Port Authority begins $11B bus terminal rebuild, with major traffic backups expected

The Port Authority is set to kick off phase one of an $11 billion rebuild, and it says that bus riders should expect delays and backlogs all during the weekday rush hours. Fox 5's Linda Schmidt is live at the Port Authority. Linda, how long can you expect this project to stick around for? Oh, Ryan, you know what they say, no pain, no gain. Well, there is going to be a lot of pain associated with this project here. I want you to take a look over my shoulder because this is what we're talking about here today. These are the ramps that the Port Authority buses use to get in and out. You can see a bus going up one of the ramps right now to get in and out of the Port Authority. Well, beginning today, these ramps are going to start coming down. They are going to be replaced. As a result, the buses that come in and out of the city, they will then be put on a temporary route, a temporary way to get in and out of the city. That's going to create a major backup for commuters coming in and out of New York, as well as traffic. I mean, this area right here, right now you don't see a lot of traffic, but at peak hours, we're talking about 8th, 9th, 10th Avenue, stretching from like 35th Street all the way up to 47th. There's going to be major traffic backup. Go ahead, take a look at this video here. As I just said, this project begins today, and the buses are going to be traveling on new and temporary routes. Commuters, expect delays. If you're driving in the area, like I said, expect major traffic backups. This is all part of the Port Authority's $11 billion project to replace the terminal, which, by the way, is 75 years old, with a new state-of-the-art terminal. Now, this part of the project is phase one. That is going to be completed. It's slated to be completed by 2030. About 200,000 commuters travel through Port Authority every day. Well, Catherine Garcia, the executive director of the Port Authority, spoke about this project just a few minutes ago. Here's what she had to say. We committed when we said we were going to rebuild the bus terminal that we would do it all on our own property. And so in order to do that, we have to take down some of the current ramps and move the buses to another ramp to get in so that we can actually do the building. Because that is where some of those ramps are, is where the new interim terminal will be. Alright, now the construction that is starting today with taking down these ramps, that is supposed to be completed, this is the first phase of the project, that's supposed to be completed by 2030. The overall project of replacing and having a brand new state-of-the-art terminal is supposed to be done by 2035. A lot of years there, Ryan. A lot of years. I know. Back inside to you. Maybe I'll get facial hair by then, but we can only hope and wait.