MTA officials said Tuesday that work on extending the Second Avenue subway to East Harlem has been halted after Gov. Kathy Hockal suspended congestion pricing — hours after the governor herself said the long-desired project would move forward into East Harlem.
“We’ve halted work on the Second Avenue subway,” MTA Chief Construction Officer Jamie Torres-Springer said at a press conference. “There are a lot of projects we can’t build, so we’re going to focus on things that are in good repair.”
“We have in several cases issued stop work orders on projects that did not strictly meet the good repair state requirements.”
At another new meeting, Hokel said his decision “does not mean we can’t secure funding for the Second Avenue Subway.”
The conflicting messages from the MTA and Mr. Haukle underscored the continuing confusion that has resulted from Mr. Haukle’s surprise decision to postpone the rollout of tolls that would have funded $15 billion in transit upgrades. MTA officials said last week that all major construction projects that relied on congestion fee revenue would have to be reevaluated. Mr. Haukle has downplayed the immediate impact of his decision.
Hoekl’s office did not immediately respond to questions about Torres Springer’s comments.
The MTA signed a contract in January to relocate utilities for the project to extend the Q Line from its current terminus at East 96th Street to a new, expanded station at East 125th Street and Lexington Avenue. Before Governor Hawkle suspended congestion pricing on June 5, the MTA was looking for a company to excavate tunnels for the extension.
The federal government agreed last year to cover $3.4 billion of the project’s estimated $7.7 billion cost, but only if New York officials cover the rest.
The MTA has paused construction on the extension of the Second Avenue subway line to East Harlem, transit officials announced Tuesday.
For the subway extension, MTA officials had planned to reuse tunnels dug nearly 50 years ago to build the Second Avenue subway line uptown, a project that was canceled during the city’s budget crisis in the 1970s.
The long-awaited subway is one of several MTA projects that have been halted after Gov. Kathy Hockle imposed an “indefinite suspension” on congestion pricing. $15 billion worth of public transport upgrades.
MTA officials are expected to announce further cuts to the current construction program at their board meeting next week.