Get It Done

The passage of the NY Transportation Bond Act sets in motion the city and state's ability to fund the construction of the Second Avenue subway line. This mythical beast has floated around in political circles for more than two generations. The original Second Avenue and Third Avenue lines were elevated lines that were dismantled before an underground replacement could be built. The East Side of Manhattan has thereafter lacked a suitable transportation system. Riders have been forced onto the Lexington Avenue subway, which is the busiest in the system.

The first segment of the line is expected to be completed in 2012 (which would have been great had the 2012 Olympics been held in NYC).

Shovels will break ground next year on the new subway line's first phase, which will run down Second Avenue from 96th Street to 63rd Street, MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow said yesterday.

"It is funded," Kalikow said of the project. "It doesn't get any better than this."

Look for him on the line when it opens in 2012 — right around his 70th birthday.

"I'm going to ride through with my half-fare [senior citizen] MetroCard in the first car," Kalikow said. "You'll see me waving if you're in the stations."

The line's first segment is expected to carry 202,000 daily weekday riders.

The line is expected to run up to 125th street and down to the Financial District, including a stop at the South Street Seaport. However, there is no funding available at this time for those segments, nor is there any timetable for when that would happen. The expected cost for the whole line as currently envisioned would be north of $13 billion.

UPDATE:
The Gothamist has more on the trials and tribulations of the 'T' line.