42nd Street will become a bus-only corridor during World Cup match days to ease traffic congestion

New York City has unveiled its transportation game plan for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and one of the biggest changes will turn one of Manhattan's busiest thoroughfares into something it almost never is—a corridor designed primarily for buses. On each of the eight World Cup match days hosted at MetLife Stadium, 42nd Street will be turned into a dedicated bus and shuttle route stretching from First Avenue to 12th Avenue.

The changes are all part of a broader effort to prevent Midtown from descending into complete traffic chaos as hundreds of thousands of soccer fans pour through the region this summer. City officials expect enormous crowds for the matches on June 13, 16, 22, 25, 27 and 30, as well as July 5 and July 19.

The dedicated corridor will primarily serve official stadium shuttle buses running between Manhattan and MetLife Stadium via the Lincoln Tunnel. Shuttle pick-up and drop-off locations will be located at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Columbus Circle and near Grand Central Terminal.

The city will also dedicate the two easternmost lanes on Sixth Avenue between 42nd and 59th Streets for buses and shuttles and existing bus lanes on Fifth Avenue will be used for World Cup transportation. Portions of West 40th and West 41st Streets near the Lincoln Tunnel approaches will become bus-and-shuttle-only blocks as well. Access on these corridors will largely be limited to official World Cup shuttles, MTA buses, affiliate vehicles and emergency services.

The restrictions won't last all day, but they'll be significant. The dedicated transit corridors will go into effect six hours before kickoff and remain in place until up to three hours after each match ends.

To further discourage gridlock, Mayor Zohran Mamdani says each local match day will be designated a "Gridlock Alert Day," with New Yorkers encouraged to skip driving and use transit instead. The city is also planning temporary truck-delivery restrictions across much of Midtown and additional street closures around Penn Station to accommodate stadium-bound crowds.