MTA 2nd Ave Subway Report Casts Doubt on December Launch

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Last week, MTA officials said that the 2nd Ave Subway project was on track for its December launch, but a report released Monday casts doubt on that projection. According to a report from an independent engineer, the MTA reached just 70 percent of its construction goals for the 2nd Ave Subway project in June. The report was presented during Monday's July 2016 Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting.

In addition to missing construction goals, the testing schedule for the program "has slipped further behind the schedule for test completion," according to the report. The report identified four issues that posed "significant risk" to the project's completion by December.

Here are the four issues, according to the presentation:

• Pace of the testing program
• Installation of the communication systems
• Backlog of final changes
• Station room inspections

Monday's report is a far cry from a presentation given last week at Community Board 8's 2nd Ave Subway Task Force. During that meeting, Tom Peyton, director of construction, said that the project was on-schedule and on-budget for a December launch and did not mention the missed June goals or the four significant risks outlined in Monday's report.

During last week's meeting Peyton said there are only five active contracts left in the project, most of them involving putting finishing touches on the new stations. Peyton said there's also some systems work left to do, such as pulling miles of power cables. Monday's report identified that systems work and final changes as risks to the project's December launch goal. The report is not a direct contradiction of Peyton's project update, but it doesn't paint as nice a picture.

The report identified the proposed 72nd Street station as behind schedule. Work on the 72nd Street station is being done by the contracting company Judlau.

But despite Monday's report, which was given by an independent engineer (not an MTA official), the MTA is not budging on its December goal, said MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz. Ortiz said the MTA is taking several measures — such as ordering extra elevator cabs at 72nd Street, having contractors put in overtime work and adding a night construction shift — to ensure June's missed goals will not delay the project.

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