NEW YORK—The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Oct. 8 the release of the draft scoping document and opening of the public comment period for the planned 125 Street Subway Tunnel Extension project.

The Second Avenue Subway (SAS) Phase 2, currently under construction, will extend the Q Line from its current terminus at 96 Street with three new stations, ending at 125 Street and Lexington Avenue. Phase 2 will utilize two massive tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will end their run under West 125 Street between Lenox and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr Avenues. This presents a unique opportunity to make use of these machines to build the tunnel for a future crosstown subway under 125 Street, MTA officials stated. By continuing westward, the 125 Street Subway Tunnel Extension would facilitate future crosstown subway service with transfer stations at Lenox Ave (2, 3 trains), St. Nicholas Ave (A, C, B and D trains), and Broadway (1 trains).

The future extension, first identified in the MTA’s last 20-Year Needs Assessment, would greatly improve travel across 125 Street—the busiest crosstown bus corridor in Manhattan. It would connect to seven subway lines and Metro-North while giving Harlemites a one-seat ride to jobs, health care, and other destinations on Manhattan’s East and West sides.