Second Avenue Subway, phase 2

Building on the success of Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway, which opened on January 1, 2017, Phase 2 is currently underway with teams advancing preliminary design and engineering. 

Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway is a transportation option that is long overdue for the residents and businesses of East Harlem. The area has been a subway desert ever since the Second Avenue El stopped service above 57th Street in 1940. Phase 2 will bring a subway line back to the neighborhood by extending service north from 96th Street to 125th Street, creating three new stations at 106th, 116th, and 125th streets. It will improve mobility for commuters and residents of East Harlem and improve reliability. It will also reduce crowding along the  lines on Lexington Avenue. 

The project received federal environmental approval in November 2018. The MTA is now working with the Federal Transit Administration to advance the project within the Capital Investments Grant program for federal funding, which will be supplemented with local funds. 

The project requires the MTA to acquire some properties needed for constructing entrances and ancillary facilities, as well as launching tunnel-boring equipment. That process is currently underway. A public hearing on the first tranche of properties to be acquired was held in March of 2021, and subsequent hearings will be scheduled as needed. 

Learn more about Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway. 

MTA Construction and Development will be conducting an industry outreach event on July 11, 2023, to provide a project overview of Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway Project. Contractors and Consultants interested in participating on the project are invited to attend.

The event will be held at MTA headquarters, at 2 Broadway in Manhattan. Advance registration is required. Email contracts@mtacd.org to make reservations.