congested. Yeah, true story," said Ben Khoshanoff.