Plan to rebuild Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC moving forward
The project is expected to last eight years and be complete in 2031.
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- When Port Authority was first built, it was described as "state of the art" and "magnificent," but now, seven decades later, the building is in need of improvements.
On Thursday, officials unveiled new design plans for a multi-billion dollar project that doesn't only include a new terminal, but four new towers that would change the city's skyline.
It is the busiest bus terminal in the world with more than 200,000 trips a day, but it has seen better days.
Commuters arrive to leaks, cracks and tears -- far from a modern marvel.
"Outdated, undersized and completely without the benefit of modern technology," Port Authority director Rick Cotton said.
The Port Authority unveiled revised plans, they say, that take into account the top concerns of people living around the facility.
A $7 to $10 billion new terminal will remain open during the construction.
The plans call for no more buses idling in the street and clogging up traffic -- they will be in a separate enclosed building on site.
The new design also calls for the addition of four towers to help pay for the project. It is not clear if they will be residential or commercial buildings.
What is known is that the new architect and engineer who were revealed Thursday have their work cut out for them.
"New York is a beautiful city, a city of streets, how do you make sure that this is a part of that and not against that," architect Juan Vieira-Pardo said. "A project of this scale doesn't quite exist, so that is challenging."
The expanded reconstruction project will happen on land already owned by the Port Authority. If the feds approve the plans next year, transit leaders hope to break ground on the new transit hub in 2024.
"The construction process is going to be very difficult for the community, we are going to do everything we possibly can to mitigate its impacts," Cotton said.
Those who live near the area or commute through the bus station will be dealing with construction for quite a while -- it is expected to last eight years and be complete in 2031.
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