$3.9B World Trade Center transit hub in New York City almost finished

NEW YORK — The $3.9 billion transportation hub at New York's World Trade Center will open this year.

That's when visitors will get to decide for themselves whether architect Santiago Calatrava's bird-in-flight design has been translated into a grand public space that justifies years of delays and cost overruns.

The transportation hub is supposed to make a seamless connection between PATH trains to New Jersey, 11 New York City subway lines and a Hudson River ferry terminal.

It's supposed to provide lower Manhattan with a counterpoint to midtown's beloved Grand Central Terminal.

The project was first budgeted at $2 billion.

Margaret Newman of the Municipal Art Society says the cost overruns will be forgotten once the transportation hub is fully open.

Newman believes it will be “spectacular.”