NEW YORK CITY—Buil

NEW YORK CITY—Building upon his previous efforts to improve area infrastructure, Governor Andrew Cuomo Wednesday revealed a $10 billion plan to drastically overhaul John F. Kennedy Airport. The state's highest leader divulged his intentions during a talk before the Association for a Better New York.

The renovation will “create a unified, interconnected terminal layout, redesign the on-airport traffic pattern, centralize parking lots, ensure world class amenities, expand taxiways and provide state-of-art security,” according to the Governor's presentation.

More specifically, under the proposed plan, Air Train service would double from two to four cars on each train while the popular Van Wyck Expressway would get another lane—bringing it to four in total—in order to reduce congestion. Similarly, a lane would be added to the Kew Gardens Interchange. The changes are expected to ultimately reduce annual costs by about $27 million.

“The JFK transformation plan is a part of our greater plan for reimagining our crossings and rebuilding our infrastructure in New York,” Governor Cuomo says on Twitter. On the security front, he noted in his ABNY talk, “all police agencies will have the same training, & every civilian who works in the airport will be trained.”

The security upgrade comes after an incident this summer where loud cheering from Olympics-watchers was mistaken for a terrorism threat. Chaos ensued as people ran for cover, particularly because security and other terminal personnel didn't know how best to proceed.

The move comes about a year-and-a-half after Governor Cuomo unveiled an ambitious overhaul of Laguardia Airport at another ABNY event.

NEW YORK CITY—Buil

The move comes about a year-and-a-half after Governor Cuomo unveiled an ambitious overhaul of Laguardia Airport at another ABNY event.

Instant Insights /

Cuomo Calls for Major JFK Airport Revamp

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