Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 begins main construction

Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 has formally entered its main works stage, marking a new step in the extension of subway service in East Harlem.

The groundbreaking took place⁠ at the site where a tunnel boring machine is due to be lowered in early 2027. From that point, the TBM will begin excavating new subway tunnels between 120 Street and 2nd Avenue and 125 Street and Malcolm X Boulevard.

Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 contract work

At the ceremony, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had awarded the next major contract for the project. The package covers construction of the final tunnel segment in this phase, running from 105 Street to 110 Street, and includes the future 106 St Station. The works will use a cut-and-cover method.

The MTA said it plans to apply experience gained during Phase 1 to achieve more than 1 billion USD in savings. The authority also said advanced utility relocation works are on track to be completed early, allowing work on the project to start six months faster than originally scheduled.

Governor Hochul said:

“The Second Avenue Subway will change everything for East Harlem, saving people precious time and making possible opportunities that have for too long been out of reach for too many.”

“The last groundbreaking for a second avenue subway in East Harlem was 54 years ago, only for the project to be abandoned and this community left behind.”

“When I became Governor, I promised that I would be the leader to finally get this done, and by breaking ground on the major construction phase of this project, we are one giant step closer to realising a dream nearly a century in the making.”

TBM work and possible Q train extension

All-new TBMs will be delivered in early 2027. Weighing more than 1.5 million pounds, they will be launched from the 120 Street site and move toward 125 Street and Malcolm X Boulevard.

Governor Hochul and the MTA have also started scoping and design work for a possible later phase that would extend the Q train west along 125th St to Broadway. That potential extension would add three new stations and serve more than 160,000 daily riders.

An MTA feasibility study for the extension was completed in 2024. The FY27 enacted state budget has allocated 25 million USD for preliminary engineering and design of the tunnel extension, while also approving an efficient environmental review process. If the project proceeds, tunnel work could continue using much of the same equipment from Phase 2, with the aim of reducing both time and cost.

MTA contracts and 2032 service target

The Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 programme⁠ has been structured into four contracts, compared with 10 contracts during Phase 1. The MTA has said this approach is intended to improve efficiency and reduce the need for contractor coordination.

Tunnel excavation is included in Contract 2⁠, valued at 1.97 billion USD. This contract also covers shaft excavation for the TBM, controlled blasting for future stations, and asbestos and lead abatement inside existing tunnels dating from the 1970s.

The groundbreaking also included an update on Contract 3, another major element needed to complete Phase 2. This contract will deliver the structural shells for the new 106 St Station and related tunneling works, linking existing tunnels to the north and south of the station. The contractor is expected to begin work in the coming months.

The full Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 project has a budget of 6.968 billion USD and remains on track to begin revenue service in 2032.

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said:

“It was 80 years ago they started knocking down the Second Avenue El – an entire lifetime.”

“Today’s groundbreaking is another major step toward transit justice for East Harlem, the City’s most transit-dependent community.”