The number of cruise passengers at the Cape Liberty terminal has increased steadily in the past three year – from 393,000 in 2010 to 476,000 in 2012. After the new terminal opens, Royal Cruise expects passenger volume to grow up to 600,000.

The Goethals Bridge roadway project is designed to provide direct connections, reduce commute times, and limit congestion on local roads

The $130 million authorization will fund construction of a ramp to link Interstate 278 and U.S. Routes 1 & 9, which the PA said will “significantly improve” traffic flow, reducing vehicle travel time, fuel consumption and air pollution..

The existing partial interchange does not provide direct connections from southbound Routes 1&9 to eastbound I-278 or from westbound I-278 to northbound Routes 1&9.

Commuters are often forced to take local roads, leading to congestion on city streets in Elizabeth and Linden and slowing traffic on the bridge. When the project is complete, the PA estimates 1,500 cars and trucks will be removed from local streets.

Samson said the project will fill two key PA objectives – “enhancing the transportation infrastructure that fuels our region's economy and reducing the environmental impact of commerce on local communities.”

The PA's vice chair Scott Rechler, spoke of the need to take a holistic approach to improving transportation infrastructure connecting New York and New Jersey. “We're continuously looking at ways we can improve connections from our bridges to local highways to give our customers a more direct route to their destination,” he said.

The planning work for the improvements to the interchange ramps is nearly complete on the project being done in concert with the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The DOT will take the lead in the bidding process, design construction, right-of-way acquisition, and permitting.

The interchange ramp project is expected to be completed in 2019.

The runway rehabilitation work at Newark Liberty is aimed at reducing flight delays, first and foremost, but the PA said it will also create more than 500 jobs and infuse $152 million into the regional economy.

Four new taxiways will be added as part of the $97.3 million project, with work slated to start early next year.

The airport's longest runway (known as 4L-22R), measuring 11,000 feet and handling 200,000 flights a year, will be completely overhauled. The work on that runway will include repaving, repairs to concrete and new electrical and lighting systems. The runway has not been repaved in ten years, which is considered to be the limit to a typical runway's useful life.

Three new taxiways will be created to permit planes to stage for departure toward the end of the runway. Another new taxiway will allow arriving planes to exit the runway faster and get to the gates more quickly.

Port Authority aviation officials estimate the improvements will mean an average of 30 seconds saved per flight, reducing delays during the morning and evening peaks at Newark Liberty, which averages roughly 1,200 flights per day. They say the time saved translates to roughly $9.4 million annually in reduced costs for aircraft operations and the value of passengers' time.

“The addition of strategically located taxiways for runway access and egress at the Port Authority's major airports during regular runway repair work has proven highly effective at shaving vital seconds off travelers' trips,'' said Rechler. “These projects have made flight movements more efficient at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports, while keeping the runways in a continual state ofgood repair.”

The PA says this project will generate 510 jobs, $34 million in wages and $152 million in economic activity during the 16-month work period from February 2014 to June 2015.

Planned staging of the project is aimed at minimizing summer travel season delays. The runway will be closed for 60 days beginning in April, another 10 days in September and also nightly and on weekends between June 2014 and December 2014. An intersecting runway, 11-29, will be closed for 15 days next June to permit nearby construction. Throughout the project, two of the airport's three runways will remain in use.