What NYC’s Port Authority Bus Terminal Could Look Like After a $10 Billion Redesign

16.02.2024 - 21:55 / cntraveler.com / Rick Cotton

Two decades ago, when I first moved to New Jersey, I was repeatedly warned to avoid taking the bus on my commute into Manhattan because it would mean going through the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Dark, dank, and dated, not much has changed since then, despite connecting millions of commuters and travelers to the city's sprawling network of airports, subways, and train stations.

With 260,000 passengers running through the terminal on high-volume weekdays, the Midtown Manhattan transit hub is the busiest bus terminal in the world—and one of the most outdated. Now, after years of planning and debate, the Port Authority has unveiled a $10 billion redesign it hopes will erase that reputation once and for all.

The sweeping ground-up renovation plan released in February includes a new 2.1 million-square-foot main terminal, a separate Storage and Staging Facility, direct ramps for access in and out of the Lincoln Tunnel, and even 3.5 acres of green space. And like every good rebrand, it also comes with a shiny new name: the Midtown Bus Terminal.

“Anything that was built as a major transportation hub nearly 75 years ago is almost by definition going to be outdated,” Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton tells Condé Nast Traveler, explaining that the terminal which opened in December 1950 has gone through intense usage and deterioration. “Time has not been kind to the old facility.”

In particular, he says that buses these days are bigger and heavier, a challenge for the aging building to handle. “The designers back in the day weren’t oriented to thinking about anything other than something which buses pull into and pull out of,” he says, unabashedly calling the current design “an eyesore.”

The $10 billion project proposes permanently closing a portion of 41st Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues in order to build a multi-story atrium, pictured in this rendering.

The architects tasked with taking the bus terminal into the modern era are from the British architectural firm Foster + Partners, best known for their work on Hong Kong International Airport and France’s Millau Viaduct bridges. The first priority: turn dark and dank into “light and airy.” The current building lacks skylights, and even windows. “It’s exactly the reverse of today’s architecture,” Cotton says. “The point is to have an experience that is uplifting and appealing, and where natural light is a major part of the architecture.”

A small peak at that feel can be found in the terminal’s current bathrooms, which started going through a restroom rehabilitation project renovation in 2015. In contrast to their previous iteration with disheveled, crowded stalls, those willing to step inside are treated to brightly-lit restrooms that are