Port Authority approves billions for airport rail projects
A plan to build an AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport, like the rail that exists at JFK Airport, is pushing forward. | Max Touhey
Board members moved to fund new AirTrains at LaGuardia and Newark airports
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is pushing ahead with plans to build a long-awaited AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport.
At a Thursday board meeting, the authority green-lighted more than $2 billion for the 1.5-mile-long project and another $2 billion to rebuild the AirTrain at Newark Liberty Airport. Board members also approved $445 million for construction and planning work at John F. Kennedy International Airport, which is about to undergo a massive, multi-billion dollar overhaul, and another $35 million toward work to replace a terminal at Newark’s airport.
The spate of infrastructure investments in the region’s three major airports will ensure these facilities are modernized into the twenty-first century, board members say. “[These] actions reflect our commitment to rebuild our legacy airports and invest in new infrastructure to accommodate the unprecedented levels of air passenger growth,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole.
The new route would connect the 7 subway line and the MTA’s Long Island Rail Road at the Willets Point station, allowing for a roughly 30-minute journey to the air port from midtown Manhattan, say port authority officials. The effort is set to include three stations—two at the airport and one serving the Willets Point stop—and a storage facility adjacent to the Willets Point station that would also provide parking for some 500 airport employees.
Supporters of an air train at LaGuardia Airport—which is in the midst of the environmental review process—have long-bemoaned the lack of a direct rail link to the heavily-trafficked airport, but until recently mounting costs and logistical concerns proved to be high hurdles.
The Manhattan Institute calls the project a “truly stupendous waste.” Comptroller Scott Stringer warned that the MTA’s infrastructure isn’t ready to handle the influx of travelers. Even a former port authority board member, Kenneth Lipper, lambasted the undertaking as a $2-billion boondoggle. Lipper, who was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is not expected to have his term renewed when it expires this summer.
Some transportation advocates believe the AirTrain will have a minimal impact on travel times and say the massively expensive effort overlooks the gains of relatively modest projects that could be preformed instead, such as expanding the bus system to provide more service to LaGuardia. But Gov. Cuomo has forcefully argued that the AirTrain will be a monumental boon to the airport’s visitors and has pressed on with advocating for the effort.
The port authority expects to award contracts for both AirTrain projects in 2021, and complete construction in 2024.
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