Construction of the Second Avenue Subway#Phase 1

{{Main|Unbuilt plans for the Second Avenue Subway}}

In response to a surge in the New York City Subway's ridership, in 1919, the New York Public Service Commission launched a study to determine what improvements were needed in the city's public transport system.{{cite web |url=http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Second_Avenue_Subway:_The_Line_That_Almost_Never_Was |title=The Second Avenue Subway Line. . . the line that almost never was |year=1972 |publisher=New York City Transit Authority |access-date=September 30, 2015}}{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1920/10/03/109800180.pdf |title=CITY'S GROWTH DISCOUNTED IN PLANS FOR ADDING 830 MILES OF TRACK TO RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEMS; Work to Cover Period of Twenty-five Years and Cost $350,000,000--New Lines and Extensions Would Provide for a Population of Nine Millions and Carry Five Billion Passengers |date=October 3, 1920 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=January 2, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}} The study called for, among other things, a massive trunk line under Second Avenue consisting of at least six tracks and numerous branches throughout Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.{{cite web|url=http://nycsubway.org/wiki/IND_Second_System_-_1929_Plan|title=IND Second System 1929 Plan|publisher=nycsubway.org|access-date=March 25, 2016}} In September 1929, the Board of Transportation of the City of New York (BOT) tentatively approved the expansion, but the soaring costs of the expansion became unmanageable, and the plan was scaled down.{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/05/12/102133667.pdf|title=SUBWAY LOOP TO LINK 125TH AND 34TH STS.; Board Plans Line Under Those Thoroughfares to Tap North and South Bound Routes. TO RUN BENEATH 2D AVENUE Proposal in Tentative Form Is Approved by 34th Street Midtown Association. Plans in Tentative Stage. $800,000,000 Plans Ready Soon. SUBWAY LOOP TO LINK 125TH AND 34TH STS. Stress Loop's Advantages.|date=May 12, 1930|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 22, 2016|issn=0362-4331}} A second plan, proposed in 1939, called for a two-track line with extensions into the Bronx and Brooklyn.{{Cite Routes Not Taken}}{{rp|205}} The line was again delayed by World War II, even as the Second Avenue Elevated was closed without being replaced.{{rp|205–206}} The elevated line's closure, as well as a corresponding increase in the East Side's population, increased the need for a Second Avenue subway.{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SiM3AQAAMAAJ&q=63rd+street |title=Manhattan East Side Transit Alternatives (MESA): Major Investment Study/Draft Environmental Impact Statement, August 1999 |date=August 1999 |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority, United States Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration |access-date=July 11, 2016}}{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1940/06/12/113091259.pdf |title=TWO 'EL' LINES END TRANSIT SERVICE; Part of Ninth Ave., First in the World, and Second Ave. Mark Last Runs PASSING IS NOT MOURNED American Woman's Club Holds Wake in Jubilation Over Cessation of Noise |date=June 12, 1940 |work=The New York Times |access-date=August 28, 2017 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Further plans were proposed in 1944{{rp|209–210}} and in 1947.{{rp|209}} The BOT then ordered ten new prototype subway cars specifically for the unbuilt subway line.{{cite news |last=Neuman |first=William |title=A Museum-Quality Car for a Subway Yet Unbuilt |website=The New York Times |date=March 24, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/24/nyregion/24subway.html |access-date=September 30, 2015}}[http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/caption.pl?/img/cars/sheet013-r11.jpg R-11] Datasheet In 1950, a revised plan involved connections from Queens.{{cite web |title=Board of Transportation – 1951 |url=http://www.thejoekorner.com/bdtrans-51/bd-trans-51-plan-indx.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224152538/http://www.thejoekorner.com/bdtrans-51/bd-trans-51-plan-indx.html |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |access-date=March 25, 2014 |publisher=Thejoekorner.com}} New York voters approved a bond measure for its construction in 1951, but the Korean War again forced the postponement of plans.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/20070408_SUBWAY_DOCS/19510914_subway_doc.pdf |title=$500,000,000 VOTED FOR 2D AVE. SUBWAY BY ESTIMATE BOARD |last=Crowell |first=Paul |date=September 14, 1951 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 2, 2017 |via=The New York Times Archive}} The Third Avenue Elevated, the only other elevated line in the area, closed on May 13, 1955,{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1955/05/13/80773167.pdf |title=Last Train Rumbles On Third Ave. 'El'; An Era Ends With Final Run of Third Avenue 'El' LAST TRAIN ROLLS ON THIRD AVE. 'EL' |last=Katz |first=Ralph |work=The New York Times |date=May 13, 1955 |access-date=December 14, 2016 }} making the Lexington Avenue Line the only subway transportation option on the East Side of Manhattan. As the early 1960s progressed, the East Side experienced an increase in development, and the Lexington Avenue Line became overcrowded.

In 1967, voters approved a bond issue, which provided funding for projects such as the Program for Action.{{cite web |title=Full text of "Metropolitan transportation, a program for action. Report to Nelson A. Rockefeller, Governor of New York." |website=Internet Archive |date=November 7, 1967 |url=https://archive.org/stream/metropolitantran00newy/metropolitantran00newy_djvu.txt |access-date=February 12, 2016}} The program proposed a Second Avenue line to be built in two phases: a first phase north of 34th Street and a second phase south of there.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/14/archives/slattery-is-low-in-bid-on-subway-first-section-on-2d-avenue-line.html|title=SLATTERY IS LOW IN BID ON SUBWAY|date=September 14, 1972|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 24, 2016|via=New York Times Archives}} The Second Avenue project, for a line from 34th Street to the Bronx, was given top priority. Construction on a tunnel segment between 99th and 105th Streets began in October 1972.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/appendixb.pdf|title=Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), May 2004 Appendix B Development of Alternatives|date=May 2004|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 7, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capconstr/sas/background.html|title=Second Avenue Subway|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=April 7, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408220035/http://web.mta.info/capconstr/sas/background.html|archive-date=April 8, 2014}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/20070408_SUBWAY_DOCS/19721028_subway_doc.pdf|title=Rockefeller and Lindsey Break Ground for 2d Avenue Subway|date=October 28, 1972|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 21, 2016|via=nytimes.com archive}} A second segment between 110th and 120th Street in East Harlem started construction in March 1973.{{cite news |last=Burks |first=Edward C. |title=Beame and Wilson Man the Jackhammers To Start 4th Segment of 2d Ave. Subway; A 1920's Project Some See No Alternative Rush Hour Still Jammed Headache for Neighbors Completion Set for '75 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 26, 1974 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1974/07/26/79631860.pdf |access-date=October 4, 2015 |page=10}} In October 1973, the line's Chinatown segment began construction at Canal Street under the foot of the Manhattan Bridge between Canal and Division Streets.{{cite news |last=Burks |first=Edward C. |title=GROUND IS BROKEN FOR 2D AVE. LINK; Downtown Subway Section Begins With Ceremony Led by Lindsay and Ronan Projects Are Listed Interest in French Train |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 25, 1973 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/10/25/91018297.pdf |access-date=October 4, 2015 |page=51}} A fourth segment started construction in July 1974, between Second and Ninth Streets in the East Village.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MyBQAAAAYAAJ&q=February+1974|title=Engineering News-record|date=January 1974|publisher=McGraw-Hill|volume=192|language=en}} The city soon experienced its most dire fiscal crisis yet, due to the stagnant economy of the early 1970s, combined with the massive outflow of city residents to the suburbs. New York City mayor Abraham Beame issued a stop-work order for the line in September 1975,{{cite news |last=Burks |first=Edward C. |title=WORK IS STOPPED ON SUBWAY LINE; City Lacks Funds to Finish Part of 2d Ave. Project |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 26, 1975 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1975/09/26/80066862.pdf |access-date=October 4, 2015 |page=41}} and the tunnels were sealed. In 1978, State Comptroller Arthur Levitt stated that there were no plans to finish the line.

{{Second Avenue Subway}}

With the city's economic and budgetary recovery in the 1990s, there was a revival of efforts to complete construction of the Second Avenue Subway. Rising ridership on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, the only subway trunk line east of Central Park, demonstrated the need for the Second Avenue Line, as capacity and safety concerns rose.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capconstr/sas/feis.htm|title=Second Avenue Subway in the Borough of Manhattan, New York County, New York Final Environmental Impact Statement And Final Section 4(f) and Section 6(f) Evaluation|date=April 2004|pages=1–5, 1–6|format=PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408220803/http://web.mta.info/capconstr/sas/feis.htm|archive-date=April 8, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=September 22, 2011}} The four-track IRT Lexington Avenue Line, the lone rapid transit option on the Upper East Side and East Harlem since the 1955 closure of the Third Avenue elevated, is the most crowded subway line in the country. The line saw an average of 1.3 million daily riders in 2015.{{Cite news|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/second-avenue-subway-to-open-new-year-s-day-cuomo-says-1.12776549|title=Cuomo: Second Ave. subway to open New Year's Day|date=December 19, 2016|newspaper=am New York|access-date=December 20, 2016}} This is more than the daily ridership of the entire Washington Metro system, which has the second-highest ridership in the U.S., as well as greater than the combined riderships of the rail transit systems of San Francisco and Boston. Local bus routes are just as crowded during various times of the day, with the M15 local and Select Bus Service routes, which run on Second Avenue, seeing a combined annual ridership of 14.5 million or a daily ridership of about 46,029.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_bus_annual.htm|title=Annual Bus Ridership|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 14, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_bus.htm|title=Average Weekday Bus Ridership|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 14, 2016}}

The construction of the Second Avenue line would add two tracks to fill the gap that has existed since the elevated Second and Third Avenue Lines were demolished in the 1950s. It would also be the largest expansion of the New York City Subway since the 1960s.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/nyregion/second-avenue-subway-opening.html|title=2nd Avenue Subway Will Open on New Year's Day, M.T.A. Says|last=Fitzsimmons|first=Emma G.|date=December 19, 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 19, 2016|issn=0362-4331}} According to the line's final environmental impact statement, the catchment area of the line's first phase would include 200,000 daily riders.*{{cite web|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/05/01/cbs-2-exclusive-progress-moves-ahead-for-phase-one-of-second-avenue-subway/|title=Progress Moves Ahead For Phase One Of Second Avenue Subway « CBS New York|author=Andrea Gryme|date=May 1, 2014|publisher=CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc|access-date=May 4, 2014}}

• {{cite news|url=http://www.metro.us/newyork/news/local/2014/05/01/10-facts-second-avenue-subway/|title=10 facts about the Second Avenue Subway|last=Sanders|first=Anna|date=May 1, 2014|work=Metro.us|access-date=May 4, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502213931/http://www.metro.us/newyork/news/local/2014/05/01/10-facts-second-avenue-subway/|archive-date=May 2, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/second-avenue-subway-progress-dec-2016-end-date-on-track-1.7892110|title=Second Avenue Subway progress: Dec. 2016 end date on track|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=May 1, 2014|work=AM New York|access-date=May 14, 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/a-subterranean-stroll-through-nycs-newest-train-tunnel-1570826409|title=A Subterranean Stroll Through NYC's Newest Train Tunnel|author=Michael Hession|date=May 2, 2014|publisher=Gizmodo.com|access-date=May 4, 2014}}{{clear left}}

In 1991, then-New York Governor Mario Cuomo allocated $22 million to renew planning and design efforts for the Second Avenue line. Construction would not begin until at least 1997.{{cite web | last=Finder | first=Alan | title=Cuomo Ideas for New York City: Some Are Old, Some Are New | website=The New York Times | date=September 25, 1991 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/25/nyregion/cuomo-ideas-for-new-york-city-some-are-old-some-are-new.html | access-date=April 9, 2018}} However, the MTA removed these funds from its capital budget two years later, as it was facing budget cuts.{{cite web | last=Wald | first=Matthew L. | title=Next Mayor Faces Expensive Challenges on Basic Services and Repairs | website=The New York Times | date=October 28, 1993 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/28/nyregion/next-mayor-faces-expensive-challenges-on-basic-services-and-repairs.html | access-date=April 9, 2018}} In 1995, the MTA began its Manhattan East Side Alternatives (MESA) study, both a Major Investment Study (MIS) and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), seeking ways to alleviate overcrowding on the Lexington Avenue Line and improve mobility on Manhattan's East Side. The study analyzed several alternatives, such as improvements to the Lexington Avenue Line to increase capacity, enhanced bus service with dedicated lanes, and light rail or ferry service on the East Side.{{cite web |date=May 2004 |title=Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), May 2004 Appendix B Development of Alternatives |url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/appendixb.pdf |access-date=August 7, 2016 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/final_summary_report.pdf|title=Manhattan East Side Transit Alternatives (MESA)/Second Avenue Subway Summary Report|date=October 11, 2001|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 9, 2016}}{{rp|7–8}}

The favored alternative, build alternative 1, included a subway running down Second Avenue from 125th Street in Harlem to the existing Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station with provisions for expansion to the Bronx and to Lower Manhattan. Second Avenue was chosen over Third Avenue, because Third Avenue was too close to the Lexington Avenue Line, as well as having significant property impacts, increased construction complexity and cost, and increased travel times resulting from slower operating speeds.{{rp|17}} Second Avenue was chosen over First Avenue, because it would be too difficult to construct near the Queensboro Bridge, the United Nations and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel.

The MTA started the Lower Manhattan Access Study (LMA) in November 1997 in order to determine the best new transport connections to the New York City suburbs. The construction of the Second Avenue Subway from 63rd Street to Lower Manhattan was one of the five build alternatives developed by the study.{{rp|6, 7}}

File:SAS_9383_(17323112833).jpg

The 1999 Draft Environmental Impact Statement only proposed new subway service from 63rd Street north up Second Avenue to 125th Street via the Broadway Line to Lower Manhattan. All trains would have been routed down the Broadway Line express tracks, which are the only tracks on the Broadway Line which connect to the 63rd Street Line. In order to provide access to Lower Manhattan, and to allow for congestion reduction on the Lexington Avenue Line, the "Canal Street Flip" was proposed. As built, the tracks at Canal Street are set up so that the local tracks continue into the Financial District and then enter Brooklyn through the Montague Street Tunnel, while the express tracks continue to Brooklyn directly, crossing the Manhattan Bridge.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/sdeis/appendixb.pdf|title=Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS), April 2003 Appendix B Development of Alternatives|date=April 2003|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 9, 2016}}{{rp|20–21}} The "Canal Street Flip" would have flipped the local and express tracks at Canal Street, having local trains run via the Manhattan Bridge, and in turn having the express trains continue south on the Broadway Line through Lower Manhattan and through the Montague Street Tunnel into Brooklyn. To construct the "Flip" {{Convert|3450|feet|meters}} of track would have been reconstructed, the two side platforms would have been widened, columns would have been relocated, and two new switches would have been installed.{{Rp|15·26 to 15·27}} Once the construction of full-length Second Avenue Subway was approved, this option was discarded.{{rp|21}}

