History Second Avenue Subway

1 history

1.1 initial attempts
1.2 1970s construction
1.3 1990s plans
1.4 phase 1 construction
1.5 phase 2 construction
1.6 phases 3 , 4

history

initial attempts

a space in roof of second avenue station second avenue subway have passed through.

after world war i, new york city subway experienced surge in ridership. 1920, 1.3 billion annual passengers riding subway, compared 523 million annual riders 7 years before war. in 1919, new york public service commission launched study @ behest of engineer daniel l. turner determine improvements needed in city s public transport system. turner s final paper, titled proposed comprehensive rapid transit system, massive plan calling new routes under every north-south manhattan avenue, extensions lines in brooklyn , queens, , several crossings of narrows staten island. among plans massive trunk line under second avenue consisting of @ least 6 tracks , numerous branches throughout brooklyn, queens, , bronx; in turn, second , third avenue elevated lines knocked down make room 6-track subway. paper revised in january 1927.

on september 15, 1929, board of transportation of city of new york (bot) tentatively approved expansion, included second avenue line projected construction cost of $98,900,000 (equivalent $1,367,000,000 in 2016), not counting land acquisition. in north, several spur lines in bronx merge four-track trunk line, crossing harlem river south 125th street. there 6 tracks 125th street link ind sixth avenue line @ 61st street, 4 tracks 61st street chambers street, , 2 tracks chambers street pine street. great depression began year , soaring costs of expansion became unmanageable. construction on first phase of ind behind schedule, , city , state no longer able provide funding. 1930, line scaled down, line 125th houston streets complete 1940, spur along 34th street done 1948. scaled-down plan postponed in 1931. 1932, board of transportation had modified plan further reduce costs, omitting branch in bronx, , truncating line s southern terminus nassau street loop.

further revision of plan , more studies followed. 1939, construction had been postponed indefinitely, short length being completed above second avenue station. second avenue line relegated proposed status, , number 14 on board of transportation s list of important transportation projects. line cut 2 tracks single northern branch through throggs neck, bronx, connection bmt broadway line in manhattan, , continuation south onto ind fulton street line in brooklyn via line s court street station. subway s projected cost went us$249 million (equivalent $4,054,000,000 in 2016). united states entry world war ii in 1941 halted urgent public works projects, delaying second avenue line once again.

the second avenue el demolished in september 1942. photo taken @ first avenue 13th street, looking south.

as part of unification of 3 subway companies comprised new york city subway in 1940, elevated lines being shut down on city , replaced subways. northern half of second avenue elevated, serving upper east side , east harlem, closed on june 11, 1940; southern half, running through lower manhattan, east midtown , across queensborough bridge queens, closed on june 13, 1942. demolition of second avenue elevated caused overcrowding on astoria , flushing lines in queens, no longer had direct service manhattan s far east side. because of elevated line s closure, corresponding increase in east side s population, need second avenue subway increased.

in 1944, bot superintendent philip e. pheifer put forth proposal second avenue subway services, branch extensively off b division. subway opened 1951, 1945, plans second avenue subway again revised. plan put forth in 1947 colonel sidney h. bingham, city planner , former interborough rapid transit company (irt) engineer. o dwyer , gross believed construction of second avenue subway line vital both increasing capacity on existing lines , allowing new branch lines built. bingham s proposal involved more branch lines , track connections did phiefer s, , similar 1960s , 1990s phased proposals, built in sections. however, next year, new york city short $145 million needed $800 million program rehabilitation , proposed capital improvements. city petitioned new york state legislature exceed $655 million debt ceiling city spend $500 million on subway construction, request denied.

a r11 car, ten of built second avenue subway.

the bot ordered ten new prototype subway cars made of stainless steel budd company. these r11 cars, called because of contract number, delivered in 1949 , intended second avenue subway. cost us$100,000 (equivalent $1,000,000 in 2016) each; train became known million dollar train . cars featured porthole style round windows , new public address system. reflecting public health concerns of day, regarding polio, r11 cars equipped electrostatic air filters , ultraviolet lamps in ventilation systems kill germs.

