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It's Going To Take 'Unprecedented' Work For The 2nd Ave Subway To Make Deadline
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Nov 15, 2016
Modified Nov 15, 2016
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Nov 15, 2016
Modified Nov 15, 2016
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The 2nd Avenue Subway is supposed to open on December 31st, a mere 97 years after its concept was birthed. Things seem to be falling into place—they've begun testing trains, for one thing; the W train is back in action; and Google Maps recently told me my Q train was bound for 96th Street and 2nd Avenue, which was a mistake but also portends train changes to come. Still, the MTA's not quite finished with the new line, and the Times reports there's an "unprecedented" rush to complete it in time.
At a committee meeting held yesterday, authority chairman Thomas Prendergast announced the MTA was "working very judiciously" to meet the proposed opening date of December 31st. But according to independent engineer Kent Haggas, it's unclear whether workers can conclude necessary fire safety testing by December 15th. "Historically, this kind of testing has proven to be the most painstaking and time-consuming for these projects, and the project’s working to see if they can get ahead of that at this point," Mr. Haggas told the Times.
Granted, there's no time like the present for the unprecedented to become reality. But it wouldn't be all too surprising if the project missed its deadline—the MTA's been teasing us with this for a long time now, and at this point it's mostly a relief that the end is in sight at all.
Note that it's also possible the line will open with a few stations out of order—though the 72nd and 86th Street stations still need work, the 96th Street station is on schedule to be fully operational by the end of next month.
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Rebecca Fishbein
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