The service plan with the "Canal Street Flip," according to the December 1998 "Manhattan East Side Transit Alternative Study," would have had R trains run via the Second Avenue line, which was only planned to run from 63rd Street to 125th Street. R trains would become the Broadway express under this plan, using the BMT 63rd Street Line to access the Second Avenue line and continuing to 125th Street.{{Cite book|title=Manhattan East Side Transit Alternatives Study (MESA) Environmental Impact Statement.|date=December 1998|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|hdl = 2027/ien.35556031848203}} The service would have operated 25 trains per hour (tph) between 125th Street and City Hall, 20 tph between City Hall and Whitehall Street, and 10 tph between Whitehall Street and Bay Ridge–95th Street via the Montague Street Tunnel. A reconstruction of a junction near Canal Street, called the "Canal Flip," would have provided a direct connection between the express tracks of the Broadway Line and Lower Manhattan, allowing the route to operate. To allow R trains to short-turn at City Hall, the station's unused lower level would have been reactivated, requiring upgrades for the platforms and tracks, including their lengthening, in addition to the installation of tail tracks. During construction, the station's upper level would have had to been underpinned.{{Rp|15–27}} To replace the R on Queens Boulevard, a Broadway Local T route (distinct from the currently proposed Second Avenue Local T route) would have been created, running between Continental Avenue and Bay Parkway via Broadway local and the Manhattan Bridge. The "Canal Street Flip" would have provided a direct connection between the local tracks and the Manhattan Bridge. The N, which ran local on Broadway, would have been rerouted from the Montague Street Tunnel to the Manhattan Bridge.{{Rp|76–80}}

File:Image-Grand_central_Station_Outside_Night_2.jpg via 44th Street.{{cite journal |last=Sargent |first=Greg |date=March 29, 2004 |title=The Line That Time Forgot – Second Avenue Subway |url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/features/n_10109/ |journal=New York Magazine |access-date=August 2, 2009}}]]

Initially, a spur to Grand Central Terminal was considered, which would have run via 44th Street as a way to divert riders from the {{NYCS trains|Lexington express|type=route}}, which run express on the Lexington Avenue Line. Service on this spur could not be as frequent as that on Lexington Avenue as there would not be enough capacity on Second Avenue, and as a result this plan was dropped.{{rp|17}}

South of 14th Street, there were two possible options to decide between. Option A would continue the subway beneath Chrystie Street, St. James Place and Water Street to a terminal in Lower Manhattan. Option B would connect the new subway to the existing Nassau Street Loop tracks J1 and J2 at Kenmare Street to provide access to Lower Manhattan.{{rp|21–22}}{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/sas_noi.pdf|title=Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Manhattan East Site Alternatives Project—"Second Avenue Subway." AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT. ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental draft environmental impact statement.|date=March 22, 2001|website=mta.info|publisher=Federal Transit Administration|access-date=August 9, 2016|page=2}} This option has been proposed as part of plans for the Second Avenue Subway from the 1940s and 1950s. Cross-platform transfers would be available at Canal Street and Chambers Street to the Nassau Street Line routes. It would allow Second Avenue trains to have access to Brooklyn using the underutilized Montague Street Tunnel.{{rp|25–26}} This option would have a lower cost than the Water Street option as less tunnel would need to be constructed. The Nassau option would attract more riders to the subway system because of additional service to Brooklyn, but the Water Street option would provide greater coverage in Manhattan and would be better at relieving congestion on the Lexington Avenue Line.{{rp|26–27}} Because the platforms on the BMT Eastern Division are shorter than those on the rest of the B Division, those on the Nassau Street Line south of Chambers Street would have to be lengthened by about {{convert|120|ft|m}}, to a total of {{convert|615|ft|m}}.{{rp|26}}The tracks would have to be reconfigured, the passenger circulation capacity would have to be increased, and the service plan south of Chambers Street would have to be modified, to provide sufficient capacity to accommodate the additional trains that Second Avenue Subway service would require. The Nassau Street Line connection would have run through a new tunnel that first turns to the east to align under Forsyth Street before turning west and joining the Nassau Street Line along Kenmare Street.{{rp|25–26}}{{rp|17}}

The Water Street option was chosen even though it would cost $360 million more because of the additional benefits it would provide. The Nassau Street option would have required the reorganization of the existing services on the Nassau Street Line, and passengers entering via the Williamsburg Bridge would not have direct service to destinations in other parts of Brooklyn.{{rp|26–27}} Additionally, over a period between two and three years long, service on the Nassau Street Line would have been required to be shut down during late nights and/or weekend hours. The Nassau Street option would not have the capacity for future Queens service via the 63rd Street Tunnel.{{rp|26}}

Originally, the 125th Street station was to have been constructed parallel to the Lexington Avenue Line, curving below private property to join Second Avenue at 115th Street. This option was favored as it would have allowed an eventual extension of the Second Avenue Subway to the Bronx via the IRT Pelham Line, while still providing a transfer at 125th Street to the Lexington Avenue Line.{{rp|18}}{{rp|15}} Under this option, 116th Street would not have a station, but because of requests by the local community, the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) evaluated the inclusion of this station. The s-curve options were not feasible because of the large curve radius required for efficient and fast subway operation.{{rp|18}}{{rp|15}} As a result, the alignment at 125th Street was changed. Instead, the line would continue via Second Avenue until 125th Street, when it would then curve under a small number of private properties before heading west on 125th Street. A future extension to the Bronx would be allowed from Second Avenue as opposed to Lexington Avenue. This alignment also allows for the construction of a storage yard north of 125th Street.{{rp|18}}

Build alternative two would involve the addition of a separate light rail service between Union Square and Broad Street that would serve the Lower East Side and Lower Manhattan.{{cite web |date=October 19, 2002 |title=Second Avenue Subway Project – History |url=http://mta.info/planning/sas/sas_history_1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021019053707/http://mta.info/planning/sas/sas_history_1.htm |archive-date=October 19, 2002 |access-date=February 15, 2016 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}{{rp|7–8}} Other alternatives including building in-fill stations on various lines (including the 63rd Street Line at First Avenue, at First Avenue on the Broadway Line, at First Avenue on the Flushing Line, and Avenue C on the Canarsie Line), building an elevated train line along Second or First Avenues, lengthening the platforms on the Lexington Avenue Line to accommodate twelve-car trains, or connecting the northern part of the Lexington Avenue Line (either the local or express tracks), which would be converted to B Division service, to the Broadway Line.{{rp|7–8}} Due in part to strong public support, the MTA Board committed in April 2000 to building a full-length subway line along the East Side, from East Harlem to Lower Manhattan.{{cite web | last=Newman | first=Andy | title=New Subway Line in Transit Budget | website=The New York Times | date=April 20, 2000 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/20/nyregion/new-subway-line-in-transit-budget.html | access-date=April 9, 2018}}{{rp|18}} In May 2000, the MTA Capital Program Review Board approved the MTA's 2000–2004 Capital Program, which allocated $1.05 billion for the construction of the Second Avenue Subway.{{cite web | title=METRO NEWS BRIEFS: NEW YORK; M.T.A.'s Capital Plan Wins Final Approval | website=The New York Times | date=May 5, 2000 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/05/nyregion/metro-news-briefs-new-york-mta-s-capital-plan-wins-final-approval.html | access-date=April 9, 2018}}{{rp|18}} The next year, a contract for subway design was awarded to DMJM Harris/Arup Joint Venture.{{cite magazine |last=Jewler |first=Sam |date=July 24, 2004 |title=The Long, Tortured History of the Second Avenue Subway |url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2009/07/the_tortured_history_of_the_se.html |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=August 14, 2015}} On December 19, 2001, the Federal Transit Administration approved the start of preliminary engineering on a full-length Second Avenue Subway.

File:Hanover_Square,_NYC_(WTM_by_official-ly_cool_008).jpg (pictured) was finally chosen as the location of the line's southern terminus.]]

When Hillary Clinton was running for New York State Senator in 2000, she stated that she supported the construction of multiple major infrastructure projects in New York, such as the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access, and rail links to LaGuardia and JFK Airports.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/09/nyregion/campaign-2000-new-york-senate-debate-excerpts-second-debate-between-mrs-clinton.html|title=CAMPAIGN 2000: The New York Senate Debate; Excerpts From Second Debate Between Mrs. Clinton and Lazio|date=October 9, 2000|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 12, 2017|issn=0362-4331}} In 2003, two million dollars in preliminary funding for the subway were provided by Congressmen Maurice Hinchey and John Sweeney.{{Cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%25206%2FPine%2520Plaines%2520NY%2520Register%2520Herald%2FPine%2520Plaines%2520NY%2520Register%2520Herald%25202003%2520%2520Grayscale.pdf%2FPine%2520Plaines%2520NY%2520Register%2520Herald%25202003%2520%2520Grayscale%2520-%25200956.pdf&xml=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FdtSearch%2Fdtisapi6.dll%3Fcmd%3Dgetpdfhits%26u%3Dffffffffb378c78f%26DocId%3D12619538%26Index%3DZ%253a%255cIndex%2520I%252dE%252dV%26HitCount%3D3%26hits%3D73a%2B73b%2B73c%2B%26SearchForm%3D%252fFulton%255fNew%255fform%252ehtml%26.pdf&openFirstHlPage=false|title=Hinchey and Sweeney grab federal aid|last=Arnold|first=Hallie|date=December 18, 2003|work=Taconic Press|access-date=August 10, 2016|page=A7|via=Fultonhistory.com}} The MTA's final environmental impact statement (FEIS) was approved in April 2004; this latest proposal is for a two-track line from 125th Street and Lexington Avenue in Harlem, down Second Avenue to Hanover Square in the Financial District.{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/second-avenue-subway-history|title=Second Avenue Subway History|date=April 12, 2007|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221130935/http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/second-avenue-subway-history|archive-date=December 21, 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=March 31, 2016|quote=In April 2004, the Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was published.}}

The new subway line was planned to carry two regular services. The full-length Second Avenue line, extending from Harlem to the Financial District, is to be given the color {{NYCS const|color|T}} and the letter designation T.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/nyregion/the-color-teal-is-chosen-for-t-train-signs.html|title=Train Line Far From Arrival Has a Color to Be Noticed|last=Haughney|first=Christine|date=August 22, 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 14, 2015}} However, the line's other service, the Q route, began carrying passengers first (supplemented by some rush-hour N trains and one rush-hour R train).{{cite web|url=https://progressiveaction.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/sub-division-b-general-distribution-fall-2016-wp-book.pdf|title=SUB-DIVISION B TRAIN OPERATOR/CONDUCTOR ROAD & NON-ROAD WORK PROGRAMS IN EFFECT: NOVEMBER 6, 2016|date=July 29, 2016|website=progressiveaction.info|publisher=New York City Transit|access-date=August 19, 2016}} The MTA plan calls for building the Second Avenue Subway in four segments with connections to other subway lines. The first segment, Phase 1, rerouted the Q along the Broadway Express, via the BMT 63rd Street Line, and north along Second Avenue to the Upper East Side at 96th Street. Phase 2 is planned to extend the Q train to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue. In Phase Three, the new T train will run from 125th Street to Houston Street. The final phase will extend T train service from Houston Street to Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_alt.html|title=MTA Capital Construction – Second Avenue Subway Project Description|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408214933/http://web.mta.info/capconstr/sas/description.html|archive-date=April 8, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=October 5, 2013}}

In order to store the 330 additional subway cars needed for the operation of the line, the 36th–38th Street Yard would be reconfigured. In addition, to allow for train storage, alongside the main alignment, there would be storage tracks between 21st Street and 9th Street. The Second Avenue Subway is chained as "S". The track map in the 2004 FEIS showed that all stations, except for Harlem–125th Street, would have two tracks and one island platform.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/figure2-05.pdf|title=Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), May 2004 Figure 2-4 Track Diagram, South of 55th Street|date=May 2004|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 7, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/figure2-04.pdf|title=Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), May 2004 Figure 2-4 Track Diagram, North of 55th Street|date=May 2004|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 7, 2016}} 72nd Street and Harlem–125th Street were conceived as three-track, two-platform stations, but plans for both were scaled back. At 72nd Street, this would have allowed trains from the Broadway Line to reverse without interfering with service on Second Avenue, as well as provided additional operational flexibility that could be used for construction work and non-revenue moves.{{rp|20}} However, to reduce costs, the 72nd Street station was ultimately constructed with two tracks and one platform.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/CB8%20presentation%2006-17-08.pdf|title=Community Board 8 Second Avenue Subway Task Force|date=June 17, 2008|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408215418/http://web.mta.info/capconstr/sas/documents/CB8%20presentation%2006-17-08.pdf|archive-date=April 8, 2014|url-status=live|access-date=December 18, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/ea/01%20Purpose%20and%20Need.pdf|title=Supplemental Environmental Assessment to the Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement: 72nd and 86th Street Station Entrance Alternatives Chapter 1: Purpose and Need|date=October 29, 2009|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 9, 2016}} In July 2018, the 125th Street station was also scaled down to a two-track, one-platform station because the MTA had ascertained that two-tracked terminals would be sufficient to handle train capacities, and that building a third track would have caused unnecessary impacts to surrounding buildings.{{rp|13}}

In August 2006, the MTA revealed that all future subway stations—including stations on the Second Avenue Subway and the 7 Subway Extension, as well as the new South Ferry station—would be outfitted with air-cooling systems to reduce the temperature along platforms by as much as {{convert|10|F-change|0}}.{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2006/08/04/2006-08-04_cooler_subways_coming__eventually.html|title=Cooler Subways Coming Eventually|last=Donohue|first=Pete|date=August 4, 2006|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=December 12, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010000252/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2006/08/04/2006-08-04_cooler_subways_coming__eventually.html|archive-date=October 10, 2007}} In early plans, the Second Avenue Subway was also to have platform screen doors to assist with air-cooling, energy savings, ventilation, and track safety,{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/nyregion/05doors.html|title=2nd Ave. Subway Platforms May Get Glass Walls and Sliding Doors|last=Neuman|first=William|date=April 5, 2007|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 12, 2017|issn=0362-4331}} but this plan was scrapped in 2012 due to costs and operational challenges.{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2012/12/no-seoul-style-platform-doors-for-new-york-subways-even-in-new-stations-000000|title=No Seoul-style platform doors for New York subways, even in new stations|work=Politico|date=December 7, 2012|first=Dana |last=Rubinstein}}

The {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on}}*{{cite web|url=http://www.rew-online.com/2014/05/14/light-at-end-of-tunnel-for-second-ave-subway/|title=Real Estate Weekly » Blog Archive » Light at end of tunnel for Second Ave. subway|last=Putzier|first=Konrad|date=May 14, 2014|publisher=Rew-online.com|access-date=June 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907034400/http://rew-online.com/2014/05/14/light-at-end-of-tunnel-for-second-ave-subway/|archive-date=September 7, 2017|url-status=dead}}

• {{cite web|url=http://www.masstransitmag.com/article/12227191/project-update-second-avenue-subway|title=Project Update: Second Avenue Subway|date=August 15, 2016|website=Mass Transit|access-date=October 27, 2016}} first phase will be within budget, at $4.45 billion.{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/drones-exclusive-look-at-new-york-city-second-avenue-subway-line/|title=Drone takes tour of NYC's 2nd Avenue subway line|date=September 16, 2015|website=CBS News|access-date=October 27, 2016}} Its construction site was designated as being from 105th Street and Second Avenue to 63rd Street and Third Avenue.{{cite web|url=http://www.newyork.com/articles/real-estate/updates-on-nycs-biggest-subway-projects-second-avenue-and-east-side-access-59421/|title=Updates on NYC's Biggest Subway Projects: Second Avenue and East Side Access|last=Nonko|first=Emily|date=January 30, 2014|publisher=NewYork.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517132213/http://www.newyork.com/articles/real-estate/updates-on-nycs-biggest-subway-projects-second-avenue-and-east-side-access-59421/|archive-date=May 17, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=June 5, 2014}} Deep bore tunneling methods were to be used in order to avoid the disruptions for road traffic, pedestrians, utilities and local businesses produced by cut-and-cover methods of past generations. Stations were to retain cut-and-cover construction.{{cite magazine |last=Paumgarten |first=Nick |date=February 6, 2017 |title=The Second Avenue Subway Is Here! |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/13/the-second-avenue-subway-is-here |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=February 24, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://construction.com/NewsCenter/Headlines/RP/20060523ny.asp|title=New York's Subway System Finally Starting Major Expansion|author=Stabile, Tom|date=May 2006|publisher=newyork.construction.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509014513/http://construction.com/NewsCenter/Headlines/RP/20060523ny.asp|archive-date=May 9, 2008|access-date=December 12, 2008}} The total cost of the {{convert|8.5|mi|km|adj=on}} line is expected to exceed $17 billion. In 2014, MTA Capital Construction President Dr. Michael Horodniceanu stated that the whole line may be completed as early as 2029,{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ave-subway-line-construction-progressing-officials-article-1.1795916|title=Second Avenue subway line construction is progressing: officials|author=Nolan, Caitlin|date=May 16, 2014|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=May 19, 2014}} and would serve 560,000 daily passengers upon completion;{{cite news|url=http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/the-next-20-years-for-new-yorks-mta|title=The Next 20 Years for New York's MTA – Next City|last=Smith|first=Stephen J.|date=October 2, 2013|access-date=June 5, 2014|publisher=Nextcity.org}} however, {{as of|2016|12|lc=yes}}, only Phases 1 and 2 would be completed by 2029.{{Cite news|url=https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/New_York_City_2nd_Ave_Subway_Phase_2_Profile.pdf|title=New York City 2nd Ave Subway Phase 2 Profile|date=December 27, 2016|newspaper=FTA|access-date=January 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105000123/https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/New_York_City_2nd_Ave_Subway_Phase_2_Profile.pdf|archive-date=January 5, 2017|url-status=dead}} The line is described as the New York City Subway's "first major expansion" in more than a half-century.{{Cite news|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/the-second-avenue-subway-explained-1.11244882|title=The Second Avenue subway explained|newspaper=am New York|access-date=October 27, 2016}} However, its completion is in doubt, with one construction manager saying that the first phase of the project is "four and a half billion dollars for three stations," and that there are fifteen stations that need to be built for the entire line.

