Second Avenue Subway Phase 2

Alignment

Phase 2 extends the Q train about 1.5 miles north from 96 St, the terminus of Phase 1, which opened on January 1, 2017. The line continues up Second Avenue through East Harlem, then turns west under 125th Street. It adds three fully accessible stations: 106 St and 116 St on Second Avenue, and 125 St at Lexington Avenue, with an entrance at Park Avenue. The 125 St station connects to the 4, 5 and 6 trains and to Metro-North at Harlem–125 St. The FTA’s 2023 grant announcement describes the extension as 1.8 miles. Officials say the extension will cut some trips by up to 20 minutes, and ENR reports a forecast of 110,000 daily riders.

The extension is entirely underground. South of 120th Street it reuses tunnel sections built in the 1970s between 99th and 105th streets and between 110th and 120th streets. A new cut-and-cover tunnel will close the gap between 105th and 110th streets, and the 1970s tunnel at 116th Street will be converted into that station’s box. North of 120th Street, tunnel boring machines launched from a site at 120th Street and Second Avenue will bore twin tunnels north and then west under 125th Street. The machines are due to finish west of the station, between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard.

The MTA split construction into four main contracts, compared with ten for Phase 1. Contract 1 covers utility relocation at 106 St. Contract 2 covers the bored tunnels, the rehabilitation of the old tunnels, seven shafts, and the structural shells for 116 St and 125 St. Contract 3 covers the 106 St station shell and its tunnel connections. Contract 4 covers station fit-out, track, signals and systems.

Updates

2026-10 — Environmental review opens for a westward 125th Street tunnel

The MTA began environmental review of a tunnel-only extension under West 125th Street that would reuse the Phase 2 boring machines. A December 2025 feasibility study priced that tunnel at $1.1 billion (2027 dollars). The MTA expects Phase 2 tunneling to finish in late 2028 and the whole project to be complete by the end of 2032.

2026-09 — Final construction contract advanced

The MTA issued a request for qualifications for Contract 4, the largest of the four. It covers fit-out of the three stations, including 22 elevators and 20 escalators, along with track, signals and communications-based train control. The MTA plans to pick a contractor in mid-2027. The Governor’s office put the budget at $6.968 billion and full completion in fall 2032. It said Contract 1 was about 60% complete, Contract 2 was due for substantial completion in September 2029, and Contract 3 in the third quarter of 2030.

2026-06 — Station contract awarded; major construction begins

The MTA awarded a $1.02 billion design-build contract to a Skanska, Traylor Bros. and Walsh Construction joint venture for the 106 St station shell and related tunnelling. The 50-month contract is due for substantial completion in August 2030. Officials held a groundbreaking for the major construction stage in Harlem, and a tunnel boring machine is due to be lowered at the 120th Street site in early 2027.

2026-04 — Federal funding restored after MTA lawsuit

Federal reimbursements stopped on September 30, 2025, while the U.S. Department of Transportation reviewed whether the MTA’s contracting used race- and sex-based criteria. The MTA sued in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on March 17, 2026, claiming $58.6 million in withheld payments. On April 16, hours before oral arguments, the department said it had finished its review and would restore funding. The MTA certified that it had stopped using contractors’ diversity track records in bid evaluations for federally funded work.

2025-08 — $1.97 billion tunnelling contract approved

The MTA board awarded Contract 2 to Connect Plus Partners, a joint venture of Halmar International and FCC Construction. Its bid came in nearly $200 million below the rival bid. The contract covers the twin bored tunnels, rehabilitation of the 1970s tunnel south of 120th Street, seven shafts, and the 116 St and 125 St station shells. At the time, the MTA targeted revenue service for September 2032. ENR put the total project cost at nearly $7.7 billion including about $0.7 billion in financing costs.

2024-01 — First construction contract awarded

After seeking bids from July 2023, the MTA awarded Contract 1 for utility relocation at the future 106 St station. Doing this work before major excavation was one of the cost-saving lessons the MTA took from Phase 1.

2023-11 — $3.4 billion Full Funding Grant Agreement signed

The FTA signed a $3.4 billion Full Funding Grant Agreement for the $7.7 billion project through its Capital Investment Grant program. The extension is meant to relieve the Lexington Avenue Line, which carries 200,000 riders a day. Congestion pricing revenue supports the state’s share.

2018-11 — Environmental review completed

After the MTA published a Supplemental Environmental Assessment in July 2018, the FTA issued a Finding of No Significant Impact on November 15, 2018. That finding completed federal environmental review for Phase 2.