George Washington Bridge Bus Station

Coordinates: 40°50′56″N 73°56′18″W / 40.84889°N 73.93833°W / 40.84889; -73.93833

George Washington Bridge
Bus Station

view of the station from the northwest (2013)
Location between Ft. Washington & Wadsworth Aves, and W. 178th & 179th Sts.
Manhattan, New York City
United States
Owned by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Operated by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Platforms Upper Level Gates A through E.
Connections New York City Subway:
175th Street ( trains)
181st Street ( trains)
Construction
Architect Pier Luigi Nervi
Other information
Website GWBBS
History
Opened January 17, 1963
Traffic
Passengers (2014) 5.7 million

George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter bus terminal located at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan in New York City, New York. The bus station is owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. On a typical weekday, approximately 20,000 passengers on about 1000 buses use the station.[1]

Major renovations, including an expansion of retail space from 30,000 to 120,000 square feet (2,800 to 11,100 m2), have been in progress with an expected cost of more than US$180 million.[2] The work started in late 2013 and is expected to be completed in the late fall of 2016.[3][4]

Architecture

The station is built over the Trans-Manhattan Expressway (Interstate 95) between 178th and 179th Streets and Fort Washington and Wadsworth Avenues, and features direct bus ramps on and off the upper level of the bridge.

The building was designed by noted Italian engineer Pier Luigi Nervi and is one of only a few buildings he designed outside of Italy.[5] It opened January 13, 1963 as a replacement for a series of sidewalk bus loading areas that existed between 166th and 167th streets further south.[6] The building is constructed of huge steel-reinforced concrete trusses, fourteen of which are cantilevered from supports in the median of the Trans-Manhattan Expressway, which it straddles. The building contains murals as well as busts of George Washington and Othmar Amman, the civil engineer who designed the bridge. The building received the 1963 Concrete Industry Board’s Award.[7]

The first floor of the bus terminal has space for shops (all currently vacant as of December 2013) and a passenger waiting area.

Renovation

A renovation project is currently underway in the terminal. The project is expected to cost US$183 million. The project is a partnership between the Port Authority and a private company known as GWBBS Development Venture, LLC.[8] Tutor Perini received a $100 million construction contract in August 2013. Construction, which was repeatedly delayed, began at the end of 2013; the project is scheduled to be completed in the late summer of 2016.[3][4][9]

The renovated building will be improved with better access to local subway stops, displays of bus departure and arrival times, and central air conditioning. It will increase retail space from 30,000 to 120,000 square feet (2,800 to 11,100 m2) with large tenants like Marshalls, Key Food, and Blink Fitness.[2] It will be fully ADA compliant for accessibility to those with disabilities.[10][11][12]

Accessibility

Some portions of the terminal are wheelchair accessible, but many of the bus platforms are not. In addition, the New York City Bus' M4 route provides wheelchair accessible service to Fort Tryon Park bus accessing the bus stop one block south of the station, continuing inside the park to the Cloisters Museum when open.

New York City Subway

The complex is served by the 175th Street station of the New York City Subway, located on Fort Washington Avenue, with entrances at 175th Street and 177th Street, the latter one block south of the bus station. The subway station, operated by the New York City Transit Authority and served by the A trains, was part of the Independent Subway System (IND)'s first line, the IND Eighth Avenue Line, which opened in 1932.

The bus station is also within walking distance of the 181st Street station of the same line, and the 181st Street IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line station on the 1 trains.

Bus service

The station seen from the western approach in 2006

As of 2013, the bus lines detailed below serve the terminal for the New York City Transit Authority, New Jersey Transit, and Coach USA (Rockland Coaches and Short Line).[13] Service is also provided by Spanish Transportation with its Express Service jitneys,along with Ameribus, Inc.[14]

MTA New York City Transit

Local buses stop at a lower level and on the streets outside the station. Local service includes:

