Date: September 27. 2024

 

Federal Environmental Review is Significant Step in Advancing the Project

 

Final Environmental Impact Statement can be Viewed Here; Photos from Today’s Signing and New Project Renderings are Available Here

 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced that the two agencies have signed the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the replacement of the Midtown Bus Terminal.  The signing today is a major step toward a federal record of decision on the project that is anticipated to be issued in the near future. The issuance of the project’s final environmental impact statement followed a final round of public hearings held earlier this year that yielded more than 700 public comments.

“Signing the final environmental impact statement brings us closer to finally replacing what’s been a commuters’ nightmare for decades with what will be a beautiful, efficient new bus terminal that will be the world-class gateway our region deserves,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “A magnificent new Midtown Bus Terminal will knit together New Jersey and New York to create an even stronger, more economically vital and easily accessible region.”

 

“The final environmental impact statement is a critical milestone in our plans to replace the worst infrastructure eyesore in the nation with a new best-in-class bus terminal befitting this region that will serve commuters for the foreseeable future and that will energize the vitality of the community neighboring the bus terminal,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. “We thank the Federal Transit Administration for carrying out the environmental review so thoroughly, collaboratively and professionally. We look forward to a record of decision in the near future that will help unlock potential federal support for this critical infrastructure project.”

 

In addition to the federal environmental review, the Midtown Bus Terminal replacement project is proceeding through New York City’s land use review process. The new Midtown Bus Terminal will replace the existing 74-year-old, functionally obsolete and rundown terminal with a long-overdue world-class facility. Reliable and efficient bus service between New York and New Jersey is critical to the interconnected economies of both states, as hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents work in New York City. The new terminal is designed to meet projected 2040-2050 commuter growth, provide a best-in-class customer experience that serves the region’s 21st century public transportation needs and dramatically enhance the surrounding community, rather than be a decrepit albatross around the community’s neck. 

 

The $10 billion world-class facility will include a new 2.1 million square-foot main terminal, a separate storage and staging building and new ramps leading directly into and out of the Lincoln Tunnel. The project plan — including a proposal for the permanent closure of a portion of 41st Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues, a central main entrance, more street-level retail, and a multi-story indoor atrium and new public open space — will enhance both the commuter and community experience at the world’s busiest bus terminal. The project is expected to create approximately 6,000 good-paying union construction jobs.

 

The Port Authority’s plan for the Midtown Bus Terminal replacement reflects public feedback from extensive community outreach, including input from New York City, commuters, local community boards and elected officials in both states. The FEIS has been prepared to permit construction of a full three-part building plan, which includes a new main terminal, a storage and staging facility with new ramps directly into the Lincoln Tunnel, and deck-overs that will be converted to publicly accessible open space once the terminal is completed. The project also includes a wide array of community benefits, including: 

• Added capacity to allow curbside inter-city buses that currently pick up and drop off on city streets surrounding the bus terminal to move their operations inside the bus terminal and off the streets.

• The creation at the end of construction of 3.5 acres of publicly accessible green spaces on Port Authority property by decking over the currently below-grade Dyer Avenue “cut” and building open space on top of the new deck-overs.

• New concessions and retail amenities that will be accessible from the streets in the community as well as from inside the bus terminal.

• The construction of significantly improved and attractive facades, enhancing the visual quality of the new bus terminal to become an asset rather than an eyesore to the surrounding neighborhoods. This design includes an iconic atrium entrance on 41st Street and Eighth Avenue.

The new bus terminal will be built for the future and designed to achieve net-zero emission goals, serving all-electric bus fleets and implementing 21st century technology at every turn. For instance, a world-class traffic management system — including sensor-based monitoring systems — will enable quicker, smoother movement of buses into and out of the new terminal and provide remote monitoring of bus engines to reduce breakdowns in express bus lanes. The building will also include visionary sustainability and resiliency measures, from LEED certification and clean construction to renewable energy, zoned heating and cooling systems, and heat recovery and reuse technology. Community-friendly outward-facing local retail will benefit commuters and the community alike.

 

The Port Authority’s construction plan for the new bus terminal is being developed in close collaboration with New York City partner agencies, with input from carriers, customers, the local community, world-renowned engineering and construction experts, and innovative architectural and design firms. The proposal eliminated the taking of private property as it would be built on existing Port Authority property stretching as far west as 11th Avenue.

 

The project is expected to be constructed in phases, with a temporary terminal and new ramps completed in 2028 and the new main terminal completed in 2032. Current plans provide for a phased construction approach with the staging and bus storage facility to be built first, so that it can serve as a temporary terminal while the existing terminal is demolished and rebuilt. 

 

More information on the replacement project is available here.  

 

About the Midtown Bus Terminal: 

 

The world’s busiest bus terminal opened in 1950, after the mayor of New York City requested the Port Authority to consolidate eight separate, smaller bus terminals throughout Midtown Manhattan in order to relieve street congestion. As the regional population grew and expanded geographically, the Port Authority expanded the terminal’s capacity in 1963 by converting previous parking space to a fourth level of bus operations and adding three new levels of public parking for 1,000 cars. By 1966, the terminal served nearly 69 million passengers, once again requiring increased bus capacity. In 1970, the Port Authority constructed a 2-mile exclusive bus lane (XBL) on the New Jersey route 495 approach to the Lincoln Tunnel, giving buses faster access directly to the bus terminal and saving commuters up to 20 minutes. In 1981, the Port Authority expanded the bus terminal’s capacity by 50 percent with a new north wing extension to 42nd Street and the diagonal girder façade now familiar to bus riders. The current facility spans 1.9 million square feet as the nation’s largest bus terminal, served by individual carriers, the largest of which is NJ TRANSIT buses, serve routes for daily commuters throughout New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and the lower Hudson Valley, as well as provide intercity services to and from locations such as upstate New York, New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Canada. It is also the world’s busiest bus terminal, serving approximately 100,000 average weekday passengers in 2024. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bus terminal accommodated an estimated 260,000 passenger trips on an average weekday. 

 

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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a bi-state agency that builds, operates, and maintains many of the most important transportation and trade infrastructure assets in the country. For over a century, the agency’s network of major airports; critical bridges, tunnels and bus terminals; a commuter rail line; and the busiest seaport on the East Coast has been among the most vital in the country – transporting hundreds of millions of people and moving essential goods into and out of the region. The Port Authority also owns and manages the 16-acre World Trade Center campus, which today welcomes tens of thousands of office workers and millions of annual visitors. The agency’s historic $37 billion 10-year capital plan includes unprecedented transformation of the region’s three major airports – LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and JFK – as well as an array of other new and upgraded assets, including the $2 billion renovation of the 90-year-old George Washington Bridge. The Port Authority’s annual budget of $9.3 billion includes no tax revenue from either the states of New York or New Jersey or from the City of New York. The agency raises the necessary funds for the improvement, construction or acquisition of its facilities primarily on its own credit. For more information, visit www.panynj.gov or check out the Now Arriving blog.