in 1949, queens , lower manhattan residents complained second avenue subway not create better transit options them. year later, revised plan devised involved connections queens. new york voters approved bond measure construction in 1951, , city barely able raise requisite $559 million construction effort. however, onset of korean war caused soaring prices construction materials , saw beginning of massive inflation. money 1951 bond measure diverted buy new cars, lengthen platforms, , maintain other parts of aging new york city subway system. out of half-billion-dollar bond measure, $112 million (equivalent $1,033,000,000 in 2016), or 22% of original amount, went toward second avenue subway. then, construction due start either 1952 or 1957, estimated completion 1958 @ earliest.

the third avenue elevated, other elevated line in area, closed on may 13, 1955, , demolished in 1956.> lexington avenue line subway transportation option on east side, leading overcrowding. 1957, 1951 bond issue had been entirely used other projects, , new york times despaired of line s ever being built. cost more $500,000,000 , require new bond issue, wrote 1 reporter.

1970s construction

the grand street station, built part of chrystie street connection, conceived possible cross-platform interchange second avenue subway.

as 1960s progressed, east side experienced increase in development, , lexington avenue line became overcrowded. in 1962, construction began on connection between manhattan , williamsburg bridges , sixth avenue line. segment, chrystie street connection, first proposed in 1947 plan southern end of second avenue line, feed 2 bridges. when opened in november 1967, connection included new grand street station on sixth avenue line (another station, 57th street, opened in july 1968), , introduced significant service changes ever carried out in subway s history. grand street, located under chrystie street (the southern end of second avenue) designed include cross-platform transfers between sixth avenue , second avenue lines.

separately, in 1967, voters approved $2.5 billion (worth $17,957,000,000 in current dollars) transportation bond issue, provided on $600 million (worth $4,310,000,000 today) new york city projects, including 1968 program action. city secured $25 million urban mass transportation act (umta) grant initial construction. program action proposed second avenue line built in 2 phases: first phase north of 34th street , second phase south of there. second avenue project, line 34th street bronx, given top priority. however, line s planned stops in manhattan, spaced farther apart on existing subway lines, proved controversial; second avenue line criticized rich man s express, circumventing lower east side complexes of high-rise low- , middle-income housing , slums in favor of silk stocking route.” in response protests, mta added stations @ 72nd street , 96th street mta issued plan spur line, called cuphandle , serve heart of lower east side. branching off ind sixth avenue line near second avenue station, spur run east on houston street, turn north on avenue c, , turn west on 14th street, connecting bmt canarsie line.

a combination of federal , state funding obtained project. in march 1972, entire cost of section between 34th street , 126th street, according project s draft environmental study, estimated $381 million. in june 1972, announced umta grant $25 million construction of section of line. mta had requested $254 million in federal funds northern part of line. preliminary estimates of cost of southern portion of line came $450 million.

construction on tunnel segment between 99th , 105th streets began in october 1972. second segment between 110th , 120th street in east harlem started construction in march 1973. on october 25, 1973, line s chinatown segment commenced construction @ canal street under foot of manhattan bridge between canal , division streets. fourth segment started construction on july 25, 1974, between second , ninth streets in east village. in total, construction on second avenue line during 1970s spanned on 27 blocks.

the city experienced dire fiscal crisis yet, due stagnant economy of 1970s, combined massive outflow of city residents suburbs. system in decline; subway had seen 40% decrease in ridership since 1947, , $200 million subsidy mta 1952 fare increase had not been enough pay basic upkeep subway system, let alone fund massive expansion projects second avenue subway. when plans finalized in 1971, subway had been proposed completion 1980, 2 years later, completion date forecast 2000. in october 1974, mta chairman, david yunich, announced completion of line north of 42nd street pushed 1983 , portion south in 1988. on december 13, 1974, new york city mayor abraham beame proposed six-year transit construction program reallocate $5.1 billion of funding second avenue line complete new lines in queens , modernize existing infrastructure, rapidly deteriorating , in dire need of repair. beame issued stop-work order line in september 1975, whereupon construction of section between second , ninth streets halted, , no other funding allocated line s construction. besides chrystie street connection, 3 sections of tunnel had been completed; these tunnels sealed.

by 1978, when new york city subway @ lowest point in existence, state comptroller arthur levitt stated there no plans finish line. during 1980s, plans second avenue line stagnated. construction on 63rd street lines continued; ind portion of line opened in 1989 , extended 21st street–queensbridge in long island city, queens, did not include connection second avenue line. of failure complete construction, gene russianoff, advocate subway riders since 1981, stated: s famous thing s never been built in new york city, skeptical , rightly so. s much-promised , never delivered.