File:SAS72ndStreet201201.jpg

Second Avenue Subway plans for Phase 1 were only allowed to proceed because New York voters passed a transportation bond issue on November 8, 2005, allowing for dedicated funding allocated for that phase. Its passage had been seen as critical to its construction, but the bond was passed only by a narrow margin, with 55 percent of voters approving and 45 percent disapproving. After warning that failure to pass the act would doom the project, MTA chairman Peter S. Kalikow stated, "Now it's up to us to complete the job."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/nyregion/metrocampaigns/09transport.html|title=Voters Approve Transit Bonds for $2.9 Billion|last=Chan|first=Sewell|date=November 9, 2005|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=September 20, 2007|author-link=Sewell Chan}} On December 18, 2006, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that they would allow the MTA to commit up to $693 million in funds to begin construction of the Second Avenue Subway and that the federal share of such costs would be reimbursed with FTA transit funds, subject to appropriations and final labor certification.{{cite web|url=http://www.dot.gov/affairs/dot11706.htm|title=U.S. Transportation Secretary Signs Record $2.6 Billion Agreement to Fund New Tunnel Network To Give Long Island Commuters Direct Access to Grand Central Station|date=December 18, 2006|publisher=United States Department of Transportation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709091123/http://www.dot.gov/affairs/dot11706.htm|archive-date=July 9, 2009|access-date=September 20, 2007}}

Preliminary engineering and a final tunnel design was completed by a joint venture between AECOM and Arup.{{cite web|url=http://www.arema.org/eseries/scriptcontent/custom/e_arema/library/2008_Conference_Proceedings/Second_Avenue_Subway-A_Status_Report_2008.pdf|title=Second Avenue Subway: A Status Report|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721194135/http://www.arema.org/eseries/scriptcontent/custom/e_arema/library/2008_Conference_Proceedings/Second_Avenue_Subway-A_Status_Report_2008.pdf|archive-date=July 21, 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=August 2, 2009}}{{cite web | last=Stabile | first=Tom | title=Second Ave. Subway Sets Next-Century Standards | website=ENR | date=September 19, 2017 | url=https://www.enr.com/articles/42752-second-ave-subway-sets-next-century-standards | access-date=December 1, 2017}} The first phase was originally supposed to include a core tunneling section between 62nd and 92nd Streets, as well as a spur from Third Avenue/63rd Street to Second Avenue/65th Street. The 96th Street station cavern, as well as existing tunnels, would allow the first phase's trackage to run from 62nd to 105th Streets.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/figures-04.pdf|title=S-4 Proposed Phase 1|date=May 2004|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 28, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/SecondAvenueSubway.pdf|title=Second Avenue Subway FTA Record of Decision|date=August 2004|website=transit.dot.gov|publisher=Federal Transit Administration|access-date=December 28, 2016}} Before construction started, the MTA revised their plans so that the construction of the section between 62nd and 65th Streets was postponed.{{cite web|url=https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/TechMemo1_2007Jan5.pdf#page=3|title=Tech Memo #1 SAS|date=January 5, 2007|website=transit.dot.gov|publisher=Federal Transit Administration|page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908060626/http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/TechMemo1_2007Jan5.pdf#page=3|archive-date=September 8, 2015|url-status=live|access-date=December 28, 2016}} On March 20, 2007, upon completion of preliminary engineering, the MTA awarded a contract for constructing the tunnels between 92nd and 63rd Streets, a launch box for the tunnel boring machine (TBM) at 92nd to 95th Streets, and access shafts at 69th and 72nd Streets. This contract, valued at $337 million, was awarded to S3, a joint venture of Schiavone Construction, Skanska USA Civil, and J.F. Shea Construction.{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/first-construction-contract-signed-second-avenue-subway|title=First Construction Contract Signed for Second Avenue Subway; Work to Begin in April|date=March 20, 2007|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 18, 2016|archive-date=April 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426201719/http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/first-construction-contract-signed-second-avenue-subway|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.nysun.com/new-york/mta-signs-second-ave-subway-contract/50892/|title=MTA Signs Second Ave. Subway Contract|date=March 21, 2007|newspaper=New York Sun|access-date=February 20, 2010}}[http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/75760 2nd Avenue Subway Contract Signed] – WNYC Newsroom, March 21, 2007{{cite web|url=http://newyork.construction.com/projects/topprojects06-07/tpstart1-5.pdf|title=Top Projects|publisher=NY Construction|page=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916213601/http://newyork.construction.com/projects/topprojects06-07/tpstart1-5.pdf|archive-date=September 16, 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=December 18, 2016}} A ceremonial groundbreaking took place on April 12, 2007, in a tunnel segment built in the 1970s at 99th Street.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/nyregion/13tunnel.html|title=Was There a Ghost? No, Just a Tunnel at the Latest Subway Groundbreaking|last=Neuman|first=William|date=April 13, 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 12, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} At the time, it was announced that passengers would be able to ride trains on the new line by the end of 2013.{{cite press release|title=Second Avenue Subway Breaks Ground|date=April 12, 2007|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/second-avenue-subway-breaks-ground|access-date=December 24, 2015|archive-date=December 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221130833/http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/second-avenue-subway-breaks-ground|url-status=dead}} Actual construction work began on April 23, 2007, with the relocation of utility pipes, wires, and other infrastructure. This process took 14 months, nearly double the MTA's anticipated eight months.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capconstr/sas/background.html|title=MTA Capital Construction – Second Avenue Subway: History|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408220035/http://web.mta.info/capconstr/sas/background.html|archive-date=April 8, 2014|url-status=dead}}

In November 2007, Mary Peters, the United States Secretary of Transportation, announced that the Second Avenue Subway would receive $1.3 billion in federal funding for the project's first phase, to be funded over a seven-year period.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/19/nyregion/19subway.html|title=U.S. Approves $1.3 Billion for 2nd Avenue Subway|last=Neuman|first=William|date=November 19, 2007|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 19, 2007}} However, due to cost increases for construction materials and diesel fuel affecting the prices of contracts not yet signed, the MTA announced in June 2008 that certain features of the Second Avenue Subway would be simplified to save money. One set of changes, which significantly reduces the footprint of the subway in the vicinity of 72nd Street, is the alteration of the 72nd Street Station from a three-track, two-platform design to a two-track, single island platform design, paired with a simplification of the connection to the Broadway Line spur. Supplemental environmental impact studies covering the changes for the proposed 72nd Street and 86th Street stations were completed in June 2009.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/cb8_presentation.pdf|title=Second Avenue Subway Task Force Community Board Eight|date=July 29, 2008|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction|access-date=August 2, 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/CB8%20presentation%2006-17-08.pdf|title=Community Board Eight SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY PROJECT Second Avenue Subway Task Force|date=June 17, 2008|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction|access-date=August 2, 2009}}

File:Second_Avenue_Subway-_March_15,_2014_(13266516025).jpg

On May 28, 2009, the MTA awarded a $325 million contract to E.E. Cruz and Tully Construction Co., a joint venture and limited liability company, to construct the 96th Street station box. Work on this contract began in July.{{cite web|url=http://www.apta.com/mc/rail/previous/2013/program/Documents/GoodrichW_MTA-new-yorks-second-ave.pdf|title="SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY PROJECT" Managing Construction and its Challenges in One of the Country's Densest Urban Environments|date=2013|website=apta.com|publisher=American Public Transportation Association|access-date=December 23, 2016|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220221630/http://www.apta.com/mc/rail/previous/2013/program/Documents/GoodrichW_MTA-new-yorks-second-ave.pdf|url-status=dead}} In June 2009, the first of three contracts for the 86th Street station was awarded for the advance utility relocation work and construction of cut-and-cover shaft areas at 83rd and 86th Streets.{{cite web|url=http://www.apta.com/mc/rail/previous/2013/program/Documents/GoodrichW_MTA-new-yorks-second-ave.pdf|title=SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY PROJECT|last=Goodrich|first=William|date=2013|website=apta.com|publisher=2013 Rail Conference|access-date=December 16, 2016|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220221630/http://www.apta.com/mc/rail/previous/2013/program/Documents/GoodrichW_MTA-new-yorks-second-ave.pdf|url-status=dead}} Muck houses were built to store all the dirt and debris from the project.

During construction, two buildings had to be evacuated in June 2009, delaying the contractor's plan to use controlled blasting to remove bedrock in the southern section of the launch box.{{cite news|url=http://ourtownny.com/2009/09/02/2nd-ave-subway-delays/|title=2nd Ave. Subway Delays|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=September 2, 2009|access-date=February 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715023517/http://ourtownny.com/2009/09/02/2nd-ave-subway-delays/|archive-date=July 15, 2011|publisher=Our Town}} The tunnel boring machine was originally expected to arrive six to eight months after construction began, but the utility relocation and excavation required to create its "launch box" delayed its deployment until May 2010. On May 14, 2010, MTA's contractors completed the TBM installation and turned it on at the Second Avenue Subway launch box at 96th Street and boring southward to connecting shafts built at 86th and 72nd Streets.{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/2nd-Ave-Subway-Tunnel-Dig-Begins-93787364.html|title=2nd Ave. Subway Tunnel Dig Begins|last=Siff|first=Andrew|date=May 14, 2010|access-date=May 14, 2010|publisher=WNBC}}{{cite press release|title=MTA Launches Second Avenue Subway Tunnel Boring Machine|date=May 14, 2010|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/mta-launches-second-avenue-subway-tunnel-boring-machine|access-date=October 5, 2013|archive-date=October 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006223833/http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/mta-launches-second-avenue-subway-tunnel-boring-machine|url-status=dead}}[http://www.ny1.com:80/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=8&aid=66187 Exclusive: Ground Breaking For 2nd Avenue Subway Line Weeks Away] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011130816/http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=8&aid=66187|date=October 11, 2007}} – NY1, January 24, 2007 On October 1, 2010, MTA awarded a $431 million contract to joint venture SSK Constructors for the mining of the tunnels connecting the 72nd Street station to the existing Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station, and for the excavation and heavy civil structures of the 72nd Street station.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v96xAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA301|title=North American Tunneling: 2014 Proceedings|last1=Davidson|first1=G.|last2=Howard|first2=A.|last3=Jacobs|first3=L.|last4=Pintabona|first4=R.|last5=Zernich|first5=B.|publisher=Society for Mining Metallurgy|year=2014|isbn=978-0-87335-400-4|page=301|access-date=November 15, 2015}}{{rp|301}} A subsequent contract was awarded to Skanska Traylor Joint Venture for excavation of the cavern at the 86th Street station on August 4, 2011.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_pdf/2011_Sept%2026_Final.pdf|title=COMMUNITY BOARD EIGHT PROJECT UPDATE|date=September 26, 2011|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 15, 2015}} In January 2011, MTA awarded Judlau Contracting a 40-month, $176.4 million contract to rebuild and enlarge the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capconstr/procurement/cc_recentawards.htm|title=MTA Capital Construction – Procurement|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}{{cite web|url=https://enr.construction.com/engineering/subscription/LoginSubscribe.aspx?cid=16904|title=Freeze Ground, Thaw Hearts|date=February 2, 2011|work=Engineering News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914185324/https://enr.construction.com/engineering/subscription/LoginSubscribe.aspx?cid=16904|archive-date=September 14, 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=August 15, 2015}}

File:SASPhase1TBMBreakthrough.jpg.{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/mtaphotos/sets/72157627730112484/|title=Second Avenue Subway TBM Breakthrough 9/22/2011|work=MTAPhotos|date=September 22, 2011|publisher=Flickr|access-date=October 5, 2013}}]]

Meanwhile, the tunnel boring machine dug at a rate of approximately {{convert|50|ft|m}} per day. The machine finished its run at the planned endpoint under 65th Street on February 5, 2011.[http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/2011_Feb%2015_Final.pdf COMMUNITY BOARD EIGHT PROJECT UPDATE, MTACC, February 15, 2011] S3 partially disassembled the TBM and backed it out of the tunnel. It was repositioned in the east starter tunnel to begin boring again.{{cite press release|title=Excavation of West Tunnel for Second Avenue Subway Almost Complete|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|url=http://www.mta.info/news/2011/02/04/excavation-west-tunnel-second-avenue-subway-complete|access-date=February 5, 2011|archive-date=October 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027192009/http://www.mta.info/news/2011/02/04/excavation-west-tunnel-second-avenue-subway-complete|url-status=dead}} Because the east side of Second Avenue has some soft ground not compatible with the Robbins TBM, ground-freezing was undertaken to prepare the soil for the TBM.{{cite news|url=http://wcbstv.com/local/subway.tunnel.boring.2.1694922.html|title=Boring Manhattan: Ceremony Launches Subway Project|date=May 14, 2010|access-date=May 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100517054935/http://wcbstv.com/local/subway.tunnel.boring.2.1694922.html|archive-date=May 17, 2010|publisher=WCBS-TV|agency=Associated Press}}{{cite news|url=https://abc7ny.com/archive/7441310/|title=Boring for new 2nd Avenue subway begins|last=Roth|first=Jamie|date=May 14, 2010|access-date=May 14, 2010|publisher=WABC-TV}}

On March 28, 2011, S3, having completed its task of completing the {{convert|7200|ft|m|adj=on}} west tunnel to 65th Street, began drilling the east tunnel, with the first {{convert|200|ft|m}} being through soil frozen by S3 using calcium chloride solution fed through a network of pipes. The TBM drilling the east tunnel then negotiated the curve onto 63rd Street and broke through the bellmouth at the existing Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station.{{cite news|url=http://www.mta.info/news/2011/03/28/tunneling-second-avenue-subway-continues|title=Tunneling for Second Avenue Subway Continues|date=March 28, 2011|work=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=September 24, 2011|archive-date=August 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818144011/http://www.mta.info/news/2011/03/28/tunneling-second-avenue-subway-continues|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/tunneling-second-avenue-subway-complete|title=Tunneling for Second Avenue Subway Complete|date=September 23, 2011|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 20, 2016|archive-date=August 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822203928/http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/tunneling-second-avenue-subway-complete|url-status=dead}} That bellmouth had been built in the late 1970s and early 1980s as part of the construction of the 63rd Street Line in anticipation of the construction of the Second Avenue line.{{Cite book|title=East 63rd St line, Manhattan/Queens boroughs, New York :environmental impact statement.|date=January 1973|publisher=Urban Mass Transportation Administration|hdl = 2027/ien.35556030207864}}{{Rp|31}}{{Rp|D-5}} The portion of the west tunnel remaining to be created was then mined using conventional drill-and-blast methods, because the curve S3 construction teams would have to negotiate was too tight for the TBM. On September 22, 2011, the TBM completed its run to the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station's bellmouth.{{cite web|url=http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2011/09/3473217/second-avenue-subway-has-breakthrough-moment-several-billion-more-a?page=all|title=Second Avenue Subway has a breakthrough moment; several billion more are all the M.T.A. wants|date=September 23, 2011|work=Capital NY|access-date=May 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331174958/http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2011/09/3473217/second-avenue-subway-has-breakthrough-moment-several-billion-more-a?page=all|archive-date=March 31, 2014|url-status=dead}} This major milestone was celebrated with a big ribbon-cutting to mark the TBM breaking through to the existing bellmouth.{{Cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2011/09/second-avenue-subway-has-a-breakthrough-moment-several-billion-more-are-all-the-mta-wants-067223|title=Second Avenue Subway has a breakthrough moment; several billion more are all the M.T.A. wants|date=September 23, 2011|newspaper=Politico PRO|access-date=December 20, 2016}} The TBM had dug a total of {{Convert| 7,789|ft|m}} for the east tunnel.

