MTA completes Second Avenue Subway station shell construction

Construction of MTA New York City Transit's (NYCT) Second Avenue Subway has reached a critical milestone with the completion of the 86th Street Station cavern, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced yesterday.

Begun in August 2011, the $332 million project included extensive excavation for the bedrock cavern that will house the station, as well as the shafts and adits for the entrances and cross passageways. The cavern's massive concrete structural inning also was installed, utility work was completed, and two buildings within the work area's footprint were underpinned to support the structures throughout the construction, MTA officials said in a press release.

"We have now completed 76 percent of the work needed to build Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway," said MTA Capital Construction President Michael Horodniceanu.

Although the heavy civil portion of the station is completed, work continues on HVAC systems, elevator and escalator installations, and other architectural finishes that will be required to complete the station structure and the ancillary structures, MTA officials said.

The $4.45 billion first phase of the Second Avenue Subway will feature new stations at 72nd Street, 86th Street and 96th Street, and a station renovation with a new 3rd Avenue entrance at 63rd Street. The subway project is the largest expansion of the NYCT system in decades.