New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board has approved the tunnel-boring contract for Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway, the project extending the Q train from 96 Street to 125 Street that will deliver new transit access to East Harlem residents. This new tunnel will extend from 116 Street to 125 Street. Crews under this contract will also excavate space for the future 125 Street Station, and in a cost-containment measure that saves the MTA $500 million, will outfit the tunnel along the route that was built in the 1970s to accommodate the future 116 Street Station.
The work to bore the new tunnel, between 35 and 120 feet below Second Avenue, is expected to take place using 750-ton machines equipped with 22-foot diamond-studded drill heads. Early work will commence later this year, with heavy civil construction starting in early 2026 and the tunnel boring itself expected to begin in 2027.
The contract, valued at $1.972 billion, is being awarded to Connect Plus Partners, a joint venture between Halmar International and FCC Construction. It is the second of four construction contracts for the Q train extension. Despite New York City’s high construction costs, the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2’s cost-benefit is significant and is projected to have the lowest cost per rider of any active heavy rail project in the country.
-via Press Release
