106th Street. Rendering courtesy of the MTA
East Harlem is one major step closer to having better subway access for the first time since the 1940s. The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Monday approved a nearly $2 billion tunnel-boring contract for the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway, which extends the Q train from 96th Street to 125th Street. The tunneling contract marks the largest awarded in agency history.
“This is a meaningful step forward not only for the project but for everyone in East Harlem and Central Harlem,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said.
“Locals have waited almost 100 long years for their promised subway extension. Thanks to investments from Governor Hochul and our partners in Washington, today the new MTA is moving forward with the largest tunneling contract in agency history, but – more importantly – with a project that pencils at the lowest cost per rider of any heavy rail project in America.”
The $7.7 billion extension brings the subway to a neighborhood that has lacked adequate transit access since the Second Avenue El discontinued service in the 1940s. The first phase of the Second Avenue Subway, which added three stations on the Upper East Side, opened in 2017.
The extension creates three new accessible stations in East Harlem, where 70 percent of residents rely on transit. The new Q train stations will be built at 106th Street, 116th Street, and 125th Street, offering a one-seat ride from East Harlem to the Upper East Side, Midtown, and Coney Island.
The project includes a direct passenger connection at the existing 125th Street subway station at Lexington Avenue and a new entrance at Park Avenue to allow for transfers to the Metro-North Railroad station.
The MTA estimates the expansion will serve an additional 110,000 daily riders.
Gov. Kathy Hochul joined the board meeting during a special meeting held in Harlem to approve the contract.
“East Harlem is one of the most transit-reliant neighborhoods in New York, but every day, tens of thousands of commuters lack subway access,” Hochul said.
“The Second Avenue Subway will change everything; it will shorten commutes for over 100,000 daily riders and make East Harlem more vibrant than ever. Awarding this contract means that the time for promises to this community is over and the time for building is here — next stop 125 Street!”
The construction contract, the second of four for the Q train extension, was awarded to Connect Plus Partners, a joint venture between Halmar International and FCC Construction. According to the MTA, work to bore the new tunnel, to be between 35 and 120 feet below Second Avenue, involves 750-ton machines equipped with 22-foot-diamond-studded drill heads. Work will commence later this year, with heavy civil construction starting in early 2026 and the tunnel boring in 2027.
As amNY reported, the machine for this phase can excavate and install the pre-cast lining in a single process, reducing the tunnel crew size by 40 percent and saving an estimated $100 million in labor costs. That, in addition to several other cost-saving measures, will save $1.3 billion, making it 10 percent cheaper than the first phase, according to the agency.
Connect Plus Partners will retrofit part of an existing 1970s-era tunnel that runs under Second Avenue from 110th to 120th Streets.
The first contract was awarded in January 2024 and was for utility relocation work, which includes moving utilities from the 19th century to facilitate the construction of the new station. The third contract will build the underground space for the stations, and the fourth and last contract covers the fit-out of the three new stations and the systems needed.
As the Second Avenue Subway moves into East Harlem, residents of the neighborhood are preparing for major changes. As Gothamist reported, the MTA has started issuing eviction notices to residents; the agency plans to seize at least 19 buildings by eminent domain to build the new stations. The MTA is offering some help to those residents, including providing a real estate agent and financial assistance to cover moving costs, according to Gothamist.
So far, the agency has filed plans to rezone the south side of East 125th Street between Third and Lexington Avenues, the terminus of the Second Avenue Subway. The 684-unit apartment building would generate revenue for the agency through a ground lease and payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs). The process to select a developer is still years away, as 6sqft previously reported.
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