File:Second_Avenue_Subway_Community_Information_Center_vc.jpg

The MTA opened a Second Avenue Subway Community Information Center for Phase 1 on July 25, 2013.{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/news/2013/07/25/mta-opens-second-avenue-subway-community-information-center|title=MTA | news | MTA Opens Second Avenue Subway Community Information Center|date=July 25, 2013|publisher=MTA.info|access-date=May 19, 2014|archive-date=May 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519204533/http://www.mta.info/news/2013/07/25/mta-opens-second-avenue-subway-community-information-center|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130726/upper-east-side/mta-opens-second-avenue-subway-community-information-center|title=MTA Opens Second Avenue Subway Community Information Center|date=July 26, 2013|publisher=DNA Info|access-date=May 19, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519205107/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130726/upper-east-side/mta-opens-second-avenue-subway-community-information-center|archive-date=May 19, 2014}}{{cite news|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/07/25/mta-unveils-second-avenue-subway-information-center-on-upper-east-side/|title=MTA Unveils Second Avenue Subway Information Center On Upper East Side|date=July 25, 2013|work=CBS New York|access-date=May 19, 2014}} It was located at 1628 Second Avenue between 84th and 85th Streets, near the line's 86th Street station.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/cic_sas_alt.html|title=mta.info | Capital Programs Second Avenue Subway|publisher=MTA.info|access-date=May 19, 2014}} In the three years that followed, the center was visited over 20,000 times.{{Cite web|url=http://pix11.com/2017/04/24/information-center-opening-in-may-for-next-phase-of-second-avenue-subway/|title=Information center opening in May for next phase of Second Avenue Subway|date=April 25, 2017|website=New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV|access-date=April 25, 2017}}

The final contract, for architectural and mechanical and electrical work at 72nd, 86th, and 96th Street stations; rehabilitation of the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station; and the Systems Contract (track, signals, and communications) for the entire Phase 1 area was awarded on June 1, 2013.{{cite press release|title=MTA Awards Final Contract to Build Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway|date=June 13, 2013|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/mta-awards-final-contract-build-phase-1-second-avenue-subway|access-date=November 15, 2015|archive-date=November 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117063330/http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/mta-awards-final-contract-build-phase-1-second-avenue-subway|url-status=dead}} On a July 2013 "report card" that indicated the progress of the subway by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, the construction progress got a "B".{{cite web|url=http://maloney.house.gov/sites/maloney.house.gov/files/documents/transportation/2ndavesubway/20130729Fourth2ndSubwayReportCardReport.pdf|title=Fourth Second Avenue Subway Report Card|last=Maloney|first=Carolyn|date=July 29, 2013|website=maloney.house.gov|publisher=Office of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney|access-date=December 15, 2016}}

Blasting for the station caverns was finished in November 2013, and the muck houses were taken down at around the same time.{{cite web|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/11/22/blasting-completed-on-second-avenue-subway-project/|title=Blasting Completed on Second Avenue Subway Project|last=Mann|first=Ted|date=November 22, 2013|website=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=November 15, 2015}} In the winter of 2013, many of the tracks and signal panels began to arrive at the construction site, to be installed on the line over the next few years.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/Second%20Avenue%20Subway-%20Quarterly%20Report%202013%20Q4.pdf|title=Second Avenue Subway Quarterly Report Q4 2013|date=2013|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 17, 2016}} It was reported in November 2013 that one third of the tracks for the line had arrived, for the segments of track between 87th and 105th Streets. By August 2015, the construction project was 84.3% complete, with all ten Phase 1 construction contracts having been awarded and 5 of them having been completed.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_pdf/CB8%20SAS%20Task%20Force%20meeting%202015July14_Final_sm.pdf|title=July 2015 Task Force Presentation|date=July 2015|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 9, 2015}}

On February 24, 2016, the MTA allocated $66 million to speed up the construction of the first phase so that it could open in December.{{cite web|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160224/upper-east-side/mta-will-tap-into-back-up-fund-finish-second-ave-subway-on-time-board|title=MTA Will Tap Into Back-Up Fund to Finish Second Ave. Subway On Time: Board|work=DNAinfo New York|access-date=March 6, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160227220344/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160224/upper-east-side/mta-will-tap-into-back-up-fund-finish-second-ave-subway-on-time-board|archive-date=February 27, 2016}} However, in June of that year, it was reported that contractors for the MTA were not expending extra resources to accelerate the last portion of Phase 1 construction,{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/contractor-no-hurry-finish-ave-subway-project-article-1.2681210|title=Contractor in no hurry to help finish Second Ave. subway project|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=June 20, 2016|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=June 21, 2016}} threatening the line's scheduled opening.{{cite web | last=Whitford | first=Emma | title=Report: Second Avenue Subway Is At "Significant Risk" Of Missing December Opening | website=Gothamist | date=July 26, 2016 | url=https://gothamist.com/news/report-second-avenue-subway-is-at-significant-risk-of-missing-december-opening | access-date=November 17, 2023}} The MTA had only completed 67% of testing, and the line required hundreds of equipment tests by October 2016 in order to be deemed operational.{{Cite news|last=Tangel|first=Andrew|date=2016-07-26|title=Second Avenue Subway Project Is Slowed|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/second-avenue-subway-project-is-slowed-1469501095|access-date=2023-11-17|issn=0099-9660}}

In a public meeting in May 2016, the MTA unveiled the first iteration of the New York City Subway map that included the Second Avenue Subway and a rerouted Q service.{{cite web|url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2016/05/25/w-train-on-track-to-resume-service.html|title=It's Official: MTA Adds Second Avenue Subway Line to its Maps|date=May 25, 2016|website=TWC News|access-date=May 26, 2016}} At the meeting, the MTA also made several suggestions for service changes, including making the N train express in Manhattan and replacing the Queens section of the Q, as well as the Manhattan local section of the N, with a reinstated W train.{{Cite journal|date=May 2015|title=May 2016 – MTA Board Action Items|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/160525_1000_Board.pdf|journal=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|pages=56–67|access-date=May 27, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617045914/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/160525_1000_Board.pdf|archive-date=June 17, 2016}}

On May 16, 2016, Congresswoman Maloney released another report card on the project. The overall grade improved from a "B" to an "A−",{{cite web|url=http://maloney.house.gov/sites/maloney.house.gov/files/documents/transportation/2ndavesubway/20130729Fourth2ndSubwayReportCardReport.pdf|title=Fourth Second Avenue Subway Report Card|last=Maloney|first=Carolyn|date=July 29, 2013|website=maloney.house.gov|publisher=Office of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney|access-date=December 15, 2016}} with the caveat that the December 2016 deadline be met.{{cite web|url=https://maloney.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/with-construction-over-94-complete-rep-maloney-gives-2nd-avenue-subway|title=With Construction over 94% complete, Rep. Maloney Gives 2nd Avenue Subway an A- on 2016 Report Card|last1=Maloney|first1=Carolyn B.|website=Carolyn B. Maloney|date=May 16, 2016|access-date=February 22, 2017}} By July 2016, the first phase was 96.3% complete, with only systems testing, architectural finishes, streetscape restorations, and some equipment installations to be completed.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_pdf/CB8%20SAS%20Task%20Force%20July%2021%202016.pdf|title=Community Board 8 Second Avenue Subway Task Force Update|last=Peyton|first=Tom|date=July 21, 2016|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=July 25, 2016}} However, news outlets reported that the Second Avenue Subway had a "significant risk" of a delayed opening.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/second-avenue-subway-project-is-slowed-1469501095|title=Second Avenue Subway Project Is Slowed|last=Tangel|first=Andrew|date=July 26, 2016|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|access-date=July 26, 2016|issn=0099-9660}}{{cite web|url=http://ny.curbed.com/2016/7/26/12287238/second-avenue-subway-consultant-delays|title=Second Avenue Subway at 'significant risk' of being delayed again|last=Plitt|first=Amy|date=July 26, 2016|website=Curbed NY|access-date=July 26, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160725/upper-east-side/disappointing-delay-june-puts-2nd-ave-subway-behind-mta-consultant|title='Disappointing Delay' in June Puts 2nd Ave. Subway Behind: MTA Consultant|website=DNAinfo New York|access-date=July 26, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821181911/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160725/upper-east-side/disappointing-delay-june-puts-2nd-ave-subway-behind-mta-consultant|archive-date=August 21, 2016}} The test train for the subway line was not set to run until October 2016, despite the line being projected to open within two months of that date. Also, contractors had only reached 70% of the construction milestones for June 2016, and 80% of the May 2016 milestones. For instance, communications systems at the stations were not finished, despite the fact that these systems should have been wired already, and the elevator at 72nd Street had not been delivered yet. {{As of|2016|07|25|df=us}}, construction spending was only $32 million for the month, even though a monthly spending goal of $46 million was needed to complete the project on time.

The third rail was energized and test trains began operating in September 2016. Non-revenue Q trains ran through the subway in November 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2016/09/16/sources--mta-powered-third-rail-for-testing-on-second-avenue-subway-tracks.html|title=Sources: MTA Powered Third Rail for Testing on Second Avenue Subway Tracks|date=September 16, 2016|website=TWC News|access-date=September 18, 2016}} Test trains began running through the new line on October 9, 2016 with weights to simulate rush hour loads, even though equipment installations at two stations, as well as a battery of tests, still needed to be completed in order for the line to be opened to passenger service.{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/mta-finally-testing-trains-ave-subway-tracks-article-1.2825671|title=SEE IT: MTA finally testing trains along Second Ave. subway line|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=October 10, 2016|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=October 10, 2016}} Shortly before the first test trains ran, the system's track geometry car determined that the twin bores of the 63rd Street Connector were too narrow for trains consisting of {{Convert|75|ft|m|adj=on}} cars (i.e. trains made of R46s, R68s, or R68As) to enter the line. To accommodate trains of these longer cars, crews shaved down parts of the tunnel walls by mid-October 2016, in time for the test trains.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ave-subway-crews-carve-tunnel-wall-fit-trains-article-1.2840345|title=Second Ave. subway crews carve tunnel wall to fit trains|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=October 23, 2016|newspaper=NY Daily News|access-date=October 23, 2016}} Also in October, new subway signs and maps were erected systemwide in relation to Second Avenue Subway-related service changes.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/25/nyregion/after-almost-a-century-second-avenue-subway-is-oh-so-close-to-arriving.html|title=After Almost a Century, the 2nd Avenue Subway Is Oh-So-Close to Arriving|last=Fitzsimmons|first=Emma G.|date=October 24, 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=October 27, 2016|issn=0362-4331}} More than 1,300 signs were installed in over forty stations.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-creating-1-300-subway-signs-return-w-train-article-1.2844946|title=MTA creating 1,300 subway signs for return of W train|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=October 25, 2016|newspaper=NY Daily News|access-date=October 28, 2016}}

File:Second_Avenue_Subway_Update_-_96th_Street_Cavern_(16026162246).jpg

By late October, the testing for elevators and fire alarms at 72nd Street still had not been completed, and the MTA said that there was a possibility that the subway could open with trains temporarily bypassing 72nd Street. This had been done before in September 2016, when subway trains in Chelsea temporarily bypassed several stations along 23rd Street due to bombings.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/27/nyregion/2-stations-on-new-2nd-avenue-line-may-not-be-ready-by-december.html|title=2 Stations on New 2nd Avenue Line May Not be Ready by December|last=Fitzsimmons|first=Emma G.|date=October 26, 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=October 27, 2016|issn=0362-4331}} There was a concern that 86th Street was also not completed, with three escalators not installed yet. The two stations were only conducting fourteen equipment tests a week, but there needed to be forty tests per week in order to ensure that the line would open on time. The tentative opening date was also clarified to "by December 31," with a possibility of a delayed opening.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/ave-subway-december-2016-opening-deadline-article-1.2466180|title=Second Ave. subway may miss December 2016 opening deadline|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=December 15, 2015|newspaper=NY Daily News|access-date=October 27, 2016}} However, an engineer affiliated with the MTA stated that there was a possibility that the line could be delayed to 2017.{{Cite news|url=http://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/independent-engineer-concerned-again-december-launch-second-avenue|title=Independent Engineer Concerned Again for December Launch of Second Avenue Subway|last=Krisel|first=Brendan|date=October 26, 2016|newspaper=Upper East Side, NY Patch|access-date=October 27, 2016|language=en-US}}

In November 2016, an independent engineer on the project raised concerns, including whether the required fire safety testing could be completed by December 15. That engineer said that "unprecedented" work was required to complete the line by the year's end.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/nyregion/second-avenue-subway-opening.html|title='Unprecedented' Work Required to Open 2nd Avenue Subway by Year's End, Officials Say|last=Fitzsimmons|first=Emma G.|date=November 14, 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=November 17, 2016|issn=0362-4331}} December 31 was still the planned opening date, but there have been logistical and safety concerns about the line's opening on New Year's Eve.{{Cite news|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/second-avenue-subway-s-launch-date-may-change-mta-warns-1.12627275|title=MTA: 2nd Ave. subway's Dec. 31 launch poses 'challenges'|newspaper=am New York|access-date=November 17, 2016}} Following this, the MTA ordered that contractors finish all remaining construction on the Second Avenues Subway before December 31. Contractors were asked to work double shifts, with all remaining fire and equipment tests to be conducted on a 24-hour-per-day, 7-day-per week schedule so that the December 31 deadline could be met.{{cite web|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161114/upper-east-side/second-avenue-subway-work-deadline-december-31|title=Second Avenue Subway Work Happening 'Around the Clock' to Make Deadline|website=DNAinfo New York|access-date=December 6, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921050209/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161114/upper-east-side/second-avenue-subway-work-deadline-december-31|archive-date=September 21, 2017}} By December 5, the opening date still had not been finalized, and there still remained a chance that the line would not open until 2017.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/mta-under-pressure-to-open-second-avenue-subway-1480889219|title=MTA Under Pressure to Open Second Avenue Subway|last=Vilensky|first=Mike|date=December 4, 2016|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|access-date=December 6, 2016|issn=0099-9660}}

