7 Subway Extension
Encyclopedia
The 7 Subway Extension — Hudson Yards Rezoning and Development Program is the plan to extend the IRT Flushing Line
of the New York City Subway
, which carries the 7 train service
, westward from its current terminus at Times Square, adding one new station at 34th Street
– Eleventh Avenue. A second station at 10th Avenue – 41st Street was dropped from the plans in October 2007, but could be restored if funding can be found. The extension is expected to be operational by December 2013.
The extension, part of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project
, is intended to aid redevelopment of the west side of Midtown Manhattan
around the West Side Yard
of the Long Island Rail Road
. It was originally proposed as part of the failed attempt to build the West Side Stadium
for the New York Jets
and the city's bid
for the 2012 Summer Olympics
. Although the stadium plan was rejected by city and state planning agencies, the 7 subway extension plan received approval to move ahead, as New York political leaders would like to see the warehouse district west of Eighth Avenue
and north of 34th Street redeveloped, and subway service would be an essential part of that effort. The extension would also serve the newly expanded Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
.
awarded a $1.145 billion contract to build 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) of twin-tube tunnel from the current 7 train terminus at Times Square, and the shell of the 34th Street station, to S3, a joint venture of J.F. Shea, Skanska
USA Civil, and Schiavone. Richard Dattner and Partners, Architects, designed the Jacob Javits Convention Center station. After excavating the new terminal's shell and creating the first 1000 feet (304.8 m) of tunnel using the drill-and-blast method, S3 placed two tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) in the ground to dig the remaining 6000 feet (1,828.8 m); as it dug, each TBM placed precast concrete liner segments to create the tunnel interior.
In September 2007, it was announced that the new station would feature platform screen doors
. The station (along with the new South Ferry station on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line) will include special air-cooling systems to reduce the temperature along platforms.
On December 3, 2007, the MTA conducted a ceremony at the Times Square subway station marking the launch of construction of the 7 train extension. The contractor began excavating the station cavern adjacent to the Javits Convention Center. MTA posted a construction update with photographs on its website in November 2008, showing substantial progress.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
's December 12, 2006, address to the League of Conservation Voters
noted that in November 2006, the government began issuing bonds to fund the extension of the 7 subway to Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street. The $2 Billion 7 train subway extension is being funded with New York City funds from municipal Tax Increment Financing
(TIF) bond sales that are expected to be repaid with property tax revenues from future developments in areas served by the extension.
One physical hindrance to the construction of the extension was the lower-level platform at 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal on the IND Eighth Avenue Line
. Ironically, the lower-level, downtown-only platform, was built by the IND
to prevent the IRT
from extending its Flushing Line (the current 7 train) to the west. The abandoned platform was partially razed, to allow the 7 train extension to be built.
In June 2008, construction on the tunnels began along Eleventh Avenue in Manhattan. In February 2009, the MTA lowered the first of two tunnel-boring machine into a giant shaft at the corner of 25th Street and Eleventh Avenue. The two boring machines dug parallel 7100 feet (2,164.1 m) long tunnels north along Eleventh Avenue to the current terminus of the 7 service at 41st Street and Times Square. On December 21, 2009, the MTA said that a tunnel-boring machine broke through the 34th Street station cavern wall. Both tunnel-boring machines were scheduled to finish the required tunneling in the spring of 2010.
In June 2009, the MTA completed excavation of a 150 feet (45.7 m) long cavern within the basement of the Port Authority Bus Terminal
, which will form part of the northern (compass eastern) end of the new extension and connect it to the Times Square station. The cavern lies just below the bus entrance ramp to the terminal's lower level. In June 2010, one of the TBMs completed its tunnel at the cavern; the second TBM broke through the wall of the cavern on July 15, 2010, completing its tunneling operation. The TBMs were partially disassembled and backed up to the 25th Street shaft, where they were lifted out.In April 2011, the MTA announced that the contract covering the tunnels, the 34th Street
station mezzanine and passenger platform was 85% complete, and that the systems contract, covering mechanical and electrical systems, electric power, lighting and train tracks would be awarded by July 2011. A second entrance to the station is planned.
