If you live, work, or commute on the East Side, drop whatever you’re doing. The mythical, century-long wait is finally over: crews have officially broken ground on Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway.
For nearly 100 years, it’s been the city’s most famous “almost there” subway project–half blueprint, half urban legend. But now, the Second Avenue Subway is no longer just a promise on paper.
While the MTA confirmed earlier this year that major construction would kick off in 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul and transit leaders just gathered in Harlem to put shovels in the dirt. This marks the first time anyone has broken ground on a Second Avenue subway expansion in East Harlem in exactly 54 years–the last attempt being in 1972, right before the city’s 1975 fiscal crisis forced workers to walk away from empty, “dead-end” tunnels.
But this time, the machines are real and it’s full steam ahead.
A “Ghost Project” Finally Becomes Reality
First proposed in 1929, the Second Avenue Subway has survived just about every obstacle New York could throw at a megaproject: the Great Depression, World War II, fiscal collapse in the 1970s, and decades of stop-and-start funding battles.
Only one segment of the line ever made it into service: Phase 1, which finally brought the Q train to 96th Street in 2017.
Now Phase 2 is pushing that line even deeper into East Harlem.
What Breaking Ground Actually Means Right Now
This isn’t just ceremonial shovels in the dirt.
The MTA says the project is now entering full-scale construction preparation at 120th Street and 2nd Avenue—the launch site where, in early 2027, state-of-the-art Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) will be lowered into the earth.
These massive machines–each weighing more than a million pounds–will carve out new subway tunnels beneath Second Avenue, pushing the line north toward 125th Street.
In other words: the heavy digging is about to begin.
The Q Train’s Next Stop: Harlem’s Long-Awaited Connection
Phase 2 will extend the Q train roughly 1.5 miles north from 96th Street to 125th Street, then curve west along 125th Street toward Park Avenue.
The expansion will bring three brand-new, fully accessible ADA stations to the neighborhood:
- 106th Street & Second Avenue
- 116th Street & Second Avenue
- 125th Street & Lexington Avenue
That final 125th Street stop is expected to become a massive transfer hub, allowing straphangers to seamlessly connect to the 4, 5, and 6 lines, the Metro-North Railroad, and the M60 Select Bus Service straight to LaGuardia Airport.
For East Harlem, it’s the first true subway expansion in generations.
Recycled “Ghost Tunnels” and $1 Billion in Savings
Before the TBMs even arrive, crews are focused on utility relocation and early tunnel preparation—arguably the most complex part of building anything in New York City.
The MTA has also awarded a major new construction contract for the final tunnel segment between 105th and 110th Streets, which includes excavation work for the future 106th Street station using a “cut-and-cover” method.
Officials say lessons learned from Phase 1 are already paying off, with more than $1 billion in projected cost savings thanks to streamlined construction methods and updated contracting strategies.
A major secret to those savings? Contractors are actually reusing a hidden segment of the subway tunnel built back in the 1970s between 110th and 120th Streets, adapting it for the future 116th Street station rather than digging entirely from scratch.
Why This Stretch of Subway Matters More Than Most
East Harlem is one of the most transit-reliant neighborhoods in the country–over 70% of residents rely on public transit–yet it has essentially been a transit desert since the old Second Avenue Elevated line stopped service above 57th Street in 1940.
Once the extension is fully operational, it will:
- Serve 300,000 daily riders (combining Phase 1 and Phase 2)
- Slash commute times by up to 20 minutes for riders traveling from East Harlem to West Midtown, the Upper East Side, or all the way down to Coney Island
- Massively relieve crowding on the notoriously packed 4, 5, and 6 trains on the Lexington Avenue line
A Timeline Still Years Away—But Already Planning a West Side Extension
Even with construction now underway, New New Yorkers won’t be riding the extension anytime soon.
The current projected opening is September 2032, meaning this phase will take nearly a decade to complete. But compared to the century-long wait already behind it, the project is finally moving on a measurable timeline instead of an eternal “someday.”
And there’s already a “next next” phase.
Alongside the groundbreaking, Governor Hochul announced that the state has secured $25 million to begin preliminary engineering and environmental reviews for a potential extension west across 125th Street to Broadway.
If advanced, that expansion would add three more stations and unlock rides for an additional 160,000 daily New Yorkers. Even better, crews would be able to seamlessly use the exact same tunnel-boring equipment from Phase 2, saving the city massive time and money.
For now, though, the focus is simple: dig, build, and finally deliver the subway line New Yorkers were first promised almost a century ago.
