Midtown Bus Terminal Project Secures $1.9 Billion TIFIA Fed Loan

NEW YORK—The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced today (Jan. 14) the 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 41st 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 approval of a federal TIFIA loan for this phase of our bus terminal replacement project further demonstrates the unprecedented public and governmental support at every level for our plan to replace a reviled and obsolete piece of infrastructure with a new, state-of-the-art facility that sits in the heart of Manhattan,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. “We are grateful to our federal partners at USDOT for working collaboratively with us throughout the process of securing this critical loan, and we are grateful for the support of our New York and New Jersey congressional delegations.”

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 11th 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 21st 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 stated.