Station on Second Avenue line taking shape

Station on Second Avenue line taking shape

The 72nd Street subway station on the Second Avenue subway line is beginning to look like an actual station, with platforms, walls, and a ceiling. The uptown and downtown tubes are waiting for railroad tracks.

Michael Horodiceanu, the president of MTA Capital Projects, said the station should be finished by February 2014. He said the $4.5 billion subway construction Phase 1 is on schedule for completion by December 2016. The line will run from 96th Street to 63rd Street, where it will meet the existing F and Q trains.

Work on the subway line has progressed so well, blasting at 72nd Street will stop by the end of February and the two temporary construction houses will come down in April and then August. That is none too soon for residents on and around 72nd Street who have complained about the noise and dust.

Earth boring to create subway tubes has reached 86th Street. Soon, the blasting will increase under 86th Street to create a station there.

By December 2016, the new T line will have stations at 96th, 86th, 72nd, and 63rd streets. Commuters hope it will relieve congestion on the crowed Lexington Avenue line.