Second Avenue Subway, Phases II, III, and IV

When the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway opens in late 2016, the upper east side will add a much needed subway line for residents who have, for decades, been forced to use the often overcrowded 4/5/6 lines in order to travel into midtown Manhattan. Both Phase I and Phase II of the Second Avenue Subway address growing subway ridership within Manhattan as well as increased resident population within Manhattan’s upper east side, and seek to ease peak ridership on the 4/5/6 lines by offering an alternative route into midtown Manhattan along an extended Q line. Phases III and IV will expand the line southward down Manhattan’s east side and will create an independent T line that will travel exclusively on a north-south route along second avenue. As New York City Subway ridership continues to grow, expanding service within Manhattan is paramount in order to provide residents and commuters a more diverse transit system within New York City. However, unlike the deficiency of transit options on the upper east side, some areas of Manhattan’s lower east side, which will be served by Phases III and IV of the Second Avenue Subway, are already blanketed by a number of alternative transit routes. Considering the large costs, the construction of Phase III and IV of the Second Avenue Subway, while beneficial, may result in the creation of unnecessary transit redundancies before key deficiencies are remedied throughout other areas of the metropolitan region. Nevertheless, funding for the latter phases of the Second Avenue Subway has not yet been secured, and it is likely that the construction of these segments will not commence for a number of years.

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