NJ Alliance for Action Hosts PANYNJ Capital Plan Presentation

On May 22, the New Jersey Alliance for Action and the New Jersey Chapter of Professional Women in Construction hosted an overview of the capital plan for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Rizwan Baig, Chief Engineer at the Port Authority, provided an overview of its 10-year, $30-billion capital plan. The presentation highlighted the success of the new Newark Liberty Terminal A project, which opened in 2023. The terminal represents the largest single investment in the Port Authority’s 100-year history and the first major step in the vision for the future of EWR—a comprehensive development strategy to transform the airport into a world-class gateway. The $2.7-billion terminal received a 5-star rating from Skytrax and was judged the World’s Best New Airport Terminal at the 2024 World Airport Awards.

Current and upcoming projects include the continued comprehensive rehabilitation of the world’s busiest bridge, the George Washington. Rehabilitation work is now half complete and will continue through 2026. The plan also includes major projects in the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, and the massive Port Authority Bus Terminal in the heart of Manhattan. Additional investments include projects on the PATH transit system and all of the Port Authority’s ports and airports.

Steven Plate, Chief of Major Projects at the Port Authority, recounted his experience constructing the AirTrain at JFK. Originally carrying 12 million passengers per year, the train now carries more than twice that many. Presently, the Port Authority is preparing to replace the AirTrain at EWR with a Doppelmayr cable-propelled train. Construction of the new EWR AirTrain is planned to begin in late 2024, and the new system will open in 2029.

For all these projects, Port Authority leadership summarized their approach to project management as including increased accountability, sharing authority without delegating responsibility, running a fully-integrated department, and leveraging joint knowledge to allow it to deliver best-in-class services. The Port Authority also emphasized that the program would not be possible without the partnership and participation of the community of the engineering and construction companies that support the New Jersey Alliance for Action.

#BuildingABetterFuture