New York (Queens Connector)

Queens Connector

New York, New York

(November 1996)

Description

The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) is constructing the Queens Boulevard Connector to relieve severe overcrowding on the Queens Boulevard subway line's existing 53rd Street Tunnel bottleneck by providing service through the 63rd Street Tunnel. This new connection will allow an additional 15 trains per hour to be run between Manhattan and Queens. Approximately 1/3 of the 60,000 peak hour passengers currently using the existing 53rd Street Tunnel are expected to transfer to this new route. Construction will include about 1/3 mile of new tunnel, a significant amount of track and signal work, real estate acquisition and design at a total cost of $645 million (escalated dollars).

Status

Section 3033 of ISTEA directed FTA to negotiate and enter into a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for elements of the Queens Boulevard Connector. An FFGA was awarded to the project in February 1994 and the Federal commitment of $306.10 million in Section 5309 New Starts funds has been appropriated through FY 1997. This completes the Federal commitment for this project. The New York City Transit Authority completed the final EIS and preliminary engineering in mid-1992. Construction began in July 1994 and is expected to be completed in August 2001.