Governor Andrew Cuomo (son of former Governor Mario Cuomo, who had allocated funding to the line) was leading the push to open the subway before year's end. On December 10, Governor Cuomo visited two under-construction Second Avenue subway stations, later stating that he was "cautiously optimistic" that the line would open before the New Year.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/12/nyregion/mta-races-to-finish-2nd-avenue-subway-as-deadline-looms.html|title=M.T.A. Races to Finish 2nd Avenue Subway as Deadline Looms|last=Fitzsimmons|first=Emma G.|date=December 12, 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 13, 2016|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|url=http://gothamist.com/2016/12/10/photos_cautiously_optimistic_cuomo.php|title=Photos: 'Cautiously Optimistic' Cuomo Visits 2nd Avenue Subway Station|last=Chung|first=Jen|date=December 10, 2016|newspaper=Gothamist|access-date=December 18, 2016|language=en-US|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213143332/http://gothamist.com/2016/12/10/photos_cautiously_optimistic_cuomo.php|archive-date=December 13, 2016}} However, as of the MTA board's monthly meeting, which occurred two days after Cuomo's visit, the subway's opening date had still not been finalized. On December 12, Cuomo visited the 96th Street station for at least his third trip in four days. At that time, officials were hoping that the final tests would be finished before December 22.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/nyregion/second-ave-subway-andrew-cuomo.html|title=With Second Ave. Subway, Cuomo Has Hands-On Role and Eye on the Future|last=Fitzsimmons|first=Emma G.|date=December 13, 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 14, 2016|issn=0362-4331}} The New York Times observed that Governor Cuomo's enthusiasm to open the line by December 31 stemmed from an incident that had occurred about a year and a half earlier, where officials at the MTA told him that they wanted to push the opening date back a year or two. However, several unidentified individuals have criticized Cuomo for these actions, saying that the increased involvement in the project served merely to improve his reputation. On December 14, the MTA finally announced that December 31 would be the probable opening date for the line, with all of the line's stations to open at the same time.{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/avenue-subway-line-set-open-new-year-eve-article-1.2911156|title=Second Avenue subway line set to open on New Year's Eve|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=December 14, 2016|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=December 15, 2016}} A day later, MTA chairman Thomas Prendergast stated that the three new stations would all open at the same time, even if that meant delaying the opening of the subway.{{cite web|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161214/financial-district/second-avenue-subway-when-will-it-open-on-time-dec-31|title=Second Avenue Subway Won't Open Until 'All Stations' Are Finished: MTA|last=Tcholakian|first=Danielle|date=December 14, 2016|website=DNAinfo New York|access-date=December 16, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220205851/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161214/financial-district/second-avenue-subway-when-will-it-open-on-time-dec-31|archive-date=December 20, 2016}}

The MTA and its contractors on the project met on a regular basis with the Manhattan Community Board 8 Second Avenue Subway Task Force and Manhattan Community Board 11 to report on construction progress and to seek input from the community.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/090323_CB8%20Combined%20presentation.pdf|title=Second Avenue Subway Construction Progress Update (November to March)|date=September 23, 2009|access-date=August 2, 2009}}

Estimated completion schedules slipped over time. When the bond issue to fund the construction was passed in 2005, the MTA said that the project would be done in 2012.{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E2DF103EF937A25752C1A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print|title=The Bond Passed. Now Comes the Hard Part: Actually Building a 2nd Avenue Subway.|date=November 14, 2005|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 29, 2016}} This quick completion date was a part of the city's unsuccessful 2012 Summer Olympics bid; the Olympics were hosted in London instead. When construction began in 2007, the MTA stated that the new train line would open by the end of 2013. Later in 2007, the MTA gave a completion date of 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/governor-spitzer-and-fta-administrator-james-simpson-announce-federal|title=Governor Spitzer and FTA Administrator James Simpson Announce Federal Funding Guarantee For Second Avenue Subway's First Phase|access-date=January 25, 2024|archive-date=November 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128205555/https://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/governor-spitzer-and-fta-administrator-james-simpson-announce-federal|url-status=dead}} In its 2008 capital improvement budget proposal, the MTA pushed back completion of Phase 1 to 2015, and in 2009, the MTA pushed it back again to 2016.{{cite web | last=Donohue | first=Pete | title=Second Ave. subway set back – again | website=New York Daily News | date=April 24, 2009 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2009/04/24/second-ave-subway-set-back-again/ | access-date=November 17, 2023}} Some publications had predicted a December 2016 opening.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/18/nyregion/18mbrfs-subway.html|title=Manhattan: Budget Increases for New Subway|last=Neuman|first=William|date=May 18, 2007|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=May 24, 2007}} Others reported that the subway would not open until 2017.{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/news/articles/reasonstoloveny/2009/62672/|title=43. Because We Keep Digging|last=Bonanos|first=Christopher|date=December 21, 2009|website=New York Magazine|access-date=December 16, 2016}}

By May 2014, the agency was still targeting December 2016 as the completion date, and the project was still within its $4.45 billion budget, and still estimated to serve approximately 200,000 daily riders. By January 2015, the MTA's forecasted opening date for Phase I had been clarified even further, to around December 30–31, 2016,{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_alt.html|title=Capital Programs Second Avenue Subway|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}[http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-releases-avenue-subway-images-article-1.1506866 MTA releases Second Avenue subway images, says project on track] Daily News (New York), November 5, 2013 with Horodniceanu describing earlier estimates as lacking "the precision required." In June 2015, however, the federal government predicted that at the then-current rate of construction, the subway would not open until February 2018.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Feds-2nd-Avenue-Subway-Open-Later-Than-MTA-Expects-306552461.html|title=2nd Ave Subway to Open Later Than MTA Expects: Feds|last=Siff|first=Andrew|date=June 18, 2015|newspaper=NBC New York|access-date=October 20, 2016}} After Governor Cuomo's intervention, the deadline was reset to December 31, 2016. On December 19, the start of revenue service was announced as noon on January 1, 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NYC-Second-Avenue-Subway-Service-Begins-January-Gov-Cuomo-Says-407383455.html|title=2nd Avenue Subway Service to Begin New Year's Day: Gov. Cuomo|last=Siff|first=Andrew|date=December 19, 2016|website=NBC New York|publisher=NBC Universal Media|access-date=December 19, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/cuomo-promises-ave-subway-open-jan-1-article-1.2915501|title=Cuomo promises Second Ave. subway will open Jan. 1|last1=Rivoli|first1=Dan|last2=Sandoval|first2=Edgar|date=December 18, 2016|website=NY Daily News|access-date=December 19, 2016|last3=Greene|first3=Leonard}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/news/2016/12/19/governor-cuomo-announces-time-opening-second-avenue-subway|title=Second Avenue Subway to Open On-Time|date=December 19, 2016|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 19, 2016|archive-date=December 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221162118/http://www.mta.info/news/2016/12/19/governor-cuomo-announces-time-opening-second-avenue-subway|url-status=dead}} The confirmed New Year's opening date was attributed to testing being completed at a faster pace than expected. Of the New Year's Day opening date, Cuomo stated:{{quote|This January 1 deadline was a little arbitrary, because it was set back in 2009. And since 2009 a lot has happened and a lot of adjustments have been made. The first instinct is, well let’s move the deadline. And we thought it was important to keep the deadline and that we make this deadline, especially on this project that has become notorious for delay after delay.}}

File:86th_Street_Station_Second_Avenue_SAS_3975.jpg]]

On December 22 and 23, 2016, as part of an open house hosted by the MTA, the public was invited to tour the 96th Street station before it opened, to generally positive reaction.{{Cite news|url=http://abc7ny.com/traffic/riders-get-sneak-preview-of-96th-street-stop-on-second-avenue-subway-/1668908|title=Riders get sneak preview of 96th Street stop on Second Avenue Subway|date=December 22, 2016|newspaper=ABC7 New York|access-date=December 23, 2016|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/second-avenue-subway-first-look-a-peek-into-the-96th-street-station-1.12795476|title=Get a first look at the 2nd Avenue subway|newspaper=am New York|access-date=December 23, 2016}} There was another open house on December 30, this time at the 86th Street station. The entrance to the Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station at Third Avenue, which was completed as part of Phase 1, was also opened on that date.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/news/2016/12/30/governor-cuomo-debuts-new-86th-street-subway-station-and-new-entrance-63rd-street|title=Governor Cuomo Debuts New 86th Street Subway Station and New Entrance at 63rd Street Subway Station|date=December 30, 2016|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 31, 2016|archive-date=January 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119090649/https://www.mta.info/news/2016/12/30/governor-cuomo-debuts-new-86th-street-subway-station-and-new-entrance-63rd-street|url-status=dead}}

The ceremonial first train, with Governor Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and other public officials, left 72nd Street on New Year's Eve shortly after 10:30 p.m., toward 96th Street. A party was held at the 72nd Street station.{{Cite news|url=http://gothamist.com/2017/01/01/governor_cuomo_throws_second_avenue.php#photo-4|title=Governor Cuomo Throws Second Avenue Subway Party For The First (Private) Ride|date=January 1, 2017|newspaper=Gothamist|access-date=January 1, 2017|language=en-US|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104023830/http://gothamist.com/2017/01/01/governor_cuomo_throws_second_avenue.php#photo-4|archive-date=January 4, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/second-avenue-subway-s-inaugural-ride-on-new-year-s-eve-to-include-cuomo-de-blasio-1.12808319|title=Cuomo, de Blasio to take 1st ride on 2nd Ave. subway|last=Barone|first=Vincent|date=December 26, 2016|newspaper=am New York|access-date=December 27, 2016}} The next day, on January 1, 2017, the first train left from 57th Street heading uptown. The stations on the first phase opened at 11:45 a.m, and the first trains arrived at about noon.{{cite web | last=Hawkins | first=Andrew J. | title=The Second Avenue Subway is finally open, and people are flipping out | website=The Verge | date=January 2, 2017 | url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/2/14145396/second-avenue-subway-nyc-mta-cuomo-photos | access-date=November 17, 2023}} On opening day, the stations were crowded with passengers seeking to check out the new line.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/01/nyregion/second-avenue-subway-opening-upper-east-side-manhattan.html|title=Opening of Second Avenue Subway: Updates|last1=Slotnik|first1=Daniel E.|date=January 1, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 1, 2017|last2=Wolfe|first2=Jonathan|issn=0362-4331|last3=Fitzsimmons|first3=Emma G.|last4=Palmer|first4=Emily|last5=Remnick|first5=Noah}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-yorkers-ride-ave-subway-making-history-article-1.2930822|title=New Yorkers take historic first ride on Second Ave. subway|last1=Rivoli|first1=Dan|date=January 1, 2017|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=January 1, 2017|last2=Sandoval|first2=Edgar|last3=Brown|first3=Stephen Rex}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.wnyc.org/story/see-new-years-eve-party-and-2nd-ave-subway|title=See Inside: The 2nd Avenue Subway Opens to All|last=Nessen|first=Stephen|date=January 1, 2017|newspaper=WNYC|access-date=January 1, 2017}} About 48,200 passengers entered the new stations on that day, excluding passengers who toured the line by entering at a station in the rest of the system.{{cite web|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/second-avenue-subway-draws-thousands-of-riders-for-new-year-s-day-opening-1.12842779|title=Second Avenue subway's New Year's Day opening drew 48,200|last=Barone|first=Vincent|date=January 2, 2017|website=am New York|access-date=January 3, 2017}} The line opened to generally positive acclaim. Two trains of R160 subway cars were wrapped in Second Avenue Subway livery to celebrate the line's opening.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/avenue-subway-ride-new-year-eve-ball-drop-article-1.2930236|title=Second Avenue subway first ride before New Year's Eve ball drop|last1=Rivoli|first1=Dan|date=January 1, 2017|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=January 1, 2017|last2=Slattery|first2=Denis}} The 96th, 86th, 72nd, and 63rd Street stations featured new artwork by artists Sarah Sze, Chuck Close, Vik Muniz, and Jean Shin, respectively.*{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/chuck-close-art-for-second-avenue-subway.html|title=Chuck Close Will Make the Second Avenue Subway Pretty|last=Malone|first=Noreen|date=May 14, 2012|work=New York}}

• {{cite web|url=http://untappedcities.com/2014/01/22/subway-art-on-the-future-second-avenue-subway-line-revealed-nyc/|title=Subway Art on the Future Second Avenue Subway Line Revealed|last=Mondkar|first=Bushan|date=January 22, 2014|work=Untapped Cities|access-date=May 19, 2014}}
• {{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/19/arts/design/second-avenue-subway-art.html|title=Art Underground: A First Look at the Second Avenue Subway|last=Kennedy|first=Randy|date=December 19, 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 19, 2016|issn=0362-4331}}

On January 3, the first date on which the line began operating under a weekday schedule, some rush hour N trains started using the line.{{NYCS const|timetable|n}} During the opening week of operation, trains were running every six minutes during peak hours, and there was no service between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.{{cite web | last=Wolfe | first=Jonathan | title=New York Today: New Year, New Commute | website=The New York Times | date=January 3, 2017 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/nyregion/new-york-today-new-year-new-commute-second-avenue-subway.html | access-date=November 17, 2023}} Overnight service began on January 9, 2017.{{cite web | last=Plitt | first=Amy | title=How did the Second Avenue Subway do in its first week? | website=Curbed NY | date=January 10, 2017 | url=https://ny.curbed.com/2017/1/10/14183244/second-avenue-subway-mta-new-york-first-week | access-date=November 17, 2023}}

In January 2017, compared to January 2016, ridership on the Lexington Avenue Line at the 68th Street, 77th Street, 86th Street, and 96th Street stations decreased because of the opening of Phase 1.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/nyregion/second-avenue-subway-relieves-crowding-on-neighboring-lines.html|title=Second Avenue Subway Relieves Crowding on Neighboring Lines|last1=Fitzsimmons|first1=Emma G.|date=February 1, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=February 1, 2017|last2=Sun|first2=Albert|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/news/2017/02/01/second-av-subway-ridership-growing-rapidly|title=Second Av Subway Ridership Growing Rapidly|date=February 1, 2017|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=February 1, 2017|archive-date=May 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521012108/http://www.mta.info/news/2017/02/01/second-av-subway-ridership-growing-rapidly|url-status=dead}} The main decrease in ridership was at the 86th Street station, where more than 28,000 of its 120,000 daily riders switched to using the Second Avenue Subway. Overall, the Second Avenue Line's three stations and the renovated Lexington Avenue–63rd Street station saw an average weekday ridership of more than 150,000 by the end of January. The 72nd Street station was the busiest of the line's new stations, with an average daily ridership of 44,000. By April, taxi usage in the area also saw a decline of more than 20% compared to before the line's opening.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170419/upper-east-side/second-avenue-subway-taxi-use-declines-lenox-hill-yorkville|title=Taxi Use Plummets on Upper East Side Due to 2nd Avenue Subway, Report Finds|last=Weaver|first=Shaye|date=April 19, 2017|website=DNAinfo New York|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426063214/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170419/upper-east-side/second-avenue-subway-taxi-use-declines-lenox-hill-yorkville|archive-date=April 26, 2017|url-status=dead|access-date=April 25, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://wagner.nyu.edu/rudincenter/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/SASandTaxis.pdf|title=Upper East Side Taxis and the Second Avenue Subway|last1=Kaufman|first1=Sarah|date=April 18, 2017|work=NYU Rudin Center for Transportation|access-date=April 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426063200/http://wagner.nyu.edu/rudincenter/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/SASandTaxis.pdf|archive-date=April 26, 2017|url-status=dead|last2=Kaputkin|first2=Ari|language=en-US}}

