It’s official: Construction on LaGuardia Airport’s much-anticipated $4 billion revamp got underway today, with a groundbreaking that was attended by Governor Andrew Cuomo and Vice President Joe Biden. (Who, you’ll recall, sparked the whole thing by likening the experience of flying into LaGuardia to being in a third-world country—oh, Joe.) The renovation includes a complete overhaul of Terminal B, and will "transform LaGuardia Airport into a single, unified main terminal with expanded transportation access, significantly increased taxiway space and best-in-class passenger amenities," per a release issued by the Governor's office.
The groundbreaking also presented an opportunity to release new details on the revamp. Among them: The Q70 bus—currently one of the easier ways to get to and from the airport—will relaunch this summer as the "LaGuardia Link," with a "distinctive new look designed to help customers and tourists quickly find their way." It’ll also become a Select Bus Service route. There will also be 3,000 new parking spaces, and the whole thing will move a hair closer to Grand Central Parkway, a move that will reportedly "increase airport taxiways by more than two miles and reduce airport ground delays." Neat.
"Today, we are not just breaking ground—we are building an entirely new LaGuardia and transforming it into a world-class transportation gateway for the 21st century," Cuomo said in a statement. (Biden did not call it a BFD at the presser, but we like to think that he was thinking it.)
Now that construction is underway, the timeline looks like this, per Cuomo’s office:
Half of the new gates in the new Terminal B will open to the public in 2018. The main terminal area will open in early 2020, and a second set of gates will open in two phases – one later in 2020 and the last phase in 2021.
There are also some new renderings of the project, which provide additional views of the new terminal’s exterior, along with new interior views. Check ‘em out below.
- Governor Cuomo, Joined by Vice President Joe Biden, Announces Groundbreaking on New LaGuardia Airport [Governor Cuomo]
- Construction on LaGuardia’s $4B Overhaul Will Officially Begin Today [Curbed]
- Behold, the First Glimpse of a Revamped LaGuardia Airport [Curbed]
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