The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey proposed a $32 billion capital plan for the next decade that includes $2.7 billion to build a tunnel under the Hudson River and rehabilitate the century-old one damaged by Superstorm Sandy.
The sum set aside for the tunnel is a fraction of the $24 billion project’s cost, which also involves replacing bridges and adding high-speed rail lines. New York and New Jersey are splitting the cost with the federal government.
The Port Authority’s plan also includes $3.5 billion to replace the agency’s decrepit bus terminal near Times Square in Manhattan, a project which could cost as much as $10 billion.
Transit advocates from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign said the funding allocated to the new bus terminal is inadequate because it serves 230,000 commuters daily, more than Amtrak and New Jersey Transit commuter rail combined and 2.5 times as many annual passengers as LaGuardia Airport.
The capital plan also includes $1.7 billion to extend the PATH subway from lower Manhattan to Newark Liberty International Airport and $1.5 billion for a rail link to LaGuardia airport. The LaGuardia link, a priority for Cuomo, would run along the Grand Central Parkway and connect to the 7 train subway and the Long Island Rail Road at Willets Point in Queens.
