Midtown Bus Terminal Receives Critical Loan from Federal Build America Program

This rendering shows the proposed main terminal’s facade on 40th Street. Credit: Foster + Partners & Epstein

Up to $1.9 Billion from Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Loan Program Approved by U.S. Department of Transportation for First Phase of Construction

Federal Loan Adds to Financing Plan for First Phase of Replacement Project that also Includes Port Authority Capital; Future Phases Will Also Utilize Revenue from Future Commercial Development Rights including New York City PILOT Contributions

Approval of Federal Loan Follows Final and Complete Approval from Federal Transit Administration and City of New York to Move Forward on Project to Replace Aging Midtown Bus Terminal with World-Class Facility

Project Will Replace Outdated Legacy Infrastructure with 21^st Century Facilities to Improve Commuter Experience, Reduce Bus Congestion on Neighborhood Streets and Create New Publicly Accessible Open Space in Community

Project to Include New Facility for Bus Storage and Staging, Charging Capacity to Accommodate Electric Bus Fleets, Community-Friendly Outwardly Facing Retail and New Ramps Between 10^th and 11^th Avenues

Project Will Create 6,000 Union Construction Jobs; Will Meet Projected 2040-2050 Future Bus Passenger Demand

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey today announced federal approval of a $1.9 billion loan through the U.S. Department of Transportation toward construction of the first phase of the Midtown Bus Terminal replacement project. The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan, to be issued through the Build America Bureau, will support the funding of the first phase of the $10 billion bus terminal replacement project, with construction to begin this year. 

The Port Authority will borrow from the 25-year-old TIFIA federal loan program for the first time, taking advantage of subsidized loan costs and advantageous repayment terms that allow for principal and interest payments to begin up to five years following the project’s substantial completion. In addition to the TIFIA loan, financing for the first phase of the project will include Port Authority capital funding. Future phases will also use Port Authority capital for a significant portion of the cost, funding from air/development rights for potential new commercial towers above the new bus terminal and New York City’s contribution of PILOTs generated by the Port Authority’s development efforts. 

The $10 billion world-class facility will be completed in phases. When complete, the project will include a new 2 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’s first phase — the temporary terminal, new ramps and Dyer Avenue deck-overs — is expected to be fully completed in 2029, and the new main terminal is expected to be completed in 2032. The project plan — including the permanent closure of a portion of 41^st Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues, a central main entrance, more street-facing retail, a soaring multi-story indoor atrium and new public open space — will enhance both the commuter experience at the world’s busiest bus terminal and the community surrounding the facility. The project is expected to create approximately 6,000 good-paying union construction jobs. 

The Port Authority’s plan for the replacement of the Midtown Bus Terminal reflects public feedback from extensive community outreach, including input from New York City, commuters, local community boards and elected officials in both states. The federal record of decision permits construction of a full three-part building plan and deck-overs that will be converted to publicly accessible open space once the new main terminal is completed. The Port Authority Board of Commissioners approved construction contracts for the deck-overs in July, which were the first contracts associated with the bus terminal replacement project. 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 new staging and storage facility will consolidate storage and staging functions in a single facility, minimizing bus idling and circulation around local city streets and reducing congestion in and out of the Lincoln Tunnel. 
• The creation of 3.5 acres of publicly accessible green spaces on Port Authority property by building platforms spanning the currently below-grade Dyer Avenue “cut” and turning the open space on top of the new deck-overs into public green spaces at the end of construction. 
• New concessions and retail amenities that will be accessible from the streets in the community as well as from inside the bus terminal. 
• The plan eliminates the taking of private property as it would be built on existing Port Authority property stretching as far west as 11^th Avenue. 

The new bus terminal will be built for the future and designed to be net-zero emissions, accommodating all-electric bus fleets and implementing 21^st century technology at every turn. The building will also include visionary sustainability and resiliency measures, from LEED certification and clean construction to onsite renewable energy, zoned heating and cooling systems, and heat recovery and reuse technology. The new ramp structure will provide a direct connection to the Lincoln Tunnel, with added queue space and bypass capability, thereby reducing bus circulation on local city streets. 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 with input from bus carriers, customers, the local community, world-renowned engineering and construction experts, and innovative architectural and design firms. 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.  

About the Midtown Bus Terminal:

What is now 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 spread geographically, the Port Authority expanded the terminal’s capacity in 1963 by converting 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 created 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 travel time. 

In 1981, the Port Authority expanded the bus terminal’s capacity by 50 percent with a new north wing extension to 42^nd 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 and the world’s busiest. Individual carriers, the largest of which is NJ TRANSIT, 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. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bus terminal accommodated an estimated 260,000 passenger trips on an average weekday. As of 2024, the terminal served approximately 205,000 average weekday daily passengers. 

More information on the project is available at PABTreplacement.com. 

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 93-year-old George Washington Bridge. The Port Authority’s annual budget of $9.4 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.