Urban Engineers of New York, D.P.C. provided Project Management Oversight of the New Transit Line

Many transit riders in New York City kicked-off 2017 with a quicker commute to work, thanks to the opening of the Second Avenue Subway line, the city’s biggest subway expansion in the past 50 years. Urban Engineers of New York, D.P.C. is proud to share the news of the opening, having provided project management oversight services to the Federal Transit Administration on the new facility.

The Second Avenue Subway line includes three new stations over a two mile stretch from 96th Street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan to 63rd Street. The line integrates with the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (MTA) existing subway network, increasing reach and efficiency for users.

“This is perfect for me,” real estate investor Jim Hopkins said to the New York Times regarding the new line. He told the paper he estimates he will get from his home on East 95th Street to his office in Herald Square 10 minutes faster each day. “Now I can get in a little earlier and work a little later.”

The opening reflects the completion of Phase 1 of the project. Urban has spent many years involved with this Second Avenue Subway, seeing it through tunneling; trackwork; construction of stations; and installation of signal, electrical design, and other systems. The firm provided feedback during development of the scope, budget, and schedule. Urban also offered guidance on management, construction, and quality assurance practices, and evaluated cost estimates.

By providing timely feedback to the Federal Transit Administration, Urban helped move this project — which has been on and off the drawing board since the 1920s — into construction. The input led to the negotiation of a Full-Funding Grant Agreement and authorization for MTA to progress through preliminary design, final design, and construction of this $4.45 billion project.