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Hochul Unveils 125th Street Q Extension to Broadway, With Design Funding and $50 Million for Jamaica Station

The proposal funds preliminary engineering to keep tunneling continuous after the East Harlem phase.

Overview

  • The westward Second Avenue Subway plan would add three Q line stations at Lenox Avenue, St. Nicholas Avenue and Broadway, creating new transfers to the A, B, C, D, 1, 2 and 3 lines and serving an estimated 240,000 daily riders.
  • State funding in the governor’s budget would cover design and preliminary engineering, following a feasibility study that found continuing tunneling along 125th Street would save substantial time and money by reusing equipment and crews.
  • The extension depends on completing the East Harlem phase from 96th Street to 125th Street, with a $1.9–$2 billion tunnel-boring contract approved, major tunneling expected in 2027 and service currently targeted for 2032.
  • The MTA’s 20-year needs assessment pegs the 125th Street leg at roughly $7.5–$8.1 billion, and the agency projects regional benefits such as reduced car travel, including an estimated 26,000 fewer vehicle miles per day.
  • Hochul also proposed $50 million to design a modernized Jamaica Station and pledged subway-safety investments including expanding SCOUT teams from 10 to 15, installing platform-edge barriers at 85 more stations and $77 million to sustain overnight NYPD patrols, as the MTA navigates a federal funding freeze tied to contractor DEI recertification.