1990s plans

the track junction bmt 63rd street line south of 72nd street

with city s economic , budgetary recovery in 1990s, there revival of efforts complete construction of sas. rising ridership on irt lexington avenue line, subway trunk line east of central park, demonstrated need second avenue line, capacity , safety concerns rose. four-track irt lexington avenue line, lone rapid transit option in upper east side , east harlem since 1955 closure of third avenue elevated, crowded subway line in country. line saw average of 1.3 million daily riders in 2015; more daily ridership of second-busiest subway system in u.s., washington metro, more combined daily riderships of san francisco s , boston s transit systems. local bus routes crowded during various times of day, paralle m15 local , m15 select bus service routes seeing 46,000 passengers per weekday in 2016, translating 14.5 million passengers yhat year.

in 1990s, then-new york governor mario cuomo allocated $22 million renew planning , design efforts second avenue line, in 1993 mta, facing budget cuts, removed these funds capital budget. in 1995, mta began manhattan east side alternatives (mesa) study, both mis , deis, seeking ways alleviate overcrowding on lexington avenue line , improve mobility on manhattan s east side. study analyzed several alternatives, such improvements lexington avenue line increase capacity, enhanced bus service dedicated lanes, , light rail or ferry service on east side. second avenue chosen on first avenue logistical reasons. in november 1997, mta initiated lower manhattan access study (lma) improve access lower manhattan new york city suburbs. construction of second avenue subway 63rd street lower manhattan 1 of 5 build alternatives developed study.

a 1999 deis proposed new subway service 63rd street north second avenue 125th street via broadway line lower manhattan, local , express tracks being switched on broadway line. second avenue express trains run lower manhattan via montague street tunnel , local trains run via manhattan bridge , skip lower manhattan. spur grand central terminal considered, later dropped due infeasibility.

due in part strong public support, mta board committed in april 2000 building full-length subway line along east side, east harlem lower manhattan. in may 2000, mta capital program review board approved mta s 2000–2004 capital program, allocated $1.05 billion construction of second avenue subway. in 2001, contract subway design awarded dmjm harris/arup joint venture. new draft statement proposed full-length line 125th 14th streets. south of 14th street, line either travel under chrystie street, st. james place , water street terminal in lower manhattan, or link existing nassau street loop tracks j1 , j2 @ kenmare street provide access lower manhattan. water street option 1 chosen.

on december 19, 2001, federal transit administration approved start of preliminary engineering on full-length second avenue subway. mta s final environmental impact statement (feis) approved in april 2004; latest proposal two-track line 125th street , lexington avenue in harlem, down second avenue hanover square in financial district. final plan called full-length second avenue line carry 2 services: t, route emblem colored turquoise, rerouted q train. phase 1 rerouted q, broadway express via bmt 63rd street line , north along second avenue, upper east side @ 96th street. phase 2 extend rerouted q train 125th street , lexington avenue. in phase three, new t train run 125th street houston street. final phase extend t train service houston street hanover square in lower manhattan.

the 2-mile (3.2 km) first phase built within budget, @ $4.45 billion. construction site designated being 105th street , second avenue 63rd street , third avenue. deep bore tunneling methods used in order avoid disruptions road traffic, pedestrians, utilities , local businesses produced cut-and-cover methods of past generations. stations retain cut-and-cover construction. total cost of 8.5-mile (13.7 km) line expected exceed $17 billion. in 2014, mta capital construction president dr. michael horodniceanu stated whole line may completed 2029, , serve 560,000 daily passengers upon completion; however, of december 2016, phases 1 , 2 completed 2029. line described new york city subway s first major expansion in more half-century. add 2 tracks fill gap has existed since elevated second , third avenue lines demolished in 1950s. according line s final environmental impact statement, catchment area of line s first phase include 200,000 daily riders.

