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Improvements At LaGuardia Airport Expected To Finish In 2 Years

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - A new milestone in the rebuilding of LaGuardia Airport, with a new terminal and new gates that will knock the socks off passengers, is expected to be done in just two years.

A new concourse with 12 gates is opening this weekend at New York City's LaGuardia Airport, reports CBS2's Marcia Kramer.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo cut the ribbon on a new terminal and took a victory lap around the sparking new facilities, filled with soaring 55-foot high ceilings.

WATCH: Gov. Cuomo Unveils Next Phase Of LGA Plan 

The new gates come with additional dining and shopping options for passengers using LGA. They are part of a broader $8 billion overhaul at the dilapidated facility that will add 72 new gates in six concourses, as well as two new arrival and departure halls.

New restaurants that will deliver food right to your gate, a children's playground with an interactive wall featuring departing planes, a spa and a make-up store will all be added.

Other planned improvements include rail service between LaGuardia and midtown Manhattan and 14 miles of new roadway connecting motorists to the facility.

LaGuardia Improvements
An artist rendering shows what LaGuardia Airport will look like by 2022. (credit: Port Authority of NY & NJ)

Cuomo joined local officials in Queens Thursday for a ceremonial opening.

He said the ongoing work will transform an aging, crowded and inefficient airport into a 21st-century facility "worthy of the state of New York."

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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