New York Construction Report staff writer
A 45-day comment period has started after the draft Environmental Impact Study, was released by the Federal Transit Administration a key step for a project to replace the aging and outmoded midtown Manhattan Bus terminal.
“This really is an exciting day — it’s been a long time coming,” Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton said Thursday. “Time, as we all know, has not been kind to the Port Authority [Bus Terminal],”
A long-awaited rebuild of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, expected to cost $10 billion, could receive federal approval before the end of 2024, Port Authority officials said.
Public comments on the DEIS will be accepted via the following methods until Mar. 18, at 5:00 p.m. Visit the project website or email comments to
pa*****************@pa****.gov
.
The project will be constructed in two phases and is expected to be completed in 2032.
The terminal would include an indoor atrium as well as public park space built over the Dyer Ave. cut.
The new facility would consist of three new structures — a new main terminal between Eighth and Ninth Aves., a “staging and storage” facility between Ninth and 10th Aves., and brand new bus ramps leading from the terminal.
The new ramps are slated to be built by 2028. Port Authority officials estimate the total complex will be completed in 2032.
The current $10 billion price tag is $7 billion more than the Port Authority’s current capital plan budgets for the terminal’s replacement and the agency said “a majority” will come from extending the project into the Port Authority’s next capital plan, which is slated to begin in 2026.
The Port Authority will also be applying for federal grants, and plans to build commercial real estate above the completed terminal in order to retroactively fund the project.
Public hearings on the project are scheduled for the end of February.