Overview

• The MTA board approved a tunneling deal with Connect Plus Partners, a Halmar International–FCC Construction joint venture, calling it the agency’s largest tunneling contract.
• Early street work begins later this year, heavy civil construction starts in early 2026, and tunnel boring is slated for 2027 with machines that install lining as they dig.
• Phase 2 will add ADA-accessible Q line stations at 106th, 116th and 125th streets, extend service 1.5 miles from 96th Street, and create direct transfers at 125th Street to the Lexington Avenue line and Metro-North.
• The extension carries an estimated $7.7 billion price tag, with the MTA citing about $1.3 billion in savings, including roughly $100 million from smaller tunnel crews and about $500 million from reusing a 1970s tunnel segment.
• Financing draws from federal support, the MTA capital plan and congestion-pricing revenue, as property acquisitions advance in East Harlem with 90-day vacancy notices to residents and businesses.