. Developers and local residents have formed a petition to construct the shell, fearing that the opportunity to construct the station could be lost after the tunnel excavation is completed. In June of 2010, the city announced it was seeking funding to assess the feasibility of constructing the station at a later date using a two platform, two entrance model without an underground connecting passage. This type of station, common in Manhattan, is not considered ideal by the MTA but would nonetheless be acceptable if funding were eventually found.
reported that Mayor Michael Bloomberg
's administration had been working on a plan to extend the 7 service across the Hudson River to Hoboken
and continue to Secaucus Junction
in New Jersey
, where it would connect with most New Jersey Transit
commuter lines. It would offer New Jersey commuters a direct route to Grand Central Terminal
on the East Side of Manhattan and connections to most other New York City subway routes.
If built, the extension would take the New York City Subway outside the city's borders for the first time. The plan would replace the Access to the Region's Core (ARC) tunnel, which was canceled by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in October 2010.
On February 2, 2011 the city's Economic Development Corporation voted to budget up to $250,000 for a feasibility study
of a tunnel for the subway line extension awarded to Parsons Brinckerhoff
, a major engineering firm that had been working on the ARC tunnel.
Amtrak's February 2011 announcement of the Gateway Project
includes a proposal to extend the 7 service three blocks east of Eleventh Avenue to New York Penn Station, instead of five miles west to Secaucus.
The New York Post
has reported that the Flushing line extension will have a formal proposal made by Mayor Bloomberg around the end of 2012. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and the Port Authority
are on record as supporting the plan, along with splitting the estimated US$10 billion cost if it is officially approved.
A subway extension would cost less than the ARC tunnel, as it would start at the planned station at Eleventh Avenue
and go west, avoiding the expensive tunnel boring work east to Herald Square
and the complex station deep underground there. But travel times into Manhattan might be longer than under the original ARC proposal, because riders would need to transfer to the subway from New Jersey Transit trains at Secaucus. And because NJT trains would continue to or from Penn Station, the key goal of reduced tunnel congestion would not be achieved. On the other hand, as Governor Christie said "It would actually connect us to the east side of Manhattan, like we always wanted to..." Bloomberg had yet to meet with New York Governor
-elect Andrew Cuomo
, and the project, which could require five additional years to develop, would not be automatically entitled to the federal funding allotted to the ARC tunnel.
IRT Flushing Line
The Flushing Line is a rapid transit route of the New York City Subway system, operated as part of the IRT Division and designated the 7 route...
of the New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
, which carries the 7 train service
7 (New York City Subway service)
The 7 Flushing Local and 7 Flushing Express are rapid transit services of the New York City Subway, providing local and express services along the full length of the IRT Flushing Line...
, westward from its current terminus at Times Square, adding one new station at 34th Street
34th Street (IRT Flushing Line)
The 34th Street Station is a planned terminal station, under construction as part of the 7 Subway Extension for the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway. It will have two tracks and one island platform with a large mezzanine overhead...
– Eleventh Avenue. A second station at 10th Avenue – 41st Street was dropped from the plans in October 2007, but could be restored if funding can be found. The extension is expected to be operational by December 2013.
Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project
Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project
The Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project is a New York City Department of City Planning and Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposal to encourage business development on Manhattan's far West Side along the Hudson River. The project initially included a rezoning of the Far West Side of...
, is intended to aid redevelopment of the west side of Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
around the West Side Yard
West Side Yard
The West Side Yard is a rail yard owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on the west side of Manhattan in New York City...
of the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
. It was originally proposed as part of the failed attempt to build the West Side Stadium
West Side Stadium
The West Side Stadium was a proposed football stadium to be built on a platform over the rail yards on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City....
for the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the city's bid
New York City 2012 Olympic bid
The New York City 2012 Olympic bid was one of the five short-listed bids for the 2012 Summer Olympics, ultimately won by London 2012.New York City's Olympic Bid, run by the private non-profit organization NYC2012, was founded by Daniel L. Doctoroff, who was managing director of a successful private...
for the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
. Although the stadium plan was rejected by city and state planning agencies, the 7 subway extension plan received approval to move ahead, as New York political leaders would like to see the warehouse district west of Eighth Avenue
Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)
Eighth Avenue is a north-south avenue on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic. Eighth Avenue begins in the West Village neighborhood at Abingdon Square and runs north for 44 blocks through Chelsea, the Garment District, Hell's Kitchen's east end, Midtown and the...
and north of 34th Street redeveloped, and subway service would be an essential part of that effort. The extension would also serve the newly expanded Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is a large convention center located on Eleventh Avenue, between 34th and 38th streets, on the West side of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by architects I. M. Pei and partners. The revolutionary space frame structure was undertaken in 1979 and...
.