By May 15, ridership had increased to 176,000 passengers a day, reducing overall usage on the Lexington Avenue Line by 26% while representing a 42% increase from the January ridership. Because of the increasing demand, Q service was increased by one downtown trip in the morning and by one uptown trip in the evening in November 2017. In addition, one R trip started running via the line to boost service.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-add-q-trains-ave-subway-line-ridership-soars-article-1.3186366|title=MTA to add Q trains on Second Ave. subway line as ridership soars|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=May 22, 2017|work=New York Daily News|access-date=May 22, 2017}}

On July 13, 2018, the subway system's ridership totals for 2017 were released, showing that the opening of the line significantly decreased ridership at adjacent stations on the Lexington Avenue Line at 59th Street, 68th Street, 77th Street, 86th Street, 96th Street and 103rd Street. Ridership on the Lexington Avenue Line decreased by 28%, or 46,000 daily riders.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-second-ave-subway-ridership-20180713-story.html|title=Second Ave. subway takes pressure off Lexington line - NY Daily News|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=July 13, 2018|work=New York Daily News|access-date=July 15, 2018|language=en-US}}{{cite web |url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_sub_annual.htm |title=Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2012–2017 |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |date=July 12, 2018 |access-date=July 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713015201/http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_sub_annual.htm|archive-date=July 13, 2018|url-status=unfit}}{{Clear|left}}

{{Graph:Chart|width=400|height=100|xAxisTitle=Station

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|legend=Legend

|type=stackedrect

|x=59th/63rd, 68th/72nd/77th, 86th, 96th/103rd

|y1=17888,15275,14277,9978

|y2=6389,8536,7693,5446

|y1Title=2017 - Lex Ave Line

|y2Title=2017 - 63rd St/2nd Ave Line

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File:96th_Street_Station_(31000690483).jpg]]

In February 2011, a lawsuit was filed by the Yorkshire Towers at 86th Street over the location of two proposed Second Avenue Subway entrances that were located right in front of the building but facing away from its semicircular driveway citing quality of life issues.{{cite web|url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20110216/upper-east-side/upper-east-side-building-sues-mta-over-planned-subway-entrances|title=Upper East Side Building Sues MTA Over Planned Subway Entrances|date=February 17, 2011|publisher=DNA Info|access-date=May 19, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519192839/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20110216/upper-east-side/upper-east-side-building-sues-mta-over-planned-subway-entrances|archive-date=May 19, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.andersonkill.com/news_article.asp?newsid=1187|title=Owners and Tenants of Yorkshire Towers Sue to Relocate Planned 86th Street Entrances to Second Avenue Subway|date=February 17, 2011|work=Anderson Kill|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519193321/http://www.andersonkill.com/news_article.asp?newsid=1187|archive-date=May 19, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=May 19, 2014}} However, the lawsuit was later dismissed.{{cite court|litigants=Yorkshire Towers Company, L.P. et al., v. United States Department of Transportation, et al.|pinpoint=11 Civ. 1058 (TPG) |court=S.D.N.Y.|date=December 1, 2011|url=http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2011cv01058/375295/66/0.pdf?1322836800|access-date=March 27, 2018}}

In an unrelated 2012 controversy, some residents in the 72nd Street station area claimed to have come down with a "Second Avenue cough" caused by dust from construction,{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/avenue-subway-plagued-safety-violations-article-1.1360978|title=Second Avenue subway plagued with dangerous conditions and safety violations|author=Greg B. Smith|date=June 2, 2013|work=Daily News|access-date=May 4, 2014|location=New York}} and local doctors saw that the air quality of the area had decreased while nasal sicknesses had increased.{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/hey-new-yorkers-the-second-avenue-subway-project-might-be-making-you-sick-2012-1|title=The Second Avenue Subway Project Might Be To Blame For An Obnoxious Cough|author=Luke McKenna|date=January 27, 2012|work=Business Insider|access-date=August 14, 2015}} The MTA tried to combat this by creating new structures and using other methods to reduce dust inhalation.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/nyregion/delay-in-blasting-for-second-avenue-subway-annoys-some.html|title=2 Views on Subway Project: Delay Work to Clear Air, or Carry On and Profit Sooner|author=Christine Haughney|date=November 23, 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 14, 2015}} The MTA prepared a report that said in the 86th Street station area "all monitored concentrations were below the established benchmark levels".{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_pdf/SAS-86%20Street%20Station-Air%20Monitoring%20Report%205-15-12.pdf|title=Air Quality Monitoring Study of the 86th Street Station: Construction on Second Avenue: Interim Report|date=May 15, 2012|access-date=November 14, 2015|quote=During the monitoring period all monitored concentrations were below the established benchmark levels. The results indicate that PM₁₀ levels were slightly higher on the days of test blasting, however, PM_2.5 concentrations did not change.}}

The New York Daily News alleged that the subway project was very unsafe. For example, on August 8, 2012, an explosion caused rocks to fly all over an intersection.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/avenue-subway-plagued-safety-violations-article-1.1360978|title=EXCLUSIVE: Second Avenue subway plagued with dangerous conditions and safety violations|work=Daily News|date=June 2, 2013 |location=New York|access-date=May 14, 2014}} Less than two weeks later, on August 21, 2012, an uncontrolled blast for the station was done incorrectly,{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/Report%20SAS%20Aug%2021%20Incident_FINAL.pdf|title=Summary Report of August 21, 2012 Incident at Ancillary No. 2|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 18, 2016}} causing a large explosion that sent debris into the air and broke windows of buildings in the area and damaged nearby sidewalks.{{cite web|url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/08/21/blasting-goes-awry-along-2nd-avenue-subway/|title=Blasting Goes Awry Along 2nd Avenue Subway « CBS New York|date=August 21, 2012|publisher=Newyork.cbslocal.com|access-date=May 14, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/second-avenue-subway-explosion-breaks-windows-explosive_n_1819277.html|title=Second Avenue Subway Explosion Breaks UES Windows After Workers Use Too Many Explosives (PHOTOS)|work=The Huffington Post|date=August 21, 2012|access-date=May 14, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.myfoxny.com/story/19331578/large-plume-of-smoke-at-subway-construction-site|title=Second Ave. subway construction blast investigation – New York News|author1=Kathy Carvajal|author2=Arun Kristian Das|publisher=Myfoxny.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514220800/http://www.myfoxny.com/story/19331578/large-plume-of-smoke-at-subway-construction-site|archive-date=May 14, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=May 14, 2014|author3=Luke Funk}} In another instance, contaminated rocks were carried away from a construction site on 63rd Street, and the incident went unnoticed. On March 19, 2013, in yet another allegation of wrongdoing, a construction worker got stuck in waist-deep muck at the 96th Street station site,{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Second-Avenue-Subway-Construction-Worker-Stuck-Mud-199076371.html|title=Worker Trapped in Mud Beneath MTA Site Rescued After 4 Hours|last=Creag|first=Katherine|date=March 20, 2013|publisher=NBC New York|access-date=May 15, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ave-subway-construction-shuts-near-fatal-accident-article-1.1293857|title='The mud just grabbed me and wouldn't release me': Rescued Second Ave. subway worker who spent four hours in cold upper East Side muck recovering|work=Daily News|date=March 21, 2013 |location=New York|access-date=May 15, 2014}} but while he was extricated after four hours of rescue efforts, he nearly died after the incident.{{cite web|url=http://www.metro-magazine.com/news/story/2013/03/n-y-mta-subway-worker-trapped-in-tunnel-rescued.aspx|title=MTA subway worker trapped in tunnel rescued|publisher=METRO Magazine|access-date=May 15, 2014}}Most, Doug, The race underground : Boston, New York, and the incredible rivalry that built America’s first subway, First edition, New York : St. Martin’s Press, February 2014. {{ISBN|9780312591328}}.

In response to noise complaints caused by blasting underground, the MTA limited blasting to before 7 p.m. each day.{{Cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html|title=CITY ROOM; On 2nd Avenue, a Halt to Things That Go Kaboom in the Night|last=Grynbaum|first=Michael M.|date=August 16, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=October 27, 2016|issn=0362-4331}} Before the restrictions, blasting had continued to as late as 10:30 p.m. every day, shaking buildings above the corridor.

In a product-related controversy involving the Second Avenue Subway project, American Standard Testing and Consulting Laboratories (ASTCL), company president Alan Fortich, and five other executives admitted filing false documents on the subway tunnels and "thousands" of other New York City construction projects within 10 years. ASTCL had replaced Testwell Inc., another firm indicted for faking concrete tests, in 2008.{{cite web | last=Smith | first=Greg B. | title=Concrete certification company American Standard Testing admits it faked safety and inspection reports on thousands of New York City buildings | website=New York Daily News | date=December 14, 2012 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2012/12/14/concrete-certification-company-american-standard-testing-admits-it-faked-safety-and-inspection-reports-on-thousands-of-new-york-city-buildings/ | access-date=November 17, 2023}}

Several safety tests had been rushed in order to have the line technically open by the end of 2016. At the time of the line's opening, there were 17,260 issues along the line that needed to be fixed, and critical systems such as fire alarms still needed to be tested. By May 2017, the number of discrepancies had dropped to 7,264,{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ave-subway-7-200-issues-address-article-1.3509865|title=Second Ave. subway still has more than 7,200 issues to address|last=Rivoli|first=Dan|date=September 20, 2017|work=NY Daily News|access-date=September 22, 2017|language=en}} but the fire alarm systems at each station were deactivated around this time, requiring fire safety chiefs to be posted at each station.{{Cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2017/10/19/internal-memo-second-avenue-subways-fire-alarm-system-offline-since-may-115147|title=Internal memo: Second Avenue subway's fire alarm system offline since May|last=Rubinstein|first=Dana|date=October 19, 2017|work=Politico PRO|access-date=October 20, 2017}} {{As of|September 2017}}, some of these tests had yet to be completed even though the line had been opened for eight months. The Federal Transit Administration only allowed the line to operate under a temporary safety certificate, with the permanent one expected for November of that year.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/20/nyregion/second-avenue-subway-safety.html|title=Months After Second Avenue Subway Opening, Safety Testing Is Not Finished|last=Fitzsimmons|first=Emma G.|date=September 20, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 20, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

In July 2017, as temperatures in the city rose, straphangers expressed complaints about the high temperatures of stations along the line, even though they were supposed to be climate-controlled. This was since the MTA had to get permission from the City Health Department to cool the air, with a test ensuring no Legionnaires' disease in the cooling towers, a precaution arising from several deadly outbreaks in the city in previous years. The MTA had not conducted the test quickly enough, but after criticism, it received permission on July 7. Climate control was expected to be turned on by July 14.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Brand-New-Second-Avenue-Subway-Hot-Steamy-No-Climate-Control-434118813.html|title=Why Are NYC's Newest Subway Stations So Hot?|last=Siff|first=Andrew|date=July 12, 2017|work=NBC New York|access-date=July 18, 2017|language=en}}

File:2nd_Ave_&_106th_St.jpg

The second phase, between 125th and 96th Streets, was allocated $535 million in the MTA's 2015–2019 Capital Plan for planning, design, environmental studies, and utility relocation.{{cite news |last=Fitzsimmons |first=Emma G. |date=October 29, 2015 |title=Anger in East Harlem Over New Delays in 2nd Ave. Subway Plans |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/nyregion/anger-in-east-harlem-over-new-delays-in-2nd-ave-subway-plans.html |access-date=November 3, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/pdf/CapitalProgram2015-19_WEB%20v4%20FINAL_small.pdf|title=MTA Capital Program 2015-2019: Renew. Enhance. Expand.|date=October 28, 2015|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=October 28, 2015}} This phase will complete the project's East Harlem section. North of 120th Street, it will be constructed through the use of Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs). The TBM Launch Box will be located between 121st Street and 122nd Street on Second Avenue. The TBMs will head north under Second Avenue to 121st Street before turning slightly east to curve under the East River Houses, before turning west on 125th Street, crossing Lexington Avenue, before ending {{Convert|525|feet|meters}} west of Fifth Avenue to accommodate storage tracks. South of 120th Street, the line will utilize a tunnel section built during the 1970s, located between 110th Street and 120th Street. This section will have tracks and other essential equipment installed, like that of the rest of the line. Since it was deemed uneconomical to use TBMs, cut-and-cover will be used to connect the existing tunnel section to the bored section to the north (at 120th Street) and to the portion of the line already in operation to the south (at 105th Street).{{cite web |date=May 2004 |title=Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Chapter 3: Description of Construction Methods and Activities |url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/chapter03.pdf#page=51 |access-date=August 5, 2015 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}{{Rp|2}}{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/170320_1345_CPOC.pdf#page=46|title=MTACC REPORT TO CPOC SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY – PHASE 2|date=March 20, 2017|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 27, 2017}}{{Rp|45}}

Three new stations will be constructed at Harlem–125th Street, 116th Street, and 106th Street. Because a station at 116th Street was not part of the plan for the Second Avenue Subway when the existing tunnel section was built, part of the tunnel will have to be rebuilt to allow for a station at 116th Street. A transfer to the Lexington Avenue Line and an intermodal connection with Metro-North Railroad would be available at the Harlem–125th Street station. The original plan called for the main line to turn west onto 125th Street with tail tracks to Fifth Avenue, while tail tracks would continue north on a spur via Second Avenue to 129th Street.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/sdeis/chapter2.pdf|title=Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS), April 2003 Chapter 2 Project Alternatives|date=April 2003|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 9, 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/nyct/procure/contracts/127485INFOsol.pdf|title=CM-1190 Consultant Design Services for Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway Project|date=March 4, 2016|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 27, 2017}} However, the tail tracks to 129th Street, as well as a proposed ancillary building at 127th Street and Second Avenue, were removed in a July 2018 update to the plans.{{cite book|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/ea_phase2/02_Description_of_Phase_2_Modified_Design-07-2018.pdf|title=Supplemental Environmental Assessment to the Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement: Phase 2|chapter=Chapter 2: Description of Phase 2 Modified Design|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|date=July 2018|access-date=July 13, 2018}}{{rp|12}} Tail tracks that extend {{Convert|525|feet|meters}} west of Fifth Avenue would allow for the construction of a crosstown line under the busy 125th Street corridor.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/pdf/MTA_15-19_Capital_Plan_Board_WEB_Approved_v2.pdf|title=MTA Capital Program 2015 – 2019 Capital Plan Renew. Enhance. Expand. As Approved by MTA Board April 20, 2016. As Approved by the CPRB May 23, 2016.|date=May 2016|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 7, 2016}} The 125th Street tail tracks would be able to store four trains, and would also allow for trains to enter the Harlem–125th Street terminal at speeds that would allow for the operation of 30 trains per hour on the line.{{cite web |date=May 2004 |title=Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Chapter 2: Project Alternatives |url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/chapter02.pdf |access-date=August 5, 2015 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}{{rp|11, 12}} The construction of the Harlem–125th Street station and the pedestrian concourses to the Lexington Avenue Line would require temporary service outages at the 125th Street station on the Lexington Avenue Line for two years.{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis/chapter05b.pdf|title=Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS): Chapter 5B: Transportation—Subway and Commuter Rail|date=May 2004|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 17, 2016}}{{Rp|5B-15}}

This budget originally carried $1.5 billion, which would be used to start construction of the tunnels; the MTA reduced the amount of money allocated in the budget, projecting that the agency would not be able to start construction by the end of the 5-year cycle in 2019.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-propose-1-5b-2nd-ave-subway-article-1.1895922|title=MTA to propose $1.5B to Phase 2 of 2nd Ave. subway construction|last=Donohueaccessdate=December 23, 2016|first=Pete|date=August 7, 2014|work=Daily News|location=New York}}{{cite web|url=http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/08/07/second_avenue_subway_gets_15b_for_phase_2_construction.php|title=Second Avenue Subway Gets $1.5B for Phase 2 Construction|work=Curbed NY|date=August 7, 2014}} {{As of|2020}}, construction of the tunnels was likely to be funded in future 5-year capital programs.{{Cite web|url=https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/press-release/21123534/mta-headquarters-mta-releases-schedule-of-88-billion-on-committed-work-to-begin-construction-in-2020-from-prior-capital-plans|title=MTA releases schedule of $8.8 billion on committed work to begin construction in 2020 from prior capital plans|date=January 30, 2020|website=Mass Transit|language=en-us|access-date=January 31, 2020}} Although the MTA previously expressed concerns about funding the Capital Program, spokesman Adam Lisberg stated that the reduction in funding was a result of uncertain timing and not money problems.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta-chief-ave-subway-line-stopped-short-article-1.2134591|title=Second Ave. subway project will be cut short if funding doesn't come through, MTA chief says|author=Pete Donohue|date=March 2, 2015|work=Daily News|location=New York|access-date=March 24, 2015}} The delay had upset politicians and residents of East Harlem,{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Second-Avenue-Subway-Delays-Capital-Budget-MTA-339999382.html|title=2nd Phase of Second Avenue Subway Construction Delayed, Frustrating East Harlem Officials and Residents|work=NBC New York|date=November 3, 2015 |access-date=March 6, 2016}} who objected to the 3-to-4-year delay.

