The passenger facilities inside LaGuardia's revamped Terminal B are officially complete, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Thursday.
Although the renovated, multibillion-dollar terminal has already been open for business, Thursday marks a major milestone in wrapping up the project. That includes a new skybridge that makes it easier to reach the gates in the western concourse. It is the airport's second new skybridge.
Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and other local officials spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
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The overhaul cost $4 billion and includes 35 gates, a new parking garage and "stunning" artwork along with modern amenities, Hochul said.
In December, Terminal B won UNESCO's prestigious Prix Versailles architecture and design award in the airports category.
The terminal's western pedestrian skybridge opens to passengers on Friday. It is the project's final major construction milestone, according to developer LaGuardia Gateway Partners. That makes LaGuardia the first airport in the world with twin skybridges, according to the developer and the governor.
The western skybridge stretches 482 feet (147 meters), connecting the western concourse with the arrivals and departures hall. The eastern skybridge opened in June 2020.
Later this year, the rest of the original terminal building will be demolished. Once that happens, planes will be able to taxi beneath the western skybridge, adding two extra miles of taxiing space at the airport.
Passengers walking along the western skybridge will get views of the Manhattan skyline. A restaurant with an open-air terrace and Manhattan views is planned, according to LaGuardia Gateway Partners.
The skybridges helped keep the original terminal running during construction, because they were built above the old facility.
All of Terminal B's temporary walkways will be taken out of service by Saturday, according to a press release from the governor's office.
'It's just a statement about who we are'
Adams recalled on Thursday that "just a few years ago" then Vice President Joe Biden said LaGuardia resembled a facility in a "third world country."
"If I took you and blindfolded you and took you at two o'clock in the morning into the airport in Hong Kong and said 'where do you think you are?' they'd say 'this must be America. It's a modern airport,'" Biden said in 2014. "If I blindfolded you and took you to LaGuardia Airport in New York, you must think 'I must be in some third world country.' I'm not joking."
Hochul said President Biden would be invited to Terminal B to see the improvements and to "show him that we were listening." She said the new facility reflects New York State's commitment to infrastructure and economic progress.
"It's just a statement about who we are. We know we're the best. ... But sometimes you need places to say it just as loudly, and this place is shouting it from the mountaintops," Hochul said.
Adams said LaGuardia Airport is the "front door to our city," and that finishing Terminal B reflects what New Yorkers can accomplish, even in their "toughest times."
"As New York goes, so goes America. As America goes, so goes the entire world," Adams said. "Never bet against New York. You'll lose."
The LaGuardia overhaul was also "built on a fairer foundation than any project before it" in New York State, said Cotton, the Port Authority's executive director.
Cotton added that the project awarded more than $2 billion to minority- and women-owned businesses, and that more than $800 million was awarded in contracts to local businesses in New York City's Queens borough, where the airport is located.
More than 600 local residents were also hired at LaGuardia, and additional efforts are underway to create more jobs for community members, Cotton said.
The overhaul of other parts of LaGuardia Airport is still ongoing. The official completion of the airport's Terminal C, another $4 billion project, is expected in the spring of 2022, Cotton said.
Top image: The western concourse of LaGuardia's Terminal B. © Jeff Goldberg/Esto.