phase 1 construction

new york voters passed transportation bond issue on november 8, 2005, allowing dedicated funding allocated phase. passage had been seen critical construction, bond passed narrow margin, 55 percent of voters approving , 45 percent disapproving. @ time, mta said project done in 2012 in case city s 2012 summer olympics bid succeeded, had not. on december 18, 2006, united states department of transportation (usdot) announced allow mta commit $693 million in funds begin construction of second avenue subway , federal share of such costs reimbursed fta transit funds, subject appropriations , final labor certification. usdot later gave $1.3 billion in federal funding project s first phase, funded on seven-year period. preliminary engineering , final tunnel design completed joint venture between aecom , arup.

ceiling of 86th street station in december 2013

on march 20, 2007, upon completion of preliminary engineering, mta awarded contract constructing tunnels between 92nd , 63rd streets, launch box tunnel boring machine (tbm) @ 92nd 95th streets, , access shafts @ 69th , 72nd streets. contract, valued @ $337 million, awarded s3, joint venture of schiavone construction, skanska usa civil, , j.f. shea construction. ceremonial groundbreaking took place on april 12, 2007, @ 99th street tunnel segment built in 1970s. @ time, announced passengers able ride trains on new line end of 2013. actual construction work began on april 23, 2007, relocation of utility pipes, wires, , other infrastructure, took 14 months.

due cost increases, several features of subway cut after construction started. notably, 72nd street station truncated three-track, two-platform design two-track, single island platform design, paired simplification of connection broadway line spur. design change done before actual construction started. mta pushed completion date 2014. in 2008 capital improvement budget proposal, mta further postponed completion of phase 1 2015, , in 2009, mta rescheduled again 2016.

on may 28, 2009, mta awarded $325 million contract e.e. cruz , tully construction co., joint venture , limited liability company, construct 96th street station box. work on contract began in july. in june 2009, first of 3 contracts 86th street station awarded advance utility relocation work , construction of cut-and-cover shaft areas @ 83rd , 86th streets. after delay in delivering tbms, mta s contractors completed tbm installation on may 14, 2010, , turned on @ second avenue subway launch box @ 96th street, boring southward connecting shafts built @ 86th , 72nd streets. on october 1, 2010, mta awarded $431 million contract joint venture ssk constructors mining of tunnels connecting 72nd street station existing lexington avenue–63rd street station, , excavation , heavy civil structures of 72nd street station. subsequent contract awarded skanska traylor joint venture excavation of cavern @ 86th street station on august 4, 2011. in january 2011, mta awarded judlau contracting 40-month, $176.4 million contract rebuild , enlarge lexington avenue–63rd street station.

the tbm, digging @ rate of approximately 50 feet (15 m) per day, finished run @ planned endpoint under 65th street on february 5, 2011. s3 partially disassembled tbm, backed out of tunnel, , placed in short eastern tunnel bore again. on march 28, 2011, s3, having completed task of completing 7,200-foot (2,200 m) west tunnel 65th street, began drilling east tunnel. tbm drilling east tunnel negotiated curve onto 63rd street , broke through bellmouth @ existing lexington avenue–63rd street station. portion of west tunnel remaining created mined using conventional drill-and-blast methods, because curve s3 construction teams have negotiate tight tbm. on september 22, 2011, tbm completed run lexington avenue–63rd street station s bellmouth.

second avenue subway community information center phase 1

the mta opened second avenue subway community information center phase 1 on july 25, 2013. located @ 1628 second avenue between 84th , 85th streets, near line s 86th street station. in 3 years followed, center visited on 20,000 times.

the final contract entire phase 1 area awarded on june 1, 2013. blasting station caverns finished in november 2013, , muck houses taken down @ around same time. in winter of 2013, many of tracks , signal panels began arrive @ construction site, installed on line on next few years.

on february 24, 2016, mta allocated $66 million speed construction of first phase open in december. however, june, project not being built @ rate allow december 2016 completion. concerns line s timely opening persisted through october , november, key systems such elevators, escalators, , fire alarms not having been tested. third rail energized , test trains began running through new line on october 9, 2016, weights simulate rush hour loads; non-revenue q trains, taken out of service @ 57th street–seventh avenue, started running through subway in november 2016.

