Officials tout upcoming state-of-the-art overhaul of Port Authority Bus Terminal
NEW YORK -- A state-of-the-art "mega terminal" is being promised as a replacement for the antiquated Port Authority Bus Terminal.
CBS2's Dave Carlin was there Thursday afternoon when Port Authority leaders and a newly hired design team detailed the massive and challenging project.
Regulars at the terminal say it shows its age.
"Dirty," said Karl Sharma.
Cracked and often crowded, the world's busiest bus terminal dates back to 1950.
"It could be a little spruced up," said commuter Anthony Valentin.
And it will be, said Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority, who shared a pair of renderings with the public.
An overhead rendering shows, from left to right, new ramps in red, new bus storage and staging in blue, and the new terminal in yellow. Below those, in green, are park space across 3.5 acres.
"It will no longer be outdated, undersized and completely ill-designed for the number of people that want to use it," Cotton said.
It's anticipated to cost as much as $10 billion. Permitting takes up the rest of this year, and then next year the first of a two-phase, eight-year construction process gets underway, with the target date for completion sometime in 2031.
Another rendering shows new towers overhead, commercial or residential, to be added later.
Neighborhood residents fought for the design to include bus storage and staging and tuck-away buses, including ones they say idle out in the open.
"One of the things I hear most from constituents on the West Side is idling of New York City buses, and how they seem to park wherever they want at whatever time of the day. This is going to be a huge relief for the West Side community," said state Sen. Brad Hoylman.
The design team says the project will be the largest of its kind, with lots of challenges ahead.
"This is much more complex than most any project we've ever seen," said architect Juan Viera-Pardo.
"The construction process is going to be tough we're going to do everything we can to mitigate its impacts," Cotton said.
"Reconstructing, I honestly feel like the city is doing a lot of reconstruction. Just to do it for up things, up, but it doesn't need that much work in my opinion," said Harlem resident Jayson Smart.
Project leaders, while admitting the growing pains, insist the city will ultimately embrace what they call a bigger, better beauty of a bus terminal.