Construction progress
In October 2007, the MTAMetropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...
awarded a $1.145 billion contract to build 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) of twin-tube tunnel from the current 7 train terminus at Times Square, and the shell of the 34th Street station, to S3, a joint venture of J.F. Shea, Skanska
Skanska
Skanska AB, is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden, where it also is the largest construction company. The company's head office is in Solna, north of Stockholm.-History:...
USA Civil, and Schiavone. Richard Dattner and Partners, Architects, designed the Jacob Javits Convention Center station. After excavating the new terminal's shell and creating the first 1000 feet (304.8 m) of tunnel using the drill-and-blast method, S3 placed two tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) in the ground to dig the remaining 6000 feet (1,828.8 m); as it dug, each TBM placed precast concrete liner segments to create the tunnel interior.
In September 2007, it was announced that the new station would feature platform screen doors
Platform screen doors
Platform screen doors and platform edge doors at train or subway stations screen the platform from the train. They are a relatively new addition to many metro systems around the world, with some platform doors retrofitted rather than installed with the metro system itself. They are widely used in...
. The station (along with the new South Ferry station on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line) will include special air-cooling systems to reduce the temperature along platforms.
On December 3, 2007, the MTA conducted a ceremony at the Times Square subway station marking the launch of construction of the 7 train extension. The contractor began excavating the station cavern adjacent to the Javits Convention Center. MTA posted a construction update with photographs on its website in November 2008, showing substantial progress.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
's December 12, 2006, address to the League of Conservation Voters
League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters is a political advocacy organization founded in 1969 by American environmentalist David Brower in the early years of the environmental movement. LCV's mission is to "advocate for sound environmental policies and to elect pro-environmental candidates who will adopt...
noted that in November 2006, the government began issuing bonds to fund the extension of the 7 subway to Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street. The $2 Billion 7 train subway extension is being funded with New York City funds from municipal Tax Increment Financing
Tax increment financing
Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, is a public financing method which has been used as a subsidy for redevelopment and community improvement projects in many countries including the United States for more than 50 years...
(TIF) bond sales that are expected to be repaid with property tax revenues from future developments in areas served by the extension.
One physical hindrance to the construction of the extension was the lower-level platform at 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal on the IND Eighth Avenue Line
IND Eighth Avenue Line
The Eighth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line in New York City, United States, and is part of the B Division of the New York City Subway...
. Ironically, the lower-level, downtown-only platform, was built by the IND
Independent Subway System
The Independent Subway System , formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad, was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of the New York City Subway...
to prevent the IRT
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company was the private operator of the original underground New York City Subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT was purchased by the City in June 1940...
from extending its Flushing Line (the current 7 train) to the west. The abandoned platform was partially razed, to allow the 7 train extension to be built.
In June 2008, construction on the tunnels began along Eleventh Avenue in Manhattan. In February 2009, the MTA lowered the first of two tunnel-boring machine into a giant shaft at the corner of 25th Street and Eleventh Avenue. The two boring machines dug parallel 7100 feet (2,164.1 m) long tunnels north along Eleventh Avenue to the current terminus of the 7 service at 41st Street and Times Square. On December 21, 2009, the MTA said that a tunnel-boring machine broke through the 34th Street station cavern wall. Both tunnel-boring machines were scheduled to finish the required tunneling in the spring of 2010.
In June 2009, the MTA completed excavation of a 150 feet (45.7 m) long cavern within the basement of the Port Authority Bus Terminal
Port Authority Bus Terminal
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City...
, which will form part of the northern (compass eastern) end of the new extension and connect it to the Times Square station. The cavern lies just below the bus entrance ramp to the terminal's lower level. In June 2010, one of the TBMs completed its tunnel at the cavern; the second TBM broke through the wall of the cavern on July 15, 2010, completing its tunneling operation. The TBMs were partially disassembled and backed up to the 25th Street shaft, where they were lifted out.In April 2011, the MTA announced that the contract covering the tunnels, the 34th Street
34th Street (IRT Flushing Line)
The 34th Street Station is a planned terminal station, under construction as part of the 7 Subway Extension for the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway. It will have two tracks and one island platform with a large mezzanine overhead...
station mezzanine and passenger platform was 85% complete, and that the systems contract, covering mechanical and electrical systems, electric power, lighting and train tracks would be awarded by July 2011. A second entrance to the station is planned.
