CONFIRMED90% CONFIDENCEHappened as dated: the announcement of 8 June 2026 is headed "Governor Hochul Celebrates Groundbreaking for Major Construction Stage of Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 Project".[1]
- Start
- Jun 8, 202690% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 Breaks Ground in East Harlem
The MTA started the major construction stage of the 1.5-mile extension that carries the Q from 96th Street to Harlem-125th Street, with new stations at 106th, 116th and 125th Streets. A tunnel boring machine goes underground in early 2027 and trains are due in 2032.
- Governor Kathy Hochul joined MTA leadership, elected officials and Harlem community leaders on June 8, 2026 to break ground on the major construction stage of Second Avenue Subway Phase 2[1]
- Phase 2 extends the Q from 96 Street north to 125 Street and then west along 125 Street to Park Avenue, about 1.5 miles in all, with three new accessible stations at 106 Street, 116 Street and 125 Street[1]
- The groundbreaking site is where the variable-density tunnel-boring machine will be lowered into the ground in early 2027 to mine from 120 Street and 2nd Avenue to 125 Street and Malcolm X Boulevard; the machines are due to be delivered "early next year", weigh more than one and a half million pounds and carry 23-foot tungsten carbide cutter heads that can toggle between hard rock and soft soil[1]
- The whole project is budgeted at $6.968 billion and is "on track for revenue service in 2032"[1]
- Phase 2 is being delivered in four contracts against 10 in Phase 1; tunnel boring sits in Contract 2 at $1.97 billion, covering shaft excavation, controlled blasting for future stations and asbestos and lead abatement in the 1970s tunnels[1]
- Contract 3, announced at the groundbreaking, will build the structural shells of the 106 St Station and the tunnelling from 105 Street to 110 Street by cut and cover, connecting the existing tunnels north and south of the station, with work expected to begin in the coming months[1]
- The contract award followed the resumption of federal funding in April, and advanced utility relocations finishing early let pending work start six months faster than originally scheduled[1]
- Lessons from Phase 1 have produced more than $1 billion in savings - handling utility relocation upfront, reusing the 1970s tunnel segment from 110 Street to 120 Street, acquiring real estate early, best-value design-build contracts, tighter contract coordination and smaller back-of-house and station spaces[1]
- Ridership is stated at different scopes: 100,000 East Harlem daily riders for the extension, 300,000 daily riders once combined with Phase 1 - the same figure Senator Schumer uses for New Yorkers benefiting on completion, alongside "almost two miles of new track, six new stations, and one fully refurbished station"[1]
- The new 125 Street station will connect directly to the Lexington Avenue line's 125 St station, with a Park Avenue entrance for Metro-North's Harlem-125 Street station, the 4 5 6 lines and the M60 Select Bus Service to LaGuardia; one-seat rides to the Upper East Side, West Midtown and Coney Island are said to shorten trips by up to 20 minutes[1]
- The project is funded in part by congestion pricing revenue, carries a 20 percent local hiring goal, and serves a district where 70 percent of residents rely on transit; Schumer says he secured "$3.4 billion in federal funding - the largest Capital Investment Grant in history at the time"[1]
- Hochul noted the previous East Harlem groundbreaking was 54 years ago: Second Avenue service was part of the 1920s Second System plan, bonded by city voters in 1948 but left unbuilt after the Korean War began, and started in 1972 before being abandoned in the 1975 fiscal crisis[1]
- A further phase is already being scoped - the Q running west across 125th Street to Broadway with three new stations and more than 160,000 daily riders - with $25 million secured in the FY27 enacted state budget for preliminary engineering and design[1]
Cost $7B
References 190% CONFIDENCE
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- [1]90%governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-celebrates-groundbreaking-major-construction-stage-second-avenue-subway-phasegovernor.ny.gov· Posted Sep 20, 2026· Starts Jun 8, 2026 ✓· 100% of score
Happened as dated: the announcement of 8 June 2026 is headed "Governor Hochul Celebrates Groundbreaking for Major Construction Stage of Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 Project".
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