In March 2016, the MTA began advertising Requests for Proposals (RFP) for three new contracts for the second phase, which were planned to be awarded in summer 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/mta-ready-start-avenue-subway-phase-2-article-1.2553445|title=MTA getting ready to start Second Avenue Subway Phase 2|last=Otis|first=Ginger Adams|date=March 4, 2016|website=Daily News|location=New York|access-date=March 6, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160304/east-harlem/mta-prepares-extend-second-avenue-subway-east-harlem|title=MTA Prepares to Extend Second Avenue Subway to East Harlem|last=Mathis|first=William|date=March 4, 2016|work=DNAinfo New York|publisher=DNAinfo|access-date=March 6, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306105105/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160304/east-harlem/mta-prepares-extend-second-avenue-subway-east-harlem|archive-date=March 6, 2016}} In April 2016, the MTA and the State of New York reached a deal to restore funding to Phase 2, with a total of $1.035 billion allocated.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/nyregion/mta-spending-plan-restores-funding-for-2nd-ave-subway.html?_r=0|title=M.T.A. Spending Plan Restores Funding for 2nd Ave. Subway|last=Fitzsimmons|first=Emma G.|date=April 20, 2016|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=May 16, 2016|location=New York}} $535 million will be used to undertake preliminary construction work, such as relocating utilities, and for the design of the project, and to address environmental problems. The next $500 million would be used to prepare work for tunneling and station construction.

On October 18, 2016, the de Blasio administration announced a rezoning plan for East Harlem. The plan would alter special transit zoning created in the 1970s for the Second Avenue Subway. Incentives would be offered to integrate subway infrastructure into new buildings. This is meant to improve pedestrian conditions adjacent to ventilation buildings.{{Cite news|url=http://newyorkyimby.com/2016/10/initial-east-harlem-rezoning-plan-promises-30-story-towers-and-less-parking.html|title=Initial East Harlem Rezoning Plan Promises 30-Story Towers and Less Parking – New York YIMBY|date=October 18, 2016|newspaper=New York YIMBY|access-date=October 23, 2016|language=en-US}} There would be three Special Transit Land Use (TA) districts; one for the area of the 106th Street station, one for the area of the 116th Street station, and one for the area of the Harlem–125th Street station.{{cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/plans-studies/east-harlem/east-harlem-presentation-101816.pdf|title=EAST HARLEM NEIGHBORHOOD STUDY Draft Planning Framework DCP Manhattan Office October 18, 2016|date=October 18, 2016|website=www1.nyc.gov|publisher=NYC Planning|access-date=October 22, 2016}}

On November 21, 2016, the MTA requested that the Phase 2 project be entered into the Project Development phase under the Federal Transit Administration's New Starts program.{{Cite web|url=http://maloney.house.gov/sites/maloney.house.gov/files/NY%20New%20York%20City%202nd%20Ave%20Subway%20Phase%202%20Letter%20signed%2012.23.16.pdf|title=Re: Project Development Initiation – Second Avenue Subway Phase 2|last=Garliauskas|first=Lucy|date=December 23, 2016|website=maloney.house.gov|publisher=Federal Transit Administration|access-date=December 24, 2016|archive-date=January 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112040746/https://maloney.house.gov/sites/maloney.house.gov/files/NY%20New%20York%20City%202nd%20Ave%20Subway%20Phase%202%20Letter%20signed%2012.23.16.pdf|url-status=dead}} On December 15, several elected officials for the area announced that they were seeking $6 billion of funding for Phase 2 of the line, including $2 billion from the federal government.{{Cite news|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/second-avenue-subway-should-get-federal-support-before-obama-leaves-office-officials-say-1.12763301|title=Officials look to secure federal funds for 2nd Ave. subway|last=Barone|first=Vincent|date=December 15, 2016|newspaper=am New York|access-date=December 16, 2016}} These officials wished to secure funding from the presidential administration of Barack Obama before Obama's term ended on January 20, 2017. In their request for funding, they cited that they wanted to avoid an uncertain response from the first administration of Donald Trump and start construction on Phase 2 as soon as possible. The FTA granted this request in late December 2016.{{Cite news|url=http://patch.com/new-york/harlem/phase-2-2nd-avenue-subway-clears-preliminary-funding-hurle|title=Phase 2 of 2nd Avenue Subway Clears Preliminary Funding Hurdle|date=December 23, 2016|newspaper=Harlem, NY Patch|access-date=January 4, 2017|language=en-US}} Under the approved plan, the MTA would complete an environmental reevaluation by 2018, receive funding by 2020, and open Phase 2 between 2027 and 2029. On May 24, 2017, the MTA Board approved an amendment to the 2015–2019 Capital Program, and as part of it, the funding allocated to Phase 2 was increased by $700 million to a total of $1.735 billion. This would allow for a near-term 30 percent match per Full Funding Grant Agreement process.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/docs/May%20Board%20Presentation_Board.pdf|title=MTA Capital Program Amendments Renew. Enhance. Expand. Capital Program Briefing May 2017|date=May 24, 2017|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=May 24, 2017}}

By August 2017, preliminary work on the line was underway, and the engineering firm AKRF was updating the environmental impact study for Phase 2. AKRF had previously prepared the Manhattan East Side Alternatives and the original EIS for the Second Avenue Subway.{{Rp|48}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.akrf.com/integrated-approach/transportation/projects/nyc-mta-second-avenue-subway/|title=Second Avenue Subway|website=AKRF, Inc.|access-date=August 27, 2017}} The design of the project is being done by Phase 2 Partnership, a joint venture of Parsons-Brinckerhoff and STV.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capconstr/procurement/cc_recentawards.htm|title=MTA Capital Construction – Procurement|website=web.mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827234406/http://web.mta.info/capconstr/procurement/cc_recentawards.htm|archive-date=August 27, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=August 27, 2017}} The EIS and design will be finished in 2018.{{Rp|46}} A Second Avenue Subway Community Information Center for Phase 2, along 125th Street between Park and Madison Avenues, was planned to open in May 2017; however, the center's opening was delayed to September 18, 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2017/09/22/new-center-gives-glimpse-of-second-avenue-subway-s-future.html|title=New center gives glimpse of Second Avenue Subway's future|date=September 22, 2017|website=NY1.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923072307/http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2017/09/22/new-center-gives-glimpse-of-second-avenue-subway-s-future.html|archive-date=September 23, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=September 28, 2017}} Workers have already started testing the ground and buildings along the route looking for utilities. The MTA requested federal funds to start the relocation of utilities, the construction of the launch box for the TBMs, and for the management of the construction.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/hearings/170912/pdf/hearing-notice170912.pdf#page=139|title=Proposed Program of Projects Federal Fiscal Year 2018|date=August 2017|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=August 28, 2017|archive-date=August 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828144314/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/hearings/170912/pdf/hearing-notice170912.pdf#page=139|url-status=dead}}{{Rp|125–127}}

At the MTA's September 2017 board meeting, it was announced that the preliminary work was to be done by fall 2018, and a new "early work contract" was to be issued in 2019. It was also revealed that the Harlem–125th Street station would be constructed as a deeper two-track station as opposed to as a three-track station as was planned in the 2004 FEIS. The modification would reduce flexibility, but would allow the section under 125th Street to be mined, rather than being constructed as cut-and-cover, thereby reducing impacts on nearby buildings. Simulations showed that a two-track layout could support the same level of service that the three-track layout could have provided: 28 trains per hour. To make up for the loss of the track, the tail tracks west of the station would be lengthened to Lenox Avenue to allow for six trains to be stored, three per track.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/170925_1345_CPOC.pdf|title=Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting – September 25, 2017|date=September 25, 2017|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=September 25, 2017|pages=52–59}}{{Citation|last=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|title=MTA Board – CPOC Committee Meeting – 09/25/2017|date=September 25, 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNqAJwyvejA|access-date=September 29, 2017}}{{rp|13}}

In November 2017, the Regional Plan Association published its Fourth Regional Plan, which, among other things, called for the completion of the full-length Second Avenue Subway. The RPA's plan also called for two additional components to be added to Phase 2. The proposed Phase 2B would extend the Second Avenue Line under 125th Street to Broadway, while the planned phase 2C would be a spur to the 149th Street–Grand Concourse station in the Bronx, which would then connect with the IND Concourse Line. However, these plans have not been acknowledged by the MTA, nor have they been given any funding.*{{cite web|title=Fourth Regional Plan: Transportation|url=http://fourthplan.org/action/transportation|publisher=Regional Plan Association|access-date=November 30, 2017}}

• {{cite web | title=New subway lines, extensions key for system's future: Report |last=Barone |first=Vincent | website=am New York | date=November 30, 2017 | url=https://www.amny.com/transit/subway-line-expansion-1.15250814 | access-date=December 1, 2017}}

{{as of|June 2018}}, the extended preliminary design contract would be completed in the third quarter of 2018, and the design-build contracts for tunneling and station shells would be awarded in the first quarter of 2019. An environmental impact finding was expected in fall 2018, and a Full Funding Grant Agreement with the FTA was to be completed by 2020.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/180618_1330_CPOC.pdf|title=Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting June 2018|date=June 18, 2018|access-date=June 17, 2018|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|pages=14–15}} A supplemental environmental impact assessment for Phase 2 was published in July 2018.{{cite web | author=MTA Capital Construction | title=Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Environmental Assessment |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority | date=July 12, 2018 | url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/ea_phase2.htm | access-date=July 13, 2018}} The FTA issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for the project on November 15, 2018.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_pdf/2018Nov15SASPhase2FONSI.pdf|title=Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2|date=November 15, 2018|website=mta.info|publisher=Federal Transit Administration|access-date=November 19, 2018}}{{cite web | title=Milestone reached in Second Avenue subway project | website=Crain's New York Business | date=November 19, 2018 | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/milestone-reached-second-avenue-subway-project | access-date=November 19, 2018}} By April 2019, it was reported that the MTA was planning to acquire several dozen buildings for Phase 2, displacing over 500 workers and 100 tenants.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Second-Avenue-Subway-Plan-The-City-508157411.html|title=The City: Uncertain 2nd Avenue Subway Plans Have Locals Edgy|last=Smith|first=Rachel Holliday|date=April 5, 2019|website=NBC New York|access-date=April 6, 2019}} This included hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate that had been purchased by the Durst Organization and Extell Development within the past five years.{{cite web|url=https://therealdeal.com/2019/04/02/second-ave-subways-next-phase-could-impact-durst-extell-dev-sites/|title=Second Ave subway's next phase could impact Durst, Extell dev sites|date=April 2, 2019|website=The Real Deal New York|access-date=April 6, 2019}} The MTA also decided to build the planned 116th Street station's platform inside the existing tunnel, rather than completely rebuilding the tunnel segment, as well as reduce excavation at the Harlem–125th Street station. These two revisions were expected to save a combined $1 billion.{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/190415_1400_cpoc.pdf|title=Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting|date=April 2019|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=January 18, 2019}}{{rp|46}}{{cite web | last=Guse | first=Clayton | title=MTA figures out how to save $500M on Second Ave. Subway by using 1970s tunnel | website=nydailynews.com | date=April 16, 2019 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-second-avenue-subway-tunnel-reuse-savings-20190416-ewnrkgj7xjcvlpxx6iua45sgka-story.html | access-date=April 17, 2019}}

In September 2019, the MTA released a draft of their proposed $54 billion 2020-2024 capital plan.{{cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-capital-plan-five-year-51-billion-20190916-vv4redne5nfkvjrjtfwxuuckqi-story.html|title=MTA announces $51 billion plan to save the subway, treat NYC's transit sickness|last=Guse|first=Clayton|date=September 16, 2019|website=nydailynews.com|access-date=September 16, 2019}} As part of the plan, the Second Avenue Subway would be completed at a cost of $6 billion. Some of the funding would come from Manhattan's new congestion charge, but a large portion would come from FTA funding.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/nyregion/mta-budget-subway.html|title=The M.T.A.'s $54 Billion Plan to Transform Your Commute|date=September 16, 2019|website=The New York Times|access-date=September 18, 2019}} The MTA required FTA approval to enter the New Starts Program's engineering phase, but {{as of|July 2020|lc=y}} had not received that approval;{{Cite web|date=July 22, 2020|title=Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting|url=https://new.mta.info/document/18336|access-date=July 21, 2020|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority}}{{Rp|68}} furthermore, the MTA's budgetary issues had forced it to suspend all capital projects "indefinitely" in June 2020.{{Cite news|last1=Rubinstein|first1=Dana|last2=Goldbaum|first2=Christina|date=June 24, 2020|title=Pandemic May Force New York City to Lay Off 22,000 Workers|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/nyregion/budget-layoffs-nyc-mta-coronavirus.html|access-date=June 24, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|date=June 24, 2020 |title=MTA pulls emergency brake on all major projects as financial woes mount|url=https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-pulls-emergency-brake-on-all-major-projects-as-financial-woes-mount/|access-date=June 24, 2020|website=amNewYork |language=en-US}} Without funding, the MTA projected that Phase 2 might have to be canceled.{{cite web | last=Boone | first=Ruschell | title=Second Avenue Subway Extension Plans in Danger Without Federal Assistance | website=Spectrum News NY1 | New York City | date=August 26, 2020 | url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2020/08/27/second-avenue-subway-extension-in-danger- | access-date=September 15, 2020}}