opening day @ 86th street

in december 2016, week before line s opening, mta hosted open houses @ 96th street , 86th street. entrance lexington avenue–63rd street station @ third avenue, completed part of phase 1, opened on december 30. ceremonial first train, several prominent officials in attendance, ran on new year s eve, , trains began serving line in regular passenger service @ noon next day. 48,200 passengers entered new stations on january 1, excluding passengers toured line entering @ station in rest of system. during opening week of operation, trains running every 6 minutes during peak hours, , there no service between 10 p.m. , 6 a.m. overnight shutdown allowed finishing touches placed avoid leaks , other major issues found in new 34th street–hudson yards station, had opened year prior. overnight service began on january 9, 2017.

because of opening of phase 1, ridership on lexington avenue line @ 68th street, 77th street, 86th street, , 96th street stations decreased in january 2017 compared in january 2016. second avenue line s 3 stations , renovated lexington avenue–63rd street station saw average weekday ridership of more 150,000 end of january. 72nd street station busiest of line s new stations, average daily ridership of 44,000. april, taxi usage in area saw decline of more 20% compared before line s opening. may 15, second avenue ridership had increased 176,000 passengers day, reducing overall usage on lexington avenue line 26% while representing 42% increase second avenue ridership in january. because of increasing demand, q service increased 1 downtown trip in morning , 1 uptown trip in evening on november 6, 2017. in addition, 1 northbound r trip rerouted ind queens boulevard line further boost service. trip return southbound in evening in q service.

phase 2 construction


the location of planned phase 2 station @ 106th street , second avenue

the second phase, between 125th , 96th streets, allocated $535 million in mta s 2015–2019 capital plan planning, design, environmental studies, , utility relocation. 3 new stations constructed @ 125th street, 116th street, , 106th street, existing tunnel @ 116th street being rebuilt accommodate new station there. transfer lexington avenue line , intermodal connection metro-north railroad available @ 125th street station. while main line turn west onto 125th street tail tracks fifth avenue, tail tracks continue north on spur via second avenue 129th street. north of 120th street, line constructed through use of tbms. south of 120th street, line utilize 99th–105th , 110th–120th streets tunnel sections built during 1970s, cut-and-cover tunnel connecting segments between 105th , 110th streets.

the phase 2 budget $1.5 billion, used start construction of tunnels; mta reduced amount of money allocated in budget, projecting agency not able start construction end of 5-year cycle in 2019. although mta expressed concerns funding capital program, spokesman stated reduction in funding result of uncertain timing , not money problems. delay had upset politicians , residents of east harlem, objected 3-to-4-year delay.

in march 2016, mta began advertising requests proposals (rfp) 3 new contracts second phase, planned awarded in summer 2016. in april 2016, mta , state of new york reached deal restore funding phase 2, total of $1.035 billion allocated. on may 24, 2017, mta board increased funding phase 2 $700 million. new budget of $1.735 billion allow near-term 30 percent match per full funding grant agreement process. august 2017, preliminary work on line underway, , engineering firm akrf updating environmental impact study phase 2. akrf had prepared manhattan east side alternatives , original eis second avenue subway. design of project being done phase 2 partnership, joint venture of parsons-brinckerhoff , stv. eis , design finished in 2018.

a second avenue subway community information center phase 2, along 125th street between park , madison avenues, planned open in may 2017. however, center s opening delayed september 18, 2017.

in november 2017, regional plan association published fourth regional plan, which, among other things, called completion of full-length second avenue subway. rpa s plan called 2 additional components added phase 2. proposed phase 2b extend second avenue line under 125th street broadway, while planned phase 2c spur third avenue-149th street in bronx, connecting ind concourse line. however, these plans have not been acknowledged mta, nor have been given funding.

phases 3 , 4

phase 3, has no funding commitments, extend line southward along second avenue 63rd street houston street. upon completion, new service operate running between 125th , houston streets. phases 2 , 3, classified high-priority project trump administration, may cost combined total of $14.2 billion.

phase 4, has no funding commitments, provide extension houston street permanent terminus, storage tracks, @ hanover square. these storage tracks, recommended in sdeis, allow storage of 4 trains, , run south of hanover square coenties slip traffic island located near peter minuit plaza @ depth of 110 feet (34 m). hanover square terminal planned able turn 26 trains per hour instead of 30 less capacity needed on line south of 63rd street. hanover square station planned located 85 feet (26 m) below sea level, elevation deep enough allow potential extension of second avenue subway service brooklyn through new tunnel under east river.

cite error: there <ref group=note> tags on page, references not show without {{reflist|group=note}} template (see page).