Second Avenue Subway
The Second Avenue Subway or SAS refers to a series of public works projects and engineering studies undertaken to construct a subway underneath Second Avenue in New York City's Borough of Manhattan. A dream for nearly a century, Second Avenue has yet to see significant progress towards this goal. The SAS is often cited as a particularly egregious example of bureaucratic largesse and government ineptitude. However, the reasons for its failure thus far are varied and complex.
History
The need for a subway line under Manhattan's Second Avenue was realized shortly after the First World War. In 1919, New York's Public Service Commission launched a study at the behest of engineer Daniel L. Turner to determine what improvements were needed in the city's mass transit system.
The Turner Plan
Turner's final paper, titled Proposed Comprehensive Rapid Transit System was a massive plan calling for new routes under almost every north-south Manhattan avenue, extensions to lines in Brooklyn and Queens, and several crossings of The Narrows to Staten Island. Massively scaled-down versions of some of Turner's plans were found in proposals for the new city-owned Independent Subway (IND). Among the plans for Phase II of the IND's construction, commonly called the IND Second System, was a massive trunk line under Second Avenue consisting of at least six tracks and numerous branches throughout Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx.
IND Second System
In 1929, the Board of Transportation tentatively approved a Second Avenue line running from Houston Street to the Harlem River at a projected cost of more than $86,000,000. From north to south, the 1929 plan included six tracks from Harlem to a link with the Sixth Avenue line at 61st Street, at which point four tracks would continue to Chambers Street. Finally, two tracks would continue from Chambers Street to Fulton Street. The full cost for the Second System was projected at nearly half a billion dollars.
Depression
Due to the effects of the Great Depression, the soaring costs of the Second System became unmanageable. Construction on the first phase of the IND was already behind schedule, and the city and state were no longer able to provide funding. A scaled down proposal including a turnoff at 34th Street and a connection crosstown was postponed in 1931.
Further revision of the plan and more studies followed. By 1939, construction had been postponed indefinitely, and Second Avenue was relegated to "proposed" status. The United States' entry into the Second World War in 1941 made all but the most urgent public works projects impossible.
Post-war
Finally, in 1945, plans for the Second Avenue Subway were again revised. The southern two-track portion was abandoned as a possible future plan for connecting the line to Brooklyn. By 1950, the plans called for a connection from Second Avenue at 76th Street to 34th Avenue in Queens, via a new tunnel under the East River. The city was able to raise money for the construction effort?just barely?but the onset of the Korean War caused soaring prices for construction materials and saw the beginning of massive inflation.
In 1964, Congress passed the Urban Mass Transit Act, promising federal money to fund mass transit projects in America's cities via the Urban Mass Transportation Administration. In 1967, voters approved a massive $2.5 billion Transportation Bond Issue, which provided over $600 million for New York City projects. The Second Avenue project was given top priority, and would stretch from 34th Street to The Bronx. The City secured a UMTA grant for initial construction, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 27, 1972. Construction began shortly thereafter.
However, the city soon experienced its most dire crisis yet. The stagnant economy of the 1970s combined with massive outflow of city residents to the suburbs led to fiscal disaster for the city. Construction of the SAS was halted, only two short lengths of tunnel having been completed.
The SAS Today
Beginning with the city's economic recovery in the 1990s, efforts were again made to complete construction of the SAS. The current plan calls for a two-track line extending from 125th street to Hanover Square. A connection to the Broadway line at 61st Street will allow transfers to the Lexington Avenue and Astoria lines. The MTA has begun the long process of environmental and engineering studies, with the goal of beginning construction by the end of 2004.
See also
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