1929, the New York City Board of Transportation proposes a Second Avenue Subway line between Houston Street and the Harlem River with service to begin no later than 1941. In October, the Wall Street stock market crashes, ending the project’s immediate prospects.

In 1955, the Third Avenue Elevated Line is demolished, leaving the Lexington Avenue lines as the only subway lines on Manhattan’s East Side. New plans for a Second Avenue line are prepared in 1968, leading to a 1972 groundbreaking. New York City’s financial condition stalls the project, which remains dormant for more than 20 years.

In 1995, the Manhattan East Side Alternatives Study is completed. The study recommends actions to reduce overcrowding on New York City’s Lexington Avenue lines.

In 1999, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is posted, proposing a subway under Second Avenue, moving the subway line closer to becoming a reality.

AECOM, in a joint venture with Arup, is selected by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to prepare conceptual, preliminary and final design documents for New York City’s Second Avenue Subway.

The project is 8.5 miles (13.68 kilometers) of twin tunnel subway running the length of Manhattan and includes rehabilitation of one existing station and 16 new stations. The initial three-year contract period allows for completing the field investigations, supporting the ongoing Environmental Impact Statement development and performing the preliminary engineering work.

Work begins on a comprehensive project approach, including recommendations for construction phasing and operations with 30-day deliverables such as a draft project schedule and cost estimate provided to the client in January 2002. The first project team members are situated at 20 Exchange Place in Lower Manhattan in February 2002. The office helps to restore vibrancy to an area devastated by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Station concept drawings are presented to the client’s Technical Advisory Committee. There is approval received on 125th Street, 116th Street, 106th Street, 96th Street, 86th Street, 72nd Street, 63rd Street, 55th Street, 42nd Street, 34th Street, 23rd Street, 14th Street, Houston Street, Grand Street, Chatham Square, Seaport and Hanover Square stations. Field surveys are completed at 16 of the 17 stations.

Survey work commences on the 63rd Street station. This existing station will eventually be expanded and refurbished as part of the project’s Phase 1 construction to accommodate the new subway line and link it to other lines within the subway system. The AECOM-Arup joint venture receives authorization from Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to proceed to preliminary engineering.

“Adding this Second Avenue line is very important to developing New York City as it will allow for an easier and faster commute for passengers that need to travel along the far East Side,” says Geoffrey Fosbrook, senior vice president, Transportation.

The Second Avenue Subway Final Environmental Impact Statement, which the AECOM-Arup joint venture provided support for, is published. The Federal Transit Administration issues a Record of Decision, stating that the Second Avenue Subway project has satisfied the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The AECOM-Arup joint venture completes preliminary engineering for Phases 2, 3 and 4. The scope of work for extended preliminary engineering of Phase 1 is finalized.

In November 2004, the project gains significant recognition, earning the Green Building Design award from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. The Second Avenue Subway design is noted for positioning station entrances to take advantage of natural light and increase tunnel ventilation, incorporating alternative energy sources such as an aluminum third rail engineered for greater energy efficiency.

Preliminary engineering of all Phases is complete. The Federal Transit Authority authorizes the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to begin final design of Phase 1 and the final design contract is awarded. The AECOM-Arup joint venture is selected to perform Phase 1 final design.

For the fourth time in 80 years, ground is broken for the Second Avenue Subway line. The event is attended by members of the AECOM-Arup joint venture, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Construction Commission and New York City Transit, as well as other state leaders.

The full funding agreement for the subway is signed in November 2007 guaranteeing US$1.3 billion in federal funding for the construction of the first phase, which will run along Second Avenue, north from 63rd Street to 105th Street. Senator Charles E. Schumer said: "This historic agreement puts this vital and long overdue project right on track. New Yorkers have had to wait a long time for the Second Avenue Subway, but with this significant federal investment and commitment, there is now finally light at the end of the tunnel.”

“The $4.3-billion Second Avenue Subway project will consist of three miles of tunnel boring machine tunnels and three new stations, two mined and one cut-and-cover,” says Chris Bennett, vice president, Transportation.

The launch of a 485-ton (440-tonne), 450-foot-long (137.2-meter-long) tunnel boring machine (TBM) marks the beginning of the West (southbound) tunnel just north of 92nd Street. Its eventual finishing point is 65th Street.

The mining on the West (southbound) tunnel stretches 7,209 linear feet (2,197 meters) and is completed in February 2011. Mining of 7,789 linear feet (2,374 meters) is completed on the East (northbound) tunnel in September 2011 and the tunnel boring machine reaches its terminus, the Lexington Avenue 63rd Street station, marking the completion of TBM tunneling on Phase 1 of the subway project.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) awards a contract to excavate the cavern that will house the 86th Street Station of the Second Avenue Subway and build the station's basic structure.

The project includes installing the cavern's concrete structural lining, performing utility work and underpinning existing buildings adjacent to the work site. This is the most recent of a series of station contracts that began with the award of the 96th Street station in May 2009, and includes the contract for rebuilding and enlarging of the 63rd Street station in January 2009 and a cavern structure contract for the 72nd Street Station in October 2010.

“The Second Avenue Subway project is being built in one of the most densely populated and challenging environments in the world,” says Richard Paupst, vice president, Transportation. “In a city that never sleeps, we are constantly working among people and traffic.”

Contracts will be awarded for the subway systems for the remaining Phase 1 portions of the project — the completion of the 72nd, 86th and 96th Street stations, all including architectural finishes and MEP systems.

Revenue operation is expected by December 2016. When completed, the Second Avenue Subway line, which will be the extension of the Q line, is expected to serve more than 635,000 New York City residents and 1.2-million suburban commuters on the Upper East Side daily. The Q line will ease crowding and reduce delays on the Lexington Avenue lines, which currently carry more than 1.5-million riders daily — more than the daily ridership of the San Francisco, Chicago and Boston subway systems combined.

Providing better access to transit for residents on Manhattan’s far East Side, the new Q line will finally erase the nickname of the Second Avenue Subway — once known as “The Line that Time Forgot.”