Rep. Maloney, MTA, Elected Officials Announce Major Second Avenue Subway Milestones

Press Release

An announcement of new, major milestones in the Second Avenue Subway was given today in a presentation by Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Dr. Michael Horodniceanu, MTA Capital Construction Company President, and elected officials. Phase 1 of the project is now 960 days from completion, and will be finished in December 2016. The Second Avenue Subway is among the largest infrastructure projects in the country, and the elected officials and the MTA provided a description of the project's progress with a detailed presentation and several charts. They also discussed their goals for the rest of the project, as Phase 1 gets closer to completion.

"I am pleased to say that the MTA is hitting its milestones and much of Phase 1 is completed or near completion. The MTA has all of the federal and state funding needed to build the project, the designing is all done, tunneling is finished and blasting operations have been completed. All of the contracts have been bid and executed, and work is underway at each of the stations, subway entrances and ancillary buildings. While there remains a lot of work to be done -- installation of tracks, completion of stations, entrances and ancillary buildings -- this project is on track to be finished by December 2016, its scheduled completion date. I would like to thank the MTA and Dr. Horodniceanu for taking on the challenge of building one of the largest mass transit projects in the nation. In just over two years, we'll be riding the Second Avenue Subway," said Congresswoman Maloney.

"This past April 6th, we reached another very important milestone. That day marked 1,000 days until the project is completed. That's 960 days from today. We're extremely pleased to be here with the elected officials to celebrate the milestones we've reached. While there is still a long road ahead, I know I speak for everyone here when I say we that we are looking very forward to achieving the ultimate milestone -- revenue service in December 2016," said Dr. Horodniceanu, MTA Capital Construction Company President.

"For years, people have been asking me if they will live long enough to ride the 2nd Ave subway. Usually I've had to respond that it depends on your age, but now I finally feel we can say with confidence, 'get ready: we will soon have a new subway to ride!'" said Senator Krueger.

"The Second Avenue Subway is a critical piece of transit infrastructure on the East Side. The opening of Phase 1 will make a real difference to everyone who lives and works in our neighborhoods. The MTA's Capital Construction team, led by Dr. Horodniceanu, deserves our gratitude for their hard work on such a daunting task. I'm looking forward to continuing to work with them as we begin planning for the next phases of the Second Avenue Subway," said Assembly Member Quart.

""The completion of the first leg of the Second Avenue Subway will bring long-overdue relief to harried Upper East Side commuters, who have been forced to ride the most overcrowded subway line in the nation. With full federal funding secured thanks to Congresswoman Maloney, who has tirelessly championed this project for years, there is finally literally a light at the end of the tunnel, and that's a milestone that every supporter of mass transit, and especially every Upper East Sider, should celebrate!" said Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner.

"It's been a long wait, but there is now a light at the end of the tunnel for the Second Avenue Subway," said Council Member Dan Garodnick. "Once it opens, this line will provide important relief to long suffering New Yorkers."

"Like the 6,000 subway cars that transport five million New Yorkers each day, the Second Avenue Subway construction is on track. With Phase I Construction 65% complete and blasting concluded, I thank Congresswoman Maloney, fellow officials and MTA employees whose work has been integral in shepherding the project to this point. Our neighborhood eagerly anticipates an easier, less crowded commute when this phase of the Second Avenue Subway is complete," said Council Member Ben Kallos.

Today's presentation contained the following information about the progress of Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway project. (A copy of the charts presented today is attached.)

Phase 1 is 65 percent finished. All of the $4.45 billion in combined federal and state funding is in hand, including $1.3 billion in federal money, which Congresswoman Maloney helped secure and $3.076 billion in state money. All 10 construction contracts have been bid out and executed, and four have been completed. All tunneling is completed; there are two tunnels, each roughly two miles long, and the tunneling required the removal of 15 million cubic feet of rock. All of the controlled blasting, a four-year process, to create the 72nd, 86th and 96th Street

72nd, 86th and 96th Street stations has been completed. And 40 percent of the rails that will be laid as tracks have been delivered. Work has commenced on all of the stations, entrances and ancillary buildings.

The following still needs to be completed: Most of the track work ​needs to be done. Construction of three stations (at 96th, 86th and 72nd) and the expansion of the 63rd Street station must be completed. At those stations, the MTA needs to build 13 entrances and eight ancillary buildings. The MTA expects to finish Phase 1 by December 2016.

Background

The Second Avenue Subway will be built in four phases. Phase 1 goes from 96th to 63rd street, and includes four station stops at 96th, 86th, 72nd and 63rd. When the 63rd Street station was built in the l980s (now used by the F train), part of the station was designed in contemplation of the construction of a Second Avenue Subway. This portion of the station is now being retrofitted for the new subway. At 63rd Street, the subway will use existing Q train tracks to give commuters a one-seat ride to Times Square, lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. The groundbreaking for phase one of the Second Avenue Subway took place on April 12, 2007.​ A full funding grant agreement with the federal government was signed in November 19, 2007.

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