AM New York reports that the first phase of the Second Avenue subway is more than half finished as of July. Blasting for the 72nd Street station finished in February, but rock-crumbling explosives will be detonated inside the 86th Street station cavern through August, with possibly more blasting in ancillary areas. The end of blasting at 86th Street means the end of the muck houses that handle the debris. Residents will see an improvement in their quality of life near the 86th Street station.
The 86th Street blasting is part of a nearly $310 million cavern mining and lining contract that is 59% complete and is slated for completion in December 2014. Meanwhile, starting in April 2014, crews will add the station’s finishing touches, such as tracks, the third rail, and communications, power and signal cables. That is expected to be completed by May 2016.
The 72nd Street station, meanwhile, is 86% done, with finishes to the station expected to start in September and end in November 2015.
The construction chief said the initial $4.5 billion phase of the Second Avenue subway — two tunnels between 92nd and 63rd streets totaling more than 15,000 feet — is on schedule to be completed by December 2016. The next phases of the Second Avenue subway will cover 125th Street to 96th Street, then south from 63rd Street to Houston Street, with the final leg stretching down to Hanover Square in lower Manhattan.
All good news for the ones that consider long term real estate investments on the East Side of Manhattan. They will be rewarded.