Second Avenue Subway

   

The Second Avenue Subway or SAS refers to a series of public works projects and engineering studies undertaken to construct a subway underneath Second Avenue in New York City's borough of Manhattan. A dream for nearly a century, Second Avenue has yet to see significant progress towards this goal. The SAS is often cited as a particularly egregious example of bureaucratic largesse and government ineptitude. However, the reasons for its failure thus far are varied and complex.

History

The need for a subway line under Manhattan's Second Avenue was realized shortly after the First World War. In 1919, New York's Public Service Commission launched a study at the behest of engineer Daniel L. Turner to determine what improvements were needed in the city's mass transit system.

The Turner Plan

Turner's final paper, titled Proposed Comprehensive Rapid Transit System was a massive plan calling for new routes under almost every north-south Manhattan avenue, extensions to lines in Brooklyn and Queens, and several crossings of The Narrows to Staten Island. Massively scaled-down versions of some of Turner's plans were found in proposals for the new city-owned Independent Subway (IND). Among the plans for Phase II of the IND's construction, commonly called the IND Second System, was a massive trunk line under Second Avenue consisting of at least six tracks and numerous branches throughout Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx.

IND Second System

In 1929, the Board of Transportation tentatively approved a Second Avenue line running from Houston Street to the Harlem River at a projected cost of more than $86,000,000. From north to south, the 1929 plan included six tracks from Harlem to a link with the Sixth Avenue line at 61st Street, at which point four tracks would continue to Chambers Street. Finally, two tracks would continue from Chambers Street to Fulton Street. The full cost for the Second System was projected at nearly half a billion dollars.

Depression

Due to the effects of the Great Depression, the soaring costs of the Second System became unmanageable. Construction on the first phase of the IND was already behind schedule, and the city and state were no longer able to provide funding. A scaled down proposal including a turnoff at 34th Street and a connection crosstown was postponed in 1931.

Further revision of the plan and more studies followed. By 1939, construction had been postponed indefinitely, and Second Avenue was relegated to "proposed" status. The United States' entry into the Second World War in 1941 made all but the most urgent public works projects impossible.

Post-war

Finally, in 1945, plans for the Second Avenue Subway were again revised. The southern two-track portion was abandoned as a possible future plan for connecting the line to Brooklyn. By 1950, the plans called for a connection from Second Avenue at 76th Street to 34th Avenue in Queens, via a new tunnel under the East River. The city was able to raise money for the construction effort—just barely—but the onset of the Korean War caused soaring prices for construction materials and saw the beginning of massive inflation.

In 1964, Congress passed the Urban Mass Transit Act, promising federal money to fund mass transit projects in America's cities via the Urban Mass Transportation Administration. In 1967, voters approved a massive $2.5 billion Transportation Bond Issue, which provided over $600 million for New York City projects. The Second Avenue project was given top priority, and would stretch from 34th Street to The Bronx. The City secured a UMTA grant for initial construction, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 27, 1972. Construction began shortly thereafter.

However, the city soon experienced its most dire crisis yet. The stagnant economy of the 1970s combined with massive outflow of city residents to the suburbs led to fiscal disaster for the city. Construction of the SAS was halted, only two short lengths of tunnel having been completed.

The SAS Today

Beginning with the city's economic recovery in the 1990s, efforts were again made to complete construction of the SAS. The current plan calls for a two-track line extending from 125th street to Hanover Square. A connection to the Broadway line at 63rd Street will allow transfers to the Lexington Avenue and Astoria lines. The MTA's final environmental impact statement was approved in April 2004, with the goal of beginning construction by the end of 2004.

Current Planning

As of now, the plans for the Second Avenue Subway involve digging 8.5 miles of new track from Harlem south to the Financial District. The new stations of the Second Avenue trunk line are proposed as follows:

Station Location Transfers under consideration
125 Street East 125th Street & Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue Line (4, 5, 6)
116 Street East 116th Street & Second Avenue  
106 Street East 106th Street & Second Avenue  
96 Street East 96th Street & Second Avenue  
86 Street East 86th Street & Second Avenue  
72 Street East 72nd Street & Second Avenue  
55 Street East 55th Street & Second Avenue 53rd Street Line (E, V)
42 Street East 42nd Street & Second Avenue Flushing Line (7)
34 Street East 34th Street & Second Avenue  
23 Street East 23rd Street & Second Avenue  
14 Street East 14th Street & Second Avenue 14th Street-Canarsie Line (L)
Houston Street East Houston Street & Second Avenue Sixth Avenue Local Line(F, V)
Grand Street Grand Street & Chrystie Street Sixth Avenue Express/Manhattan Bridge Line (B, D)
Chatham Square Worth Street & Bowery  
Seaport Fulton Street & Water Street  
Hanover Square Hanover Square & Water Street  

The above stations will serve the Second Avenue main service, terminating at 125th Street and at Hanover Square. In addition to the main service, tentatively dubbed the 'T', a connection is planned to the Broadway Line, utilizing an existing connection via the 63rd Street Tunnel. It is likely that the 'Q' service will be extended northward from Midtown-57 St/7 Av Station, curving east under Central Park. Joining up with the 'F' after 6th Avenue, the 'Q' would make a stop at currently-hidden sections of the existing platforms at 63rd Street-Lexington Avenue Station, providing across-the-platform transfers to the 'F'. Then it would curve back northward, joining up with the Second Avenue trunk line. Thus, residents of east Harlem and the Upper East Side will have direct mass transit service down Second Avenue to the Financial District as well as direct service down Broadway to the Financial District and across the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn.

See also

External Links


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