With the inauguration of Joe Biden as U.S. president in 2021, the administration of Joe Biden approved $23 billion in funding for new transit projects across the United States that November, including Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway.{{cite web | title=Washington's $1.2T infrastructure bill boosts 5 NYC transportation projects | website=Crain's New York Business | date=November 8, 2021 | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/5-transportation-projects-thatll-get-boost-bidens-12t-infrastructure-bill | access-date=November 26, 2021}} Following this, New York's new governor Kathy Hochul pledged to start construction on Phase 2 by 2022.{{cite web | last=Cline-Thomas | first=Aundrea | title=Gov. Hochul Says 2nd Avenue Subway Expansion Into East Harlem Will Get Green Light From Federal Infrastructure Law | website=CBS New York – Breaking News, Sports, Weather, Traffic And The Best of NY | date=November 23, 2021 | url=https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/11/23/hochul-second-avenue-subway-expansion-east-harlem-federal-infrastructure/ | access-date=November 26, 2021}} A $400 million grant for the Second Avenue Subway was included in the Biden administration's proposed 2022 budget,{{cite web | last=Shahrigian | first=Shant | title=Biden to propose $400M for Second Ave. subway extension, Schumer and Espaillat reveal | website=nydailynews.com | date=March 28, 2022 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/us-elections-government/ny-second-avenue-subway-extension-joe-biden-schumer-espaillat-20220328-mobc4hcqpfdq3ek4jdrgabqwsm-story.html | access-date=April 19, 2022}}{{cite web | last=Rivoli | first=Dan | title=Biden signals support for Second Avenue subway expansion to East Harlem | website=Spectrum News NY1 | date=March 28, 2022 | url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2022/03/28/biden-signals-support-for-second-avenue-subway-expansion-to-east-harlem | access-date=April 19, 2022}} and land acquisition for Phase 2 started in April 2022.{{cite web | last=Garber | first=Nick | title=125th Street Building Seized By MTA For Second Avenue Subway | website=Harlem, NY Patch | date=April 19, 2022 | url=https://patch.com/new-york/harlem/125th-street-building-seized-mta-second-avenue-subway | access-date=April 19, 2022}} Due to a delay in the implementation of congestion pricing in New York City, there were concerns that funding for Phase 2 would also be delayed.{{cite magazine |id={{ProQuest|2682468637}} |title=Second Avenue subway steams forward amid funding questions: Delays to congestion pricing implementation may throw a wrench into the up to $7B project's funding formula |last=Spivack |first=Caroline |volume=38 |issue=25 |date=July 27, 2022 |page=17 |magazine=Crain's New York Business}} In April 2023, it was reported that the MTA had filed paperwork indicating plans to use eminent domain in order to acquire certain properties along the route.{{Cite news |date=April 21, 2023 |title=2nd Avenue subway plans to expand with use of eminent domain |work=WABC-TV |url=https://abc7ny.com/2nd-avenue-subway-ave-harlem-125th-street/13163937/ |access-date=May 27, 2023}}

The MTA began soliciting bids in July 2023 for the first Phase 2 construction contract, which involved utility relocations.{{cite web | last=Simko-Bednarski | first=Evan | title=MTA seeks contracts for Harlem phase of NYC Second Ave. subway | website=New York Daily News | date=July 5, 2023 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-second-avenue-subway-phase-two-20230705-cimmuqdqc5dnrb2tfqhqpuz6ue-story.html | access-date=July 5, 2023}}{{cite web | last=Saltonstall | first=Gus | title=SEE IT: First-Ever Rendering Of 2nd Ave East Harlem Subway Extension | website=Harlem, NY Patch | date=July 5, 2023 | url=https://patch.com/new-york/harlem/see-it-first-ever-rendering-revealed-2nd-ave-east-harlem-extension | access-date=July 5, 2023}} That October, the federal government announced a $3.4 billion grant for the construction of Phase 2.{{cite web | last=Brachfeld | first=Ben | title=Feds set to award $3.4 billion infrastructure grant for Second Avenue Subway extension | website=amNewYork | date=October 24, 2023 | url=https://www.amny.com/transit/feds-award-infrastructure-grant-second-avenue-subway-extension/ | access-date=October 25, 2023}}{{cite web | last=Simko-Bednarski | first=Evan | title=NYC's Second Ave. subway line set to get $3.4B from feds to complete next phase, Sen. Schumer says | website=New York Daily News | date=October 24, 2023 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2023/10/24/nycs-second-ave-subway-line-set-to-get-3-4b-from-feds-to-complete-next-phase-sen-schumer-says/ | access-date=October 25, 2023}} At the time, Phase 2 was set to open in early 2032.{{cite web |last=Stallone |first=Michael |date=October 31, 2023 |title=2nd Avenue subway Harlem extension due to open in 2032: What to know |url=https://www.fox5ny.com/news/second-avenue-subway-harlem-extension |access-date=November 1, 2023 |publisher=FOX 5 New York}}{{cite web |last=Simko-Bednarski |first=Evan |date=October 30, 2023 |title=Second Ave. subway's Harlem extension due in 2032: documents |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2023/10/30/second-ave-subways-harlem-extension-due-in-2032-documents/ |access-date=November 1, 2023 |website=New York Daily News}} A contract for utility relocations between 105th and 110th Streets was awarded in January 2024, with work set to begin that March.{{cite web | last=Simko-Bednarski | first=Evan | title=Next round of Second Ave. subway work to begin in spring: MTA | website=New York Daily News | date=January 22, 2024 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/01/22/next-round-of-second-ave-subway-work-to-begin-in-spring-mta/ | access-date=January 23, 2024}}{{cite web | last=Mocker | first=Greg | title=Next phase of Second Avenue Subway begins work into East Harlem | website=PIX11 | date=January 22, 2024 | url=https://pix11.com/news/local-news/manhattan/next-phase-of-second-avenue-subway-begins-work-into-east-harlem/ | access-date=January 23, 2024}} The MTA also stated it would reduce the cost of Phase 2 by at least $1 billion through methods such as constructing smaller stations & platforms while also reutilizing tunnels built in the 1970s rather than demolishing them.{{cite news |url=https://new.mta.info/document/131306 |title=Second Avenue Subway: Phase 2 Technical Briefing|work=MTA.info |date=January 22, 2024 |access-date=January 23, 2024}} Although the MTA had awarded an $182 million contract to relocate utilities,{{cite web | last=Paolicelli | first=Alyssa | title=Uncertainty over the Second Avenue subway extension | website=Spectrum News NY1 | date=June 11, 2024 | url=https://ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/transit/2024/06/11/uncertainty-over-the-second-avenue-subway-extension | access-date=June 18, 2024}} work on that contract was delayed after Hochul paused the implementation of congestion pricing in June 2024.{{cite web | last=Brachfeld | first=Ben | title=Congestion pricing: Work completely halted on Second Avenue Subway extension following Hochul pause | website=amNewYork | date=June 18, 2024 | url=https://www.amny.com/transit/congestion-pricing-work-second-avenue-subway-extension/ | access-date=June 18, 2024}} That July, Hochul provided $54 million in state discretionary funds, allowing utility work to resume.{{cite web | last=Ley | first=Ana | title=Hochul Allocates $54 Million to Continue Work on Second Avenue Subway | website=The New York Times | date=July 30, 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/nyregion/second-avenue-subway-expansion.html | access-date=July 30, 2024}} The MTA sued three landowners in August 2024, alleging that the landowners were refusing to allow the MTA to conduct pre-construction surveys for Phase 2 of the subway.{{cite web | last=Spivack | first=Caroline | title=MTA sues Harlem landlords to advance Second Avenue subway | website=Crain's New York Business | date=August 26, 2024 | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/mta-sues-harlem-landlords-advance-second-avenue-subway | access-date=August 27, 2024}}{{cite web | last=McDowell | first=Michael | title=MTA Accuses NYC Landlords Of Stalling Second Ave Subway: Report | website=Harlem, NY Patch | date=August 27, 2024 | url=https://patch.com/new-york/harlem/mta-accuses-nyc-landlords-stalling-second-ave-subway-report | access-date=August 27, 2024}} Although the MTA approved its 2025–2029 Capital program in September 2024, it was still unclear whether Phase 2 would be fully funded without funding from the congestion charge.{{cite web |last=Brachfeld |first=Ben |date=September 25, 2024 |title=Future of Second Avenue Subway expansion in limbo as money fails to materialize following congestion pricing pause |url=https://www.amny.com/transit/future-of-second-avenue-subway-expansion-in-limbo-as-money-fails-to-materialize-following-congestion-pricing-pause/ |access-date=September 30, 2024 |website=amNewYork}}

The MTA voted in November 2024 to implement the congestion pricing program.{{cite web | last1=Ley | first1=Ana | last2=Hu | first2=Winnie | last3=Ashford | first3=Grace | title=Congestion Pricing Opponents Renew Attacks as NYC Plan Returns | website=The New York Times | date=November 18, 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/18/nyregion/congestion-pricing-vote-mta.html | access-date=November 19, 2024}} The next month, the agency awarded a $182 million contract for Phase 2's construction to Tectonic Engineering.{{cite web | title=MTA selects Tectonic Engineering to lead construction management services for Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 project | website=Mass Transit | date=December 18, 2024 | url=https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrastructure/press-release/55250614/tectonic-engineering-consultants-geologists-land-surveyors-dpc-mta-selects-tectonic-engineering-to-lead-construction-management-services-for-second-avenue-subway-phase-2-project | access-date=December 19, 2024}} Congestion pricing went into effect in January 2025, and the MTA began soliciting bids for the design and construction of Phase 2.{{cite web | last=Spivack | first=Caroline | title=MTA advances Second Avenue subway expansion | website=Crain's New York Business | date=January 13, 2025 | url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/mta-advances-second-avenue-subway-expansion | access-date=January 15, 2025}}{{cite web | last=Martinez | first=Jose | title=Second Ave. Subway’s Next Leg Progresses With Promise of Congestion Pricing Funds | website=THE CITY - NYC News | date=January 13, 2025 | url=https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/01/13/subways-second-leg-progresses-congestion-pricing-funds/ | access-date=January 15, 2025}} That March, the MTA indicated that it would hire a joint venture of AECOM and HNTB to serve as Phase 2's consultant for $186 million.{{cite web |last=Khalifeh |first=Ramsey |date=March 23, 2025 |title=MTA plans to hire $186M consultant to oversee Second Avenue subway construction |url=https://gothamist.com/news/mta-plans-to-hire-186m-consultant-to-oversee-second-avenue-subway-construction |access-date=March 23, 2025 |website=Gothamist}} At the March 2025 board meeting, the MTA awarded both a $186 million contract to a joint venture of AECOM and HNTB to serve as Phase 2's Project Management Consultant, which includes procurement support, design compliance, construction compliance, and management of testing and commissioning, and increased the Design Consultant's contract, a joint venture of WSP Global and STV, by $59 million (to a total of $255 million) to advance the design for Contract 4 from preliminary to detailed design due to the change in delivery model from design-build to design-bid-build.{{cite web |last=Khalifeh |first=Ramsey |date=March 23, 2025 |title=MTA plans to hire $186M consultant to oversee Second Avenue subway construction |url=https://gothamist.com/news/mta-plans-to-hire-186m-consultant-to-oversee-second-avenue-subway-construction |access-date=March 23, 2025 |website=Gothamist}}{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Haley |last2=Campanile |first2=Carl |last3=Troutman |first3=Matt |date=2025-03-26 |title=MTA greenlights $250M for consultants to expand Second Avenue subway — which they claim will cost $4.3B per mile to build |url=https://nypost.com/2025/03/26/us-news/mta-greenlights-250m-for-consultants-to-expand-second-avenue-subway-which-they-claim-will-cost-4-3b-per-mile-to-build/ |access-date=2025-05-29 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=March 26, 2025 |title=MTA Board Meeting, March 2025 |url=https://www.mta.info/document/167641 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://mta.info/transparency/board-and-committee-meetings/march-2025 |website=MTA Board Meeting, March 2025}} According to the staff summary, the PMC's contract is for 91 months (7.5 years), which may put the completion of Phase 2 in 2032. With the board presentation, the following table shows the updated contract packaging strategy for Second Avenue Subway Phase 2.

Phase 3, which has no funding commitments, will extend the line southward along Second Avenue from 63rd Street to Houston Street.{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ave-subway-track-open-2016-mta-article-1.1251331|title=Second Ave. subway on track to open in 2016: MTA|last=Donohue|first=Pete|date=January 20, 2013|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=March 25, 2013}} Upon its completion, a new service will operate running between Harlem–125th Street and Houston Street. In 2017, phases 2 and 3 were estimated to cost a combined $14.2 billion.{{Cite web|url=http://pix11.com/2017/01/26/second-avenue-subway-expansion-to-be-added-to-trumps-infrastructure-priority-congresswoman-says/|title=Second Avenue Subway expansion to be added to Trump's infrastructure priorities, congresswoman says|date=January 27, 2017|website=New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV|access-date=January 27, 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.amny.com/transit/second-avenue-subway-a-priority-for-trump-rep-maloney-says-1.13020262|title=Maloney: Second Ave. subway is a priority for Trump|newspaper=am New York|access-date=January 27, 2017|language=en}} In 2023, the MTA indicated in its 20-year needs assessment that the construction of Phase 3 was not a priority, as the agency wished to extend Phase 2 westward instead.{{cite web | last1=Guse | first1=Clayton | last2=Nessen | first2=Stephen | title=Dream of downtown 2nd Avenue subway once again denied | website=Gothamist | date=April 12, 2024 | url=https://gothamist.com/news/dream-of-downtown-second-avenue-subway-once-again-denied | access-date=April 16, 2024}}

Phase 4, which also has no funding commitments, will provide an extension from Houston Street to a permanent terminus, with storage tracks, at Hanover Square. These storage tracks, initially recommended in the SDEIS, would allow for the storage of four trains, and they would run south of Hanover Square from Coenties Slip to a traffic island located near Peter Minuit Plaza at a depth of {{Convert|110|feet|meters}}.{{rp|16}} The Hanover Square terminal is only planned to be able to turn back 26 trains per hour instead of 30 as less capacity will be needed on the line south of 63rd Street.{{rp|26}} The Hanover Square station would be deep enough to allow for the potential extension of Second Avenue Subway service to Brooklyn through a new tunnel under the East River.

In October 2023, the MTA published a comparative evaluation of potential expansion and improvement projects to the region's transit system as part of its 2025–2044 Twenty-Year Needs Assessment. One project evaluated was the extension of the line westward under 125th Street. If built, the extension would be estimated to cost $7.5 billion.{{cite web | last=Siff | first=Andrew | title=MTA unveils plan to expand 2nd Avenue subway | website=NBC New York | date=October 5, 2023 | url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/mta-unveils-plan-to-expand-2nd-avenue-subway/4743100/ | access-date=October 6, 2023}} On January 9, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul announced her support for this project in her 2024 State of the State Address. The book for the address stated that a study would be completed in six months to evaluate the feasibility of the project and the potential to have the tunnel boring machines that will construct a portion of Phase 2 continue west on 125th Street for this extension.{{Cite web|first2=Stephen|last2=Nessen|first1=Jon|last1=Campbell|title= Gov. Hochul wants to extend 2nd Ave. subway to West Harlem|url=https://gothamist.com/news/gov-hochul-wants-to-extend-2nd-ave-subway-to-west-harlem|date=January 9, 2024|access-date=January 9, 2024|website=Gothamist}}

{{Reflist|group=note}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book | last=Plotch | first=Philip Mark | title=Last Subway | publisher=Three Hills | publication-place=Ithaca [New York] | date=2020 | isbn=978-0-8014-5366-3}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090529150142/http://www.transitmuseumeducation.org/fbu/projects/secondavenue Second Avenue Subway: A New York Transit Museum online exhibit]
• {{NYCS ref|http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/The_Second_Avenue_Subway|The Second Avenue Subway|Overview}}

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Category:History of the New York City Subway

2nd Avenue

2nd Avenue Subway