Second Avenue Subway Extension Could Cost Billions Less, Report Says

HARLEM, NY — A planned extension of the Second Avenue Subway across 125th Street could cost billions less — and be easier for riders to use — if the MTA builds smaller, shallower stations, according to a new report released Wednesday.

Effective Transit Alliance New York argues that the MTA should rethink preliminary plans for the proposed westward extension, which would carry the Second Avenue Subway across Harlem from Lexington Avenue to Broadway.

The project would add three stations along roughly 1.25 miles of 125th Street, connecting the Second Avenue line with the 2/3, A/B/C/D and 1 trains.

MTA projections cited by the group put ridership at more than 160,000 passengers per day.

But the extension carries an estimated price tag of $7.7 billion, according to the report. Effective Transit Alliance argues that much of that cost stems from plans for unusually deep and large stations.

Current concepts put stations about 120 feet underground at Lenox Avenue, 130 feet at St. Nicholas Avenue and 100 feet at Broadway, the report said.

At the deepest stations, getting between trains and the street or connecting subway lines could take about five minutes.

Instead, the group recommends bringing the stations closer to the surface and relying more heavily on “cut-and-cover” construction, in which crews excavate from street level before covering the work area again.

It also calls for narrower platforms, shorter station boxes and less underground space devoted to offices and other non-passenger uses.

The advocates acknowledge that such construction could cause more disruption on 125th Street while work is underway.

But they argue that accepting greater short-term disruption could dramatically reduce construction costs while producing stations that are faster for riders to enter and exit.

The report points to the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway on the Upper East Side and Grand Central Madison as cautionary examples, arguing that oversized, deep underground facilities contributed to high costs and lengthy travel times within the stations.

The MTA, meanwhile, has said it is examining ways to deliver the 125th Street project “better, faster, and cheaper.” The state committed $25 million this year to advance design and environmental review of the proposed crosstown extension, according to recent MTA presentations.

The proposal is separate from the Second Avenue Subway's Phase 2 extension now under construction, which will extend Q train service north from 96th Street through East Harlem to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue. Construction activity for that project is already underway along the corridor.

Effective Transit Alliance said it supports eventually extending the subway west across Harlem — but argues that the MTA has an opportunity to redesign the project before plans advance further.

“The problem is ultimately not a 125 St subway or investing billions of dollars in New York transit expansion,” the group wrote. “New York must get value for its money.”

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.