The Project

The Second Avenue Subway project in-cludes a two-track line along Second Avenue from 125th Street to the Financial District in Lower Manhattan. It will also include a connec-tion from Second Ave-nue through the 63rd Street tunnel to exist-ing tracks for service to West Midtown and Brooklyn. Sixteen new disability accessible stations will be constructed.

Phase One will entail a reroute and extension of the existing service in Manhattan. It will operate along Second Avenue from 96th Street to 63rd Street, where it will di-vert west along the existing 63rd Street line, stopping at the Lexington Avenue/63rd Street Station, where riders will be able to transfer to the line. It will then continue

west under Central Park and then head south, stop-ping at express stations along Seventh Avenue and Broadway before crossing the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn.

The project will be built in four phases. The overall project began in March of 2007, with the ground breaking of phase one, and is intended to be complet-ed in 45 months.

Second Avenue Subway Project

Second Avenue Subway Project

Project Advantages:

The number one advantage of the project is reducing the over-crowding problem that has been put off for a number of years while this project was gaining momentum to begin. With the completion of the first phase alone, the new system will be able to comfortably carry 200,000 passengers a day. This improved capacity is going to significant-ly improve the subway system. The Second Avenue Subway will also reduce delays on the Lexing-ton Avenue line, improving travel for both city and suburban commuters, and provid-ing better access to mass transit for residents of the far East Side of Manhattan.

Another significant improvement that will come with this project is the handicap ac-cessible stations and subways. There will be 16 new stations built with every accomo-dation in mind for those with handicaps. Stations will have a combination of escalators,

stairs, and elevator connections from street-level to station mezzanine and from mezzanine to plat-forms.

The Second Avenue Subway Project will be beneificial to all Manhattan residents and visitors as they travel each day, whether for work or pleasure. We look forward to its com-pletion.

Second Avenue Subway ProjectMajor Milestone:

The Second Avenue subway is on track with construction as a major milestone was reached in September 2011. The 485-ton tunnel boring machine completed its second pass from 92nd Street and Second Avenue, breaking through into an existing tunnel at the Lexington Avenue/63rd Street station.It completes more than two miles of tunnels that will provide train service from 96th to 63rd Streets. It took the TBM six months to complete this portion of its duties. This part of the project began shortly after the ma-chine finished boring another 7,200 feet of tunnel in February.

This machine crumbles the ground around it as it moves at an approximate speed of 50 feet each day. MTA will disassemble and remove the TBM by locomotive and begin installing a concrete liner in the newly created tunnel.

Finishing this step in the process allowed a major milestone to be checked off the to do list in completing this new tunnel system, relieving a lot of headaches for workers and residents.

Second Avenue Subway Project

Project Funding:

The Federal Transit Administration awarded $197 million in funds for the Second Avenue sub-way construction’s first phase. This represents a total sum of the $1.3 billion in federal funding committed for the MTA project. The first phase of the project is estimat-ed to cost $4.45 billion.

Just a day after the check was written, govern-ment officials learned that the federal govern-ment’s final installment of $123 million will also come through. There had been some doubt when the budget was being considered whether or not this funding would go through.

When considering the price tag of this project it is obvious that government funding will be necessary in order for it to be completed. A task this size requires more than major funder contri-

butions, although those are always welcomed as well.

This project is critical for New York City to remain a functioning place. Without this ex-pansion the city would outgrow the subway system to a point be-yond repair. This is why we are grateful for these major donations that will help us stay on track.