Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who oversaw major revitalization efforts and infrastructure developments across New York City and parts of New Jersey, will retire in January, the agency announced on November 24.

Cotton, who held the role longer than anyone has since the 1940s, led the charge on a new LaGuardia Airport, delivering a turnaround for an airport once considered among the country’s worst. He also guided one of the nation’s busiest ports through the COVID-19 pandemic, a time of great supply chain disruption and uncertainty.

“Working in partnership across two states, political lines, and every corner of this agency, we have made historic progress toward that goal,” Cotton said in a statement, referring to his and Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole’s push to deliver world-class infrastructure. “Together, we transformed our airports from appalling laughingstocks into award-winning, best-in-class gateways, and jumpstarted the Midtown Bus Terminal, which had languished for decades.”

The news was first reported by The New York Times.

Under Cotton, the agency expanded its police force, supported the arts and positioned itself as a leader in the push for net zero emissions, as the first U.S. transportation agency to adopt the Paris climate accord, according to the statement. 

Earlier this month, the Port Authority proposed a $45 billion, decade-long capital plan to continue revitalizing the region’s key transportation hubs. The plan includes roughly $21 billion of aviation related upgrades to Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia, as well as a new Midtown Bus Terminal in Manhattan, service upgrades to the system’s PATH trains and a rehab of the George Washington Bridge.

The price tag of the infrastructure program is roughly 22% larger than the prior capital plan that ran from 2017 to 2025, an expense largely driven by a higher cost of construction and materials. During his time as executive director, Cotton had to navigate a $3 billion revenue loss during the pandemic, which caused capital spending delays.

Cotton was appointed in 2017 by then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and was retained by current Governor Kathy Hochul, who has yet to announce a replacement for the role.