stations and necessary system infrastructure. The contract will be solicited as a Design-Bid-Build A+B contract, which incentivizes proposers to compete on both cost and time needed to complete the work. In 2022, MTA Construction and Development saved more than $100 million on A+B contract awards compared to estimates. The solicitation has been posted, and a contract is expected to be awarded this fall, with work to begin by the end of the year. According to the solicitation, the due date on the contract is Aug. 30, 2023 and the estimated value of the project is between $50 million to $100 million.

The first contract will also include temporary streetscape modifications that will be required during construction, including new bike lanes to replace those that will be impacted by construction on Second Avenue, and building remediation in preparation for future contracts for the new subway station at 106 Street.

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway is an investment in transit equity and a truly life changing project. The East Harlem community has waited decades for it, and this expansion will serve over 100,000 riders daily, connecting Harlemites to jobs, education and opportunity throughout the region.”

The solicitation announcement follows the Finding of No Significant Impact for the Central Business District Tolling Program issued by the Federal Highway Administration the previous week. Revenue from congestion pricing will support $15 billion in funding for critical projects in the MTA’s current capital program, which includes the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2. The MTA is finalizing a funding agreement with the Federal Transit Administration for the project and has ensured that federally-required contingency for the project is in place through a Capital Plan Amendment approved by the MTA Board recently, subject to approval by the MTA Capital Plan Review Board.

Additional cost containment initiatives in Phase 2 include reuse of a tunnel segment that was built in the 1970s from 110 Street to 120 Street along Second Avenue, early real estate acquisition, adoption of best value contract structures like A+B contracts, reduction in back-of-house and ancillary space, and close coordination of contracts. 

The full scope of the second phase of the project will extend Q train service from 96 Street north to 125 Street and then west on 125 Street to Park Avenue, approximately 1.5 miles in total. There will be two new stations at 106 Street and 116 Street on Second Ave, and a direct passenger connection with the existing 125 Street subway station on the Lexington Avenue subway line. Phase 2 will also feature an entrance at Park Avenue to allow convenient transfers to the Metro-North Railroad 125 Street Station.

Each station will have above-ground ancillary buildings that house ventilation, mechanical, and electrical equipment, as well as space for possible ground-floor retail and community uses. The expansion will serve an additional 100,000 daily riders and provide three new ADA accessible stations. Increased multimodal transit connectivity at the 125 Street station at Park Avenue with connections to the 456, Metro-North trains and the M60 Select Bus Service to LaGuardia Airport, will allow for convenient transfers to other subway and commuter rail lines, facilitating smoother, faster transportation across the city and metropolitan region, MTA officials stated.

Phase 1 of the project extended the Q line from 63 Street to 96 Street and was New York City’s largest expansion of the subway system in 50 years. Service opened on Jan. 1, 2017, with additional stations at 72 Street and 86 Street. Since its completion, the Second Avenue Subway has carried more than 130 million passengers in total, including more than 200,000 passengers on a typical pre-pandemic day.