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MTA Gives Latest Glimpse of Second Avenue Subway Construction

By Wil Cruz | February 28, 2012 3:25pm
Mining at the cavern that will house the 72nd Street station.
Mining at the cavern that will house the 72nd Street station.
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MTA

MANHATTAN — The MTA has given the latest look at what's causing all the fuss on Second Avenue.

The transit agency recently released new photos of the massive underground construction for the Second Avenue subway's forthcoming station.

One photo shows a massive crane, seemingly dwarfed in the cavernous tunnel that will house the future 72nd Street station. Another shot shows workers laboring at what will become the entrance to the station. There's also a photograph of a green tunnel that's being waterproofed, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which debuted the photos on its Flickr account.

The construction is the root of the noise keeping frustrated residents up at night and the source of the dusty air that people believe is making them and their dogs sick.

The MTA has been inviting Upper East Side residents to tour the construction site to give locals a glimpse of the project's progress, since so much of it is happening belowground.

Many in the community have complained that the construction has been destroying their quality of life, worrying that dust and noxious odors from dynamiting for the tunnels is possibly making them ill.

An air-quality study the MTA recently conducted found there were no harmful health impacts from the blasting. In response to residents saying that nighttime drilling has been disrupting their sleep, MTA engineers are planning to visit homes to see — and hear — for themselves, officials said.

The $4.45 billion first phase of the project, which will extend subway service from East 63rd up to East 96th street, is expected to be complete by December 2016.