PATH airport extension study awarded to HNTB
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefThe Port Authority of New York & New Jersey on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014 awarded a three-year, $6 million contract to HNTB to conduct a cost determination study on the proposed extension of PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) rapid transit service to Newark Liberty International Airport.
PATH’s western terminus is Penn Station Newark on the Northeast Corridor. PATH riders traveling from Lower Manhattan (PATH’s World Trade Center Terminal) to the airport must now change at Newark to an NJ Transit regional/commuter train that stops at the Newark Liberty International Airport Rail Station, which connects with the Port Authority’s AirTrain monorail.
The PATH extension would run parallel to the NEC and connect with the monorail, offering a one-seat ride between Lower Manhattan and NJ Transit’s airport/rail station on the Northeast Corridor, along with improved connections to New Jersey urban centers Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken. To access the WTC-Airport line, passengers on PATH’s 33rd Street line from Midtown Manhattan would change trains at Journal Square, in Jersey City; passengers traveling from PATH’s terminal in Hoboken would change trains at Exchange Place, also in Jersey City.
HNTB is charged with determining a precise cost estimate for the project after evaluating technical and compliance issues. The Port Authority has estimated that the project would cost about $1.5 billion and take five years to complete. Construction start-up is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2018.
