NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- The long-anticipated second phase of the Second Avenue subway is moving forward and closer to getting underway, state officials detailed Thursday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA said that the next phase in the project that would extend the Second Avenue line to 125th Street in East Harlem has moved into its “engineering” phase. That essentially means they’re closer to securing needed federal grants to make it happen.
The MTA submitted a request to the U.S. Department of Transportation to allow the second phase of the expansion to move ahead and remain eligible for funding.
The second phase would bring three new subway stations at 106th Street, 116th Street and 125th Street.
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The project’s second phase would expand the line about 1.5 miles and provide connections to the 4/5/6 trains at 125th Street and an entrance at Park Avenue for transfers to Metro-North. It carries an estimated $6 billion price tag.
"They were ready to go in 1939 and World War II slowed it down. Then they're ready to go in the 1970s and the financial crisis of that era slowed it down again,” said Hochul during her tour of the site in November. “So finally, in 2021, and hopefully approvals very soon will allow us to announce the start of it in 2022, we'll be able to get it done."
The tunnel that will be used was built in the 1970s from 110th to 120th Street along Second Avenue, but was later abandoned.
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Hochul touted President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in providing billions for transit expansion like the Second Avenue subway.
“Earlier this afternoon I spoke with Secretary Pete Buttigieg who shared the exciting news that the U.S. Department of Transportation is making a huge step forward on Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway expansion, which will unlock incredible potential for the people of East Harlem in expanding transit equity and economic opportunity," Hochul said.
Hochul said the move brings the state in the “home stretch” toward full funding and beginning construction.
State officials denoted that 70% of East Harlem residents use public transportation, which is much higher than the 55% citywide average.
All three stations will be ADA accessible and have above-ground ancillary buildings that have potential for retail space.
The first phase of the project extended the Q line from 63rd Street to 96th Street, the city’s biggest subway expansion in decades. That opened for service at the start of 2017.
"The East Harlem community has been waiting for the Second Avenue Subway for decades. Phase 2 will serve an area with one of the largest concentrations of affordable housing in the country,” said MTA Acting Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “The new line extension will build on the success of Phase 1 and bring the total Second Avenue Subway ridership to 300,000, which is equivalent to the entire Philadelphia rail system.”