New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is advancing its fourth and final construction contract for Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced.
The agency has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), after which it plans to issue a Request for Proposals to qualified contractors. Those RFPs will go out by the end of the year, officials said. The agency anticipates selecting a contractor in mid-2027. Contract Four is the largest contract of the Phase 2 project and includes construction of station infrastructure, tracks, and signals for the subway expansion. Work on Contract Four will begin in 2027, officials said.
“New Yorkers have been waiting for the Second Avenue Subway for nearly a century and now, with major work underway, we are moving full speed ahead with the final contract to fully deliver this transformative new transit connection to East Harlem,” Hochul said. “We fought hard to keep this project moving forward earlier this year and finally break ground on new tunnels this summer. Once this contract is completed, three beautiful and accessible new subway stations will welcome East Harlem to the subway line they have long been promised.”
The first three contracts for the project are progressing concurrently under a budgeted $6.968 billion, and is expected to be fully completed by the fall of 2032. The project is funded partially through congestion relief revenue and $3.4 billion in federal funding. Upon completion of Phase 2, Q service on the subway will run north from 96 Street to 125 Street and Lexington Ave., an approximately 1.5 miles of subway with three new stations at 106 St., 116 St., and 125 St.
“Three contracts down, one to go in our quest to bring long-awaited transit justice to East Harlem. This fourth and final RFQ covers the architectural finishes and the communications and other systems in the stations – the things that riders directly experience – and we can’t wait to get started,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said.