Second Ave. Sagas

MTA Website: 7 line extension in revenue service in 2014

Written by

Benjamin Kabak

in

,

When last we checked in on the 7 line extension, MTA Capital Construction President Michael Horodniceanu had warned of a potential delay to mid-2014. Due to some extenuating circumstances, he expected the one-stop, $2.1 billion extension to be in the testing phase by December 2013, but it would not hit revenue service until June of 2014. The MTA’s project website seems to bear him out.

A small update to the 7 line extension site reveals the delay: The MTA now says “revenue service to begin June 2014.” There is a small amount of irony involved here too as the 7 line was Mayor Bloomberg’s pet subway project. The city is footing the bill for it, but now Bloomberg won’t be mayor for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Still, Horodniceanu earlier this year said Bloomberg “will ride a train” to the Hudson Yards.

I’ll see what I can find out about the delays. The MTA did not get into specifics back in January, but perhaps if the six-month wait is official, word will come of a cause.

Comments

33 responses to “MTA Website: 7 line extension in revenue service in 2014”

  1. Onix

    2 more years to extend the subway a few blocks(well, maybe more than a few). At this rate, I’ll be 80 years old by the time the Second Avenue line opens. New York likes to claim that we’re the greatest city in the world. Great cities don’t take an interminable amount of time to complete important infrastructure projects.

    Reply
    1. Jerrold

      Do you mean the Phase 1 or the ENTIRE Second Avenue Line? AND, are you now 70 or are you now 30?

      Reply
      1. Onix

        I’m 40, actually. And yes, I mean the whole damn line. Smh.

        Reply
    2. mike d.

      M15 Select Bus Service is Second Avenue Subway… pathetic?

      Reply
  2. AK

    One stop for $2.1 billion. I just can’t get over that. We’ve heard “work rules” are largely to blame for the insanely high cost of transit construction here. Just seems like adding back the nixed 10th Ave stop and stretching those tail tracks just a liiiittle farther to Chelsea Piers would have made this whole thing much more worth while with sensible budgeting, not much more expensive.

    Reply
    1. mike d.

      Hire Chinese workers. The project would have done a lot faster.

      Reply
      1. petey

        comment of the year

        Reply
        1. Al D

          You mean the Fung Wah bus? Or the now semi-high speed rail in China? It’s not always black and white.

          Reply
          1. Alon Levy

            “Semi”-high speed rail? Dude, Beijing-Shanghai trains average higher end-to-end speed than any trains outside China connecting two major cities (i.e. not two greenfield stations on high-speed track, but two urban stations that cannot be skipped at full speed).

            Reply
      2. Someone

        Racist, but true.

        Reply
    2. Alex C

      Partly work rules, partly all the kickbacks that have to go to MTA officials, and partly the money being flat out fraudulently being skimped off the top by the mob contractors.

      Reply
      1. Ed

        To echo Alex, I’ve converted to the BANANA viewpoint simply because the skimming associated with these projects is becoming too outrageous. You can still talk to me about maintenance and rebuilding, and the Second Avenue Subway itself is arguably just a rebuilding of the El that used to be there.

        Reply
  3. Jerrold

    So to sum it all up:

    #7 LINE EXTENSION – 6/14
    FULTON ST. TRANSIT CENTER – 6/14
    SECOND AVE. SUBWAY PHASE 1 – 12/16
    LIRR EAST SIDE ACCESS – 8/19

    I wonder how many MORE times every one of these dates will change.

    Reply
    1. mike d.

      Whose betting Second Avenue Subway wont be in service on 12/30/2016?

      Reply
      1. Jerrold

        Anybody with any brains is betting Second Avenue Subway won’t be in service on 12/31/16.

        Reply
        1. mike d.

          Unless if you are a MTA official setting the date at 12/30/2016…page 24; http://www.fta.dot.gov/documen…..PMOC_R.pdf

          Reply
          1. Jerrold

            Until recently, the MTS was also setting the East Side Access date as 9/16. Then, they suddenly jumped it to three years later than that.(OK, 2 years and 11 months later.)

            Reply
            1. Jerrold

              I meant MTA.

              Reply
      2. Someone

        12/17/16, to be exact.

        Reply
  4. John Doe

    It’s time to dismantle the unions/hire non union workers. I’ll gladly lay some tracks/pour concrete for $10/hour, these delays are instance, enough is enough, bloated union bosses soaking up the dough.

    Reply
    1. Lenny

      Absolutely the union work rules are a problem, but the most expensive are related to safety. Far more expensive than union work rules are the concessions made to appease neighbors. Other than blasting every union is willing to work 24hrs a day 7 days a week. Yes, some times cost more than others but that is common in union and non-union jobs. To appease the neighbors blasting, drilling and carting hours are so restrictive on the SAS that they have an extremely small window to work with. So small that these guys are spending almost as much time waiting to work as they do working. The union didn’t set up those operating hours, the MTA did at the behest of their neighbors. I’ve lived next to a highrise construction project. They were drilling and blasting as soon as they were allowed and worked right up till the end of the day. That site ran near full steam 24/7 and all union. When neighbors complained about the noise the reply was “We are operating within the constraints of the current laws. Sorry, but we’ll be done soon.”

      Reply
      1. Frank B

        If that’s the case, then the parts to be done in Harlem should be lightning fast, since the city won’t give a damn about disturbing the poor.

        Meanwhile; the elitists on the Upper East Side are complaining about their dog’s allergies to the dust; thus a massive public-works project to benefit all commuters is needlessly dragged out.

        Unbelievable.

        Reply
    2. petey

      “I’ll gladly lay some tracks/pour concrete for $10/hour”

      you’re either a liar or a cretin

      Reply
    3. Duke

      The union labor issue isn’t pay rates, it’s work rules that result in overstaffing. I wouldn’t say union construction workers are overpaid. But the typical setup you see where one guy works while three other guys stand around and watch is ridiculous. That’s why costs are so high: contractors are forced to hire more people than they actually need.

      Reply
      1. al

        Its not just that. More workers than necessary result in jobsite congestion. That slows down the work too. Then theres the slower pace due to construction technology and building methods that don’t take advantage of new technology.

        Reply
  5. Phantom

    Other major govt connected projects are filled with workers comp and liability lawsuits

    I would like to see the numbers for these MTA projects in these areas

    Reply
  6. Bill Reese

    Did a crane not collapse into the 7 Extension work space? Surely that caused some damage that would cause a minor delay.

    Reply
  7. John Doe

    ok Petey “I’ll gladly lay some tracks/pour concrete for $12/hour.” – happy now??
    where is the public outrage/outcry?? Time to sharpen that guillotine!

    Reply
  8. Al D

    Maybe the next mayor will pay for the 10 Ave stop.

    Reply
    1. mike d.

      King Bloomburger will run a illegal fourth term….

      Reply
  9. Onix

    It should be called the MTS-Metropolitan Transit Scam.

    Reply
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