Skanska USA Civil, Schiavone Construction and JF Shea Construction were due to sign a contract in mid-February to build the first section of the Second Avenue subway in Manhattan. The $333m agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority paves the way for work to begin on the first of four planned construction phases. New tunnels will be required under Second Avenue between 99th and 63rd Streets, where a connection to the existing BMT Broadway lines will be built. Services will operate as an extension of the existing Q Line from 57th Street, terminating initially at 96th Street, although the MTA contract is for infrastructure work as far as 105th Street, which will involve fitting out sections of presently disused tunnels. Phase One is expected to be complete by 2013. Work is expected to start rapidly following the signing of the contract. A 20 m deep trench will be dug between 96th and 92nd Streets to allow a tunnel boring machine to begin excavations. It is hoped that the full 12?9 km link from 125th Street to Hanover Square could be operational by 2020.

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