America's worst airport is getting a $4 billion makeover
The worst airport in the entire country — known colloquially to travelers as "hell on earth" but called "LaGuardia" by those who have never had to pass beneath its flickering florescent lights — will be torn down and eventually rebuilt from the ground up. Cue the choir of angels!
The $4 billion project will "replace the airport entirely," and is expected to be finished sometime around 2021. Among the planned improvements, the revamp will finally allow travelers to reach the Queens terminal via a rail link that will connect to the subway station in Willets Point. A ferry station is also in the works.
Since the delay-riddled airport is already operating close to capacity, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said his plan is to appropriately streamline LaGuardia's layout to create a "single, structurally unified main terminal with expanded transportation access, significantly increased taxiway space, and best-in-class passenger amenities."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
All of this is great news for haters of the notoriously terrible terminal. "If I took [someone] blindfolded and took them to LaGuardia airport in New York, he would think, 'I must be in some third world country,'" Vice President Joe Biden once famously said. Hopefully, come 2021, the LaGuardia of our nightmares will be a distant memory.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
4 ways to give back this holiday season
The Explainer If your budget is feeling squeezed, remember that money is not the only way you can be generous around the holidays
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
4 tips for hosting an ecofriendly Thanksgiving
The Week Recommends Coming together for the holidays typically produces a ton of waste, but with proper preparation, you can have an environmentally friendly gathering.
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published