Go behind the scenes at the Port Authority Bus Terminal rebuilding project
We're getting a behind-the-scenes look at the multibillion-dollar construction project to rebuild the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.
Rerouting its 200,000 daily passengers during the 9-year project is a complicated process.
Comedian John Oliver has called the Port Authority Bus Terminal "the single worst place on planet earth."
"It's actually someplace I try to avoid," commuter Wendy Lane Bailey said.
The Port Authority is trying to change that with an $11 billion project to replace the bus terminal.
CBS News New York got a tour of the site Friday, about a year and a half into construction.
Rebuilding the world's busiest bus terminal is no easy task. Phase one, which is expected to be complete in 2030, involves building a temporary terminal between Ninth and Tenth avenues at 39th to 40th streets, and creating a new ramp structure west of Tenth Avenue. The foundation has already been begun for the interim terminal.
"We have to reroute the buses step by step and then deconstruct the ramps section by section surgically so we can maintain operations throughout construction," said Cate Britell of the Port Authority.
A landing is under construction over Dyer Avenue which will be used for storing buses while the main terminal is being built. Once that's built, that landing will then become public green space.
Rebuilding the main terminal on Eighth Avenue is scheduled to be complete in 2035.
Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said the construction so far hasn't had a dramatic negative effect on travel time for bus riders.
"I don't think we have a number. Based on the route, we saw maybe a one minute increase when buses were getting into the terminal in the afternoon," Garcia said.
The Port Authority promises it will be worth it. The new building will include light-filled atriums, modern amenities, retail and dining as well as more space for buses.
"It will become a landmark in a good way," Garcia said.
