NEW YORK CITY— The new main entrance to Penn Station located at 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue will provide direct access to the Long Island Rail Road main concourse and the New York City subway system. The existing entrance on 35th Street is currently the only direct way to get to the LIRR. The East End Gateway project will double the access and egress capabilities to the LIRR level to alleviate congestion. Beginning in June, construction is expected to be completed in 2020. The project's estimate cost is $600 million with $170 million coming from the current 2015-2019 Metropolitan Transportation Authority budget. Governor Andrew Cuomo, who unveiled the new design, states the project will bring more access, safety and light to the transportation hub, while reducing traffic. "Passengers will be able to come in that entrance and avoid the front of Penn Station," he says. "It will be a gateway to a world class facility. This is not a proposal. We are getting to work now." Since the current Penn Station was built, passenger traffic has more than tripled increasing from 200,000 to 650,000 passengers daily. Currently, 250,000 people take the LIRR every day, along with 235,000 daily riders of New Jersey Transit. In addition, 115,000 people use the station each day to take the subway or visit the on-site retail shops. The new entrance will include three escalators, a stairway and an elevator. The project will widen the LIRR 33rd Street concourse from its current 30 feet to 57 feet, easing access to trains and reducing potentially dangerous crowding. The ceiling height will rise to 18 feet, eliminating the seven and eight-foot-high ceilings that have for decades made the station feel cramped. Lighting and directional signage will be improved. New retail and dining options will be added to the concourse as well. The entrance is part of a comprehensive redevelopment of Penn Station which includes converting the old Farley Post Office building into the Moynihan Train Hall, scheduled to open in December 2020. View above a slideshow of architectural renderings of the new main entrance and the LIRR concourse. All images were provided by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's office.