It all started in 1916, and 101 years later the 2nd Avenue subway has finally begun to open.
The Q train has been extended up from 57th Street, and while its ultimate Northern goal is 125th Street (that’s a Phase Two problem), Phase One has created a subway line that runs up 2nd Avenue from 72nd to 96th Street.
Phase One ran at an outstanding cost, at $1.7B per kilometer…Phase Two is estimated to cost $2.2B per kilometer (stats via Vox). Phase Three, which will extend it all the way down the Southern tip of Manhattan (a much-needed subway line along the East Side) has yet to be budgeted, but the costs seem extreme.
The city is badly in need of a commuter overhaul, but the costs would run into the Billions (if not Trillions), and the over-crowded city and system can’t handle long-term shutdowns.
On that note, now that it’s finally open, let’s have our first incident on the 2nd Avenue Subway, which included a 92-year-old man falling down an escalator.
101 years of work and it still ain’t safe.
Aviously 