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Seven weeks ahead of schedule, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) crews have completed the third of four tunnels the agency is building in Queens, N.Y., as part of the East Side Access project. The work was completed earlier this week.

Crews will temporarily entomb the 642-ton tunnel-boring machine used on the project until the new tunnel can be connected to MTA Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) mainline tracks above it.

Trains using the tunnel will travel eastbound from Grand Central Terminal toward Long Island. They will use it to merge onto the LIRR mainline’s eastbound tracks leading to Jamaica and Port Washington.

“Each piece of the project that we bring in ahead of schedule means we can dedicate resources to those parts of the project that most need attention,” said MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota in a prepared statement.