Port Authority moves ahead with $10B replacement of Midtown's miserable bus terminal

After years of stops and starts, the Port Authority on Thursday said it’s moving ahead with a plan to replace its decrepit Midtown bus terminal with a new “world class” facility.

Agency officials said they submitted a draft environmental impact statement for the project, a step required in order to secure federal approval — as well as funding — for the overhaul.

The updated plans for the project call for the new building to have a shiny entrance that fills in a block of 41st Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues. Officials also plan to add in 3.5 acres of green space along the terminal.

The project will cost an estimated $10 billion and take at least eight years to complete, officials said. The work would require the demolition of the current bus terminal — and the construction of a temporary facility for bus riders to board while the new building is erected.The Port Authority in 2017 allocated $3 billion for the project, but may need to pay even more money to get the job done. Agency officials on Thursday said they will apply for $1 billion federal grants to help fund the work.

The current facility is the busiest bus terminal in the world, and carried 260,000 riders per day before the pandemic. But it is also notorious for being one of the most miserable places in Manhattan. 

Cotton said the new project would bring the terminal into the 21st century. You can read more here. 

As a New Yorker I can attest that Port Authority is not a place we like to visit. We welcome this renovation project. We are here to answer any of your NYC questions.