Independent Engineer Concerned Again for December Launch of 2nd Ave Subway

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — In what's becoming a monthly occurrence, the MTA's independent engineering consultant has once again cast doubt on the ability to launch service on the 2nd Ave Subway by the MTA's December goal.

During a Wednesday meeting of the MTA's Capital Program Oversight Committee the engineering consultant once again reported that the MTA may not complete the elevators and escalators at the new 72nd Street Station or the testing of fire alarm systems by December.

The report from the independent engineer comes one day after Upper East Side Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney gave the MTA an "A+" for its work on the 2nd Ave Subway and said there was "no doubt" that the new subway line would be ready for a December launch.

Curiously, the presentation slides regarding the 2nd Ave subway from the Oct. 26 meeting were not posted online. Slides for Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad capital programs discussed during the meeting were posted online, and in the past the MTA has posted slides on the 2nd Ave subway.

When asked, an MTA spokesman told Patch that he could not track down the slides, and that Patch would need to call again the next day.

The concerns stated by the independent engineer Wednesday echoed a report from a September quarterly meeting.

"The test program is not meeting the completion rate required to finish the testing of all key systems needed for a start of revenue service in December," read the engineer's report from September.

At the time the MTA was conducting eight to 10 systems tests a week, but in order to finish all required tests by mid-December the number would have needed to be increased to an average of 25 tests per week, the engineer said in September.

Phase 1 of the 2nd Ave Subway project will construct new Q train stops at 96th, 86th and 72nd street stations along 2nd Avenue and connect the Q to the existing Lexington Avenue-63rd Street station. The additions made to the Q line along 2nd Avenue are expected to support a ridership of 200,000 people.

Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority via Flickr