MANHATTAN (WABC) — It’s the busiest crosstown street in Manhattan, used by more than 25,000 vehicles and 300,000 pedestrians every day. But on eight days over six weeks, 42nd Street will be shut down for several hours and open only to shuttle buses moving soccer fans to and from the World Cup.
“We think it’s going to be a really efficient way to move folks around and to minimize disruptions on other New Yorkers,” said Michael Flynn, the city’s transportation commissioner. “We’re really concentrating that movement to and from the World Cup matches just to a couple of key corridors.”
The corridors will run crosstown, from river to river. Portions of West 40th and West 41st streets will also be closed. Additional corridors will take up two lanes on 5th and 6th avenues to access pick-up and drop-off locations.
It’s all part of a master plan to move tens of thousands of fans to the World Cup. New Jersey Transit has its own system, which will limit certain trains to ticketholders during certain hours.
The city’s street closures will be in effect only on game days-but for several hours before and after the matches.
“It’s hundreds of thousands of people over the course of the of the tournament. And that’s on top of…the baseline of a normal day in New York,” Flynn said. “If we didn’t have these bus priority corridors, I think you’d see much less efficient travel.”
A full breakdown of the traffic patterns on match days can be found on the NYCDOT website.
———-
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* More New York City news
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
* Download our connected TV app
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
Copyright © 2026 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.