New Jersey Transit

Aerial view of station and I-95
Route Terminal via notes
171
 Paterson Broadway Bus Terminal GWB Plaza
Route 4
175
 Ridgewood Bus Terminal GWB Plaza
New Jersey Route 4
Hackensack, Paramus, Rochelle Park		 some trips do not stop at
Garden State Plaza
or
Bergen Community College
178
 Hackensack Bus Terminal GWB Plaza, New Jersey Route 4
Grand Avenue, Teaneck Armory, Englewood Avenue		 express variation of 182
limited Sunday service
181
 Bergenline Ave. Station GWB Plaza, Palisade Avenue, Bergenline Avenue Limited Service
182
 Hackensack Bus Terminal GWB Plaza, Fort Lee Road, DeGraw Avenue local variation of 178
186
 Dumont GWB Plaza, Sylvan Avenue, Palisades Avenue, Teaneck Road
188
 West New York GWB Plaza, Via River Road Edgewater
60 Street at Kennedy Boulevard		 Limited Service

Coach USA

Rockland Coaches

For purposes of service hours, the following terms are used:

Route Service Terminals via
9A & 9W
  • Peak
  • Reverse peak
  • Midday
  • Evening
  • Saturday
  • Sunday
 New City (9A and 9W)
(full-time)
Central Nyack (9W) or Stony Point (9)
(peak service only)		 Sylvan Avenue, Oak Tree Road, Piermont Avenue/River Road, Broadway, Nyack Turnpike (Central Nyack trips only) Lake Road, Main Street, Route 9W (Stony Point trips only)
25
  • Peak
 New Milford Route 4, Teaneck Road, New Bridge Road, Prospect Avenue, Madison Avenue, Boulevard, River Road

Short Line

Weekday service only.

Route Service Terminals Serving Notes
208
 PM peak Montgomery, NY
Route 211 and Clinton Street		 Washingtonville, Monroe, Central Valley, Ridgewood, NJ
AM peak East Side, Manhattan
23rd Street and 2nd Avenue		 Manhattan neighborhoods:
Washington Heights, Harlem, East Harlem, Yorkville, Upper East Side, Turtle Bay, Murray Hill, Kips Bay.
  • Route owned by the New York State DOT.
  • Does not serve Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Ameribus

[15][16]

Route Service Terminals via
11C
  • Peak
  • Reverse peak
  • Saturday
  • Sunday
 Spring Valley Fort Lee, Englewood, Bergenfield, New Milford, Oradell, Emerson, Westwood, Hillsdale, Woodcliff Lake, Park Ridge, Montvale, Pearl River, Nanuet
20/84
  • Peak
  • Reverse peak
 Tappan, NY Englewood, Tenafly, Cresskill, Demarest, Closter, Harrington Park, Norwood, Northvale, Rockleigh

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Vanterpool, Veronica (July 6, 2011). "New Life For GW Bridge Bus Station Overhaul". Tri-State Transportation Campaign. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Port Authority Prepares for Major Overhaul of George Washington Bridge Bus Station" (Press release). Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. June 30, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Pires, Claire (October 28, 2013). "George Washington Bridge Bus Station Is Finally Being Renovated". Northattan. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  4. 1 2 Hughes, C. L. (October 15, 2014). "Affordable Manhattan in Hudson Heights". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Bernstein, Fred A. (November 2, 2004). "Second Look: George Washington Bridge Bus Station / Pier Luigi Nervi, 1963". ArchNewsNow. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  6. ↑ "George Washington Bridge Bus Station History". Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  7. ↑ Renner, James (September 1998). "George Washington Bridge Bus Station". Washington Heights & Inwood Online. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  8. ↑ Strunsky, Steve (January 17, 2013). "GW Bridge Bus Station gets $180 million facelift for 50th birthday". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  9. ↑ Strunsky, Steve (August 24, 2014). "Overhaul of GWB bus station begins Monday". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Port Authority's George Washington Bridge Bus Station Celebrates 50 Years of Regional Commuter Bus Service" (Press release). Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. January 13, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Tutor Perini Building Corp. Awarded $100 Million Contract for George Washington Bridge Bus Station Redevelopment" (Press release). Tutor Perini. August 8, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  12. ↑ Katz, Rayna (August 13, 2013). "Builder Chosen for GWB Bus Station Update". GlobeSt.com. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Bus Carriers and Routes". Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Retrieved June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Express Service - Bus Terminals (Where Do You Want to Go)". Spanish Transportation. Archived from the original on March 4, 2009. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  15. ↑ Perez, Chris (May 8, 2014). "New Life For GW Bridge Bus Station Overhaul". Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  16. ↑ "AmeriBus Commuter Service to the GWB Bus Terminal from Bergen and Rockland County". Retrieved July 31, 2015.

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