MTA Awards Historic $2B D-B Project
For Second Avenue Subway, Phase II
NEW YORK—The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board on Aug. 18 approved the Design-Build tunnel-boring contract for Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway, the project extending the Q train from 96 Street to 125 Street that will deliver new transit access to East Harlem residents.
The contract, valued at $1.972 billion, is being awarded to Connect Plus Partners, a joint venture between Halmar International of Nanuet, NY and FCC Construction, which is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. It is the second of four construction contracts for the Q train extension.
The new tunnel will extend from 116 Street to 125 Street. Crews under this contract will also excavate space for the future 125 Street Station and—in a cost-containment measure that saves the MTA $500 million—will outfit the tunnel along the route that was built in the 1970s to accommodate the future 116 Street Station.
The work to bore the new tunnel, between 35 and 120 feet below Second Avenue, is expected to take place using 750-ton machines equipped with 22-foot diamond-studded drill heads. Early work will commence later this year, with heavy civil construction starting in early 2026 and the tunnel boring itself expected to begin in 2027.
Officials said it has been a century since the people of East Harlem were promised the new subway. East Harlem is one of the most transit-reliant neighborhoods in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul noted. The extension will serve tens of thousands of commuters who lack subway access. “The Second Avenue Subway will change everything; it will shorten commutes for over 100,000 daily riders and make East Harlem more vibrant than ever. Awarding this contract means that the time for promises to this community is over and the time for building is here—next stop 125 Street!”
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “This is a meaningful step forward not only for the project but everyone in East Harlem and Central Harlem. Locals have waited almost 100 long years for their promised subway extension.”
He thanked the governor and “our partners in Washington.” He described it as “the largest tunneling contract in agency history.”
The line’s first construction contract was awarded in January 2024 for utility relocation work. Crews working under that contract are relocating underground utilities from 105 St. to 110 St. on Second Avenue at the site of the future 106 St. Station to facilitate the subsequent construction of the station.
Crews working under the third contract will build the underground space for the future station at 106 St. and Second Ave. That contract is currently in procurement. The fourth and final contract will cover the fit-out of the three stations, at 106 St., 116 St. and 125 St., and the systems needed to run train service, such as track, signal, power and communications. This contract is currently in design.
Second Ave. Subway Phase 2 is on schedule with a revenue service date of September 2032, and on budget. The project budget is $6.99 billion and is funded in part by revenues from the Congestion Relief Zone tolling program.
Published: August 20, 2025.