Officials with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey unveiled an ambitious $45 billion capital plan that funds expanding Newark Airport, long-sought-after Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) rail service increases and construction of a new bus terminal.
But those projects and improvements come with higher fares and tolls to fund them, according to NJ.com.
The two-state Port Authority also introduced a $10.1 billion budget for 2026 that funds the phase-in of more frequent PATH service beginning in March and includes the groundwork to replace Newark Airport's Terminal B.
The PATH service improvements to be introduced over the span of a year will cost $19 million in the budget. That will require a phased-in 25-cent fare increase starting in the summer of 2026 and annual 25-cent increases each January from 2027 to 2029.
Clarelle DeGraffe, PATH's general manager, told NJ.com that transit fares only cover 25 percent of her public rail company's costs, with the Port Authority paying the remainder, since her agency is self-funded and does not receive state or local taxes.
To reduce losses, a fare evasion prevention program will install modern fare gates, she added.
The proposed $10.1 billion Port Authority budget for 2026 also comes with a 3 percent toll increase that would take effect on Jan. 4, in addition to a 25 cent annual increase approved last year, noted Libby McCarthy, the Port Authority's CFO.
To fund the 2026-2035 capital budget, E-ZPass off-peak discounts for cars and motorcycles would be gradually phased out starting in 2027, an action that would raise an estimated $75 million in revenue by the time the discounts are eliminated, McCarthy explained.
Both the capital plan and budget will be up for a vote at the Port Authority's Dec. 18 meeting.
PATH service improvements received immediate praise from people in a group that lobbied for more frequent rail service to meet the demands of the growing New Jersey cities of Hoboken, Newark, and Jersey City.
"It's pretty exciting to hear we have expanded service, so thank you for listening to us," said Beatriz Bofill, a Hudson County Complete Streets trustee.
Increased PATH service will be added when the $430 million PATH Forward construction project is scheduled to be completed, DeGraffe added.
"We are proposing one of the largest service improvements in PATH history," she said. "The 2026-2035 capital plan will drive more frequent rush hour, late night, weekend service and, for the first time in 25 years, direct weekend service on all four lines."
DeGraffe also noted that 2026 is shaping up to be a big year for PATH service. Examples of its improvements include:
• Next March, commuters will see the Hoboken-World Trade Center line weekday train frequency improve to every six minutes during morning rush hour, a 33 percent service increase to 10 trains per hour.
• Weekend service on the Journal Square-33rd Street via Hoboken line will double with trains running every 10 minutes instead of every 20 minutes between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m.
• In May, direct Hoboken to World Trade Center and to 33rd Street service resumes on weekends for the first time since 2001, which will eliminate an extra stop on the Journal Square-33rd Street line and cut down on crowding.
• Enhanced late-night Friday service starts in May on all lines, with trains every 20 minutes instead of every 40 minutes between 11:30 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday.
• In March 2027, weekday Newark-World Trade Center line frequency will improve to a train every four minutes during morning and evening rush hours, a 25 percent service increase to 15 trains per hour.
• Weekend service increases to trains running every 10-15 minutes on the Newark-World Trade Center and Hoboken-World Trade Center lines from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The proposed $45 billion 2026-2035 capital plan not only completes multiple projects but proposes new ones.
Aviation Infrastructure Upgrades
The highest amount, totaling $20 billion, would be spent on the Port Authority's airports, which includes Newark Liberty International Airport.
Among the proposed projects at that site are:
• completing Newark Airport's monorail replacement by installing a new air train between terminals;
• finishing the access project between Newark's South Ward and the airport;
• replacing the facility's more than 50-year-old Terminal B; and
• renovating Newark's Terminal C and expanding its Terminal A.
Tunnel, Bridge, Terminal Repairs, Replacements
The second highest amount in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's capital budget is $15.4 billion for maintaining the agency's bus terminals and six river crossings. Those projects include:
• Completing the replacement of the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan at a cost of $11 billion, funded by increased bus carrier rates and bus tolls, in addition to future development on top of the terminal.
• Continuation of the $2 billion "Restore the George" project to rehabilitate the Hudson River's George Washington Bridge, which is 60 percent complete.
• Rehabilitation of the Outerbridge Crossing between Perth Amboy, N.J., and Staten Island, N.Y., for $336 million to maintain the bridge's structure and strength in the span's final years before a replacement is built.
• Rehabbing the curving Helix between the Lincoln Tunnel and New Jersey Highway 495 in Weehawken for $640 million to keep the bridges and roadways structurally sound until their replacement occurs in 2035.
Beyond those efforts, the fully funded Port Authority capital plan also will pay for the World Trade Center campus rebuild in Lower Manhattan. The project's $1.2 billion budget will complete the construction of Towers 2 and 5.
