The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is moving ahead with plans to replace the “world’s busiest” bus terminal.
The agency announced on Thursday that it was moving forward with the formal environmental review process for the project and released a 180-page scoping document for public review, Politico reported.
“We are strongly committed to replacing this legacy, over-capacity facility, and look forward to a spirited dialogue with all stakeholders on how the project will proceed,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said in a press release Tuesday.
The scoping document outlines three options for the new facility, narrowed down from an original long list of 13 options – 10 of which were found to be “fatally flawed.”
In one scenario, the existing bus terminal could simply be rebuilt in place, with buses continuing to service it during construction. A second option would see a new underground bus terminal built on the Jacob Javits Center’s lower level. The final option splits the difference, moving long-haul bus operations under the Javits and dedicating the existing site to commuters from New Jersey.
The current terminal provides about “23 percent of trans-Hudson trips entering or exiting the central business district” on a busy weekday, according to the document. Twelve percent of Manhattan’s workforce resides in New Jersey.
In 2017, the Port Authority approved a preliminary $32 billion capital-works plan that would fund parts of a new 42nd Street bus terminal, airport renovations, debt service on the Gateway tunnel and other projects. [Politico] — Kevin Sun