Design and Construction Report staff writer
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the fourth and final construction contract for Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway, bringing the project closer to extending Q service into East Harlem.
Also, a Request for Proposals will be issued to qualified contractors by the end of this year. A contractor is expected to be selected in mid-2027, with construction beginning later that year.
Contract Four is the largest contract in the $6.968-billion Phase 2 project. It will include the station infrastructure, tracks, signals, systems and architectural finishes needed to complete three new stations at 106th Street, 116th Street and 125th Street. Phase 2 will extend the Q line about 1.5 miles north from 96th Street to 125th Street and Lexington Avenue. The project is expected to be fully completed by fall 2032.
“This fourth and final RFQ covers the architectural finishes and the communications and other systems in the stations — the things that riders directly experience — and we can’t wait to get started,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement.
The final contract will provide the systems fit-out for the three fully accessible stations and connecting tunnel segments. It also includes work to connect the new 125th Street station with the existing 4, 5 and 6 station and a new entrance at Park Avenue.
The Park Avenue entrance will provide connections to Metro-North’s Harlem-125th Street station and the M60 Select Bus Service to LaGuardia Airport.
Major work will include station platforms, entrance canopies and six above-ground ancillary buildings for ventilation, mechanical and electrical equipment. The buildings could also accommodate ground-floor retail and community uses.
The contract also includes mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, station lighting, fire protection, elevators and escalators, communications and security systems, track, third rail, traction power and communications-based train control.
Twenty-two elevators and 20 escalators will be installed across the three stations and related facilities.
Architectural work will include station finishes, signage, wayfinding, fare equipment, customer service facilities and artwork. The contractor will also test and commission the systems and restore streets, sidewalks, traffic signals and other infrastructure affected by construction.
The first three Phase 2 contracts are already underway.
The first contract, awarded in January 2024, covers utility relocation at the future 106th Street station. It is about 60 per cent complete and is expected to finish by summer 2027.
The second contract, awarded in September 2025, covers two new tunnels, rehabilitation of existing tunnels, the 116th Street station box, seven shafts for future ancillary buildings and station entrances, and structural shells for the 116th and 125th Street stations.
The tunnel boring machine for that work is under construction, while crews prepare its launch site. Excavation of the 125th Street entrance shaft has also begun. The contract is forecast to reach substantial completion in September 2029.
The third contract, awarded in April 2026, covers excavation and construction of the 106th Street station structural shell, tunnel connections, ancillary buildings and station entrances, as well as utility work. Substantial completion is expected in the third quarter of 2030.
The project is being funded through congestion relief revenue and $3.4 billion in federal funding.
“The MTA has saved more than $1 billion to date by applying lessons learned from Phase 1 to Phase 2,” said Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA Construction & Development.
The MTA expects the completed extension to bring Q service to three new stations in East Harlem in 2032.
