NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Gov. Kathy Hochul went underground to see part of phase two of the Second Avenue Subway expansion Tuesday, a phase that she is crossing her fingers will see some progress next year.
Hochul toured the site of the Second Avenue Subway expansion with MTA and elected officials, which would extend the Second Avenue line to 125th Street in East Harlem.
With the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act providing $23 billion in new grant opportunities for transit expansion, there’s renewed hope for the completion of the job. But the federal government also still has to approve it.
"Expanding the Second Avenue Subway has been talked about for decades, and thanks to the billions of dollars coming to New York in the infrastructure package, we can finally stop talking and start doing,” said MTA CEO Janno Lieber.
Officials said the new grants double the amount available for projects like phase two of the Q train project, which would mean three new subway stations at 106th, 116th and 125th streets in East Harlem, a 1.5-mile stretch.
The new phase will provide direct passenger connections to the Lexington Avenue (4/5/6) line at 125th Street, and an entrance at Park Avenue for convenient 125th Street Metro North transfers. It carries an estimated $6 billion price tag.
The tunnel that will be used was built in the 1970s from 110th to 120th Street along Second Avenue, but was later abandoned.
“The plan for phase two of the Second Avenue subway expansion unlocks our incredible potential to give communities the transportation infrastructure and equity they will need to compete economically," said Hochul, who denoted the project was promised decades ago.
According to MTA officials, the new stations will be ADA accessible and have the possibility for ground-floor retail.
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.
Officials said since its completion, the Second Avenue subway has carried more than 130 million passengers.
Transportation officials underscored the phase’s importance because 70% of East Harlem residents use public transport to get to work, 15% higher than the citywide average. But estimates show the project might not be done until the late-2020s.
"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. “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."
