The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is advancing the fourth and final major construction contract for Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway, moving the approximately $6.97 billion project closer to extending Q train service north into East Harlem.
The MTA has issued a Request for Qualifications for Contract Four, the largest construction package in Phase 2. Qualified contractors are expected to receive a Request for Proposals by the end of 2026, with contractor selection targeted for mid-2027 and construction beginning later that year.
Phase 2 will extend Q service approximately 1.5 miles north from the existing 96th Street terminus to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue. New accessible stations will be constructed at 106th Street, 116th Street and 125th Street. The overall project is currently expected to enter revenue service in 2032. The MTA’s capital program materials similarly identify September 2032 as the anticipated revenue-service date.
Contract Four will complete much of the infrastructure that riders will ultimately interact with, including station buildouts, tracks, signals, communications equipment and architectural finishes.
The package includes construction of entrance canopies and station platforms as well as six above-ground ancillary buildings containing ventilation, mechanical and electrical systems. Those buildings will also include potential space for ground-floor retail or community uses.
The MTA plans to install 22 elevators and 20 escalators across the three stations and associated facilities, along with HVAC, smoke-management, fire-protection, lighting, plumbing and drainage systems.
Communications and security infrastructure will include public-address systems, customer information screens, Help Point intercoms, Wi-Fi, radio systems, emergency alarms and security cameras.
The contract also covers track, third rail, traction power, signaling, train detection and communications infrastructure throughout the new stations and tunnels. Station finishes will include lighting, signage, wayfinding, fare arrays, customer-service facilities and artwork.
Another significant portion of the project involves connecting the future 125th Street Second Avenue Subway station with the existing Lexington Avenue 4, 5 and 6 subway station.
An entrance at Park Avenue will place the station one block from Metro-North’s Harlem-125th Street Station and provide connections with M60 Select Bus Service to LaGuardia Airport.
The Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 project is budgeted at approximately $6.968 billion and is supported by congestion-relief revenue and $3.4 billion in federal funding.
The MTA has said changes based on lessons learned during construction of Phase 1 have reduced projected Phase 2 costs by more than $1 billion. Measures include reusing tunnel sections constructed during the 1970s, limiting property acquisitions and reducing unnecessary station design complexity.
Three construction contracts are already underway or progressing toward completion.
The first contract, awarded in January 2024, covers utility relocations around the future 106th Street station. According to the state’s September update, the work was approximately 60% complete and targeted for completion in summer 2027.
The second contract includes construction of two tunnels, rehabilitation of existing tunnel sections, construction of the 116th Street station box and structural shells for the 116th Street and 125th Street stations. A tunnel boring machine is being built for that work, with substantial completion targeted for September 2029.
The third contract, awarded in April 2026, covers excavation and construction of the 106th Street station shell, connecting tunnels, ancillary buildings, entrances and utility work. Substantial completion is expected during the third quarter of 2030.
MTA procurement documents confirm that the fourth contract will complete station entrances and ancillary buildings and fit out stations and tunnels with architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, track, traction-power, communications and signaling systems.
The extension is intended to provide East Harlem residents with more direct subway access to the Upper East Side, Midtown and Brooklyn. The state estimates that trips could be shortened by as much as 20 minutes for some riders. Approximately 70% of East Harlem residents rely on public transit, according to the project announcement.
The project also has a 20% local hiring goal intended to create construction employment opportunities for East Harlem residents.
Plans for a Second Avenue subway date back roughly a century, with earlier versions proposed in the 1920s and construction beginning in East Harlem during the 1970s before being halted during New York City’s fiscal crisis. Portions of those earlier tunnels will now be incorporated into Phase 2.
Once all four contracts are completed, the project will extend the existing Second Avenue Subway infrastructure that opened between 63rd Street and 96th Street in 2017.
KEY QUOTES:
“New Yorkers have been waiting for the Second Avenue Subway for nearly a century and now, with major work underway, we are moving full speed ahead with the final contract to fully deliver this transformative new transit connection to East Harlem.”
Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York
“Three contracts down, one to go in our quest to bring long-awaited transit justice to East Harlem. This fourth and final RFQ covers the architectural finishes and the communications and other systems in the stations – the things that riders directly experience – and we can’t wait to get started.”
Janno Lieber, Chair and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
“The MTA has saved more than $1 billion to date by applying lessons learned from Phase 1 to Phase 2. We’re bringing that same approach to this final contract to bring these stations to life better, faster, and cheaper than before and get East Harlem riders the service they’ve waited for.”
Jamie Torres-Springer, President of MTA Construction & Development