10th Avenue station
Although a new station at 10th Avenue and 41st Street was part of the original plan, the intermediate station was eliminated in October 2007 due to cost overruns, leaving the terminal station at Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street as the only new station on the extension. The MTA indicated that the 10th Avenue station could be included in the project if funding were found. The station was not included in the original contract award. However, a $450 million option to build a shell for the station was included as part of the October 2007 contract, and required action by the city within nine months to have a shell built as part of the initial contract. Reports in late December 2007 indicated that the postponed station might be partially built if the City of New York and the MTA can come to terms on the additional financing for the station shell. In February 2009, the MTA announced that it would build the station if the agency received sufficient funds from the federal economic stimulus packageAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
. Developers and local residents have formed a petition to construct the shell, fearing that the opportunity to construct the station could be lost after the tunnel excavation is completed. In June of 2010, the city announced it was seeking funding to assess the feasibility of constructing the station at a later date using a two platform, two entrance model without an underground connecting passage. This type of station, common in Manhattan, is not considered ideal by the MTA but would nonetheless be acceptable if funding were eventually found.
Proposed New Jersey extension
On November 16, 2010, The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported that Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
's administration had been working on a plan to extend the 7 service across the Hudson River to Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
and continue to Secaucus Junction
Secaucus Junction
The Frank R. Lautenberg Secaucus Junction Station is a major commuter rail hub in Secaucus, New Jersey...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, where it would connect with most New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
commuter lines. It would offer New Jersey commuters a direct route to Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
on the East Side of Manhattan and connections to most other New York City subway routes.
If built, the extension would take the New York City Subway outside the city's borders for the first time. The plan would replace the Access to the Region's Core (ARC) tunnel, which was canceled by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in October 2010.
On February 2, 2011 the city's Economic Development Corporation voted to budget up to $250,000 for a feasibility study
Feasibility study
Feasibility studies aim to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of the existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats as presented by the environment, the resources required to carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success. In its simplest...
of a tunnel for the subway line extension awarded to Parsons Brinckerhoff
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Parsons Brinckerhoff is a professional services firm with 14,000 employees in 150 offices providing construction and operation management, planning, design, engineering, program management, strategic consulting, environmental and sustainability services for clients and communities in the Americas,...
, a major engineering firm that had been working on the ARC tunnel.
Amtrak's February 2011 announcement of the Gateway Project
Gateway Project
The Gateway Project is a proposed American rail expansion project to build a high-speed rail right-of-way and to alleviate the bottleneck along the Northeast Corridor between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City...
includes a proposal to extend the 7 service three blocks east of Eleventh Avenue to New York Penn Station, instead of five miles west to Secaucus.
The New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
has reported that the Flushing line extension will have a formal proposal made by Mayor Bloomberg around the end of 2012. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and the Port Authority
Port authority
In Canada and the United States a port authority is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure.Port authorities are usually governed by boards or...
are on record as supporting the plan, along with splitting the estimated US$10 billion cost if it is officially approved.
A subway extension would cost less than the ARC tunnel, as it would start at the planned station at Eleventh Avenue
Eleventh Avenue (Manhattan)
Eleventh Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the far West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, not far from the Hudson River. It carries downtown traffic only, south of West 44th Street, and two-way traffic north of it....
and go west, avoiding the expensive tunnel boring work east to Herald Square
Herald Square
Herald Square is formed by the intersection of Broadway, Sixth Avenue and 34th Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Named for the New York Herald, a now-defunct newspaper formerly headquartered there, it also gives its name to the surrounding area...
and the complex station deep underground there. But travel times into Manhattan might be longer than under the original ARC proposal, because riders would need to transfer to the subway from New Jersey Transit trains at Secaucus. And because NJT trains would continue to or from Penn Station, the key goal of reduced tunnel congestion would not be achieved. On the other hand, as Governor Christie said "It would actually connect us to the east side of Manhattan, like we always wanted to..." Bloomberg had yet to meet with New York Governor
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
-elect Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development...
, and the project, which could require five additional years to develop, would not be automatically entitled to the federal funding allotted to the ARC tunnel.
External links
- 7 Subway Extension Update - Official MTA 7 Subway Extension Project Page (updated November 2008 and October 2009)
- New Milestone for No. 7 Subway Extension Project - MTA.info Website (June 11, 2010).
- Work on Extending the No. 7 Line Continues to Progress - MTA.info Website (April 4, 2011).
- 7 Extension Progress April 2011 (5 photos) - MTA's Facebook Website
- 7 Extension Progress June 14, 2011 (29 photos) - MTA's FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Website - http://www.subwaytosecaucus.com/ original proposal for New Jersey extension