Proposed New York City Subway expansion

1929 plan

1939 plan

Before unification in 1940, the City of New York made plans for expanding the Subway system. The first one, conceived in 1929, was to be part of the city-operated Independent Subway System (IND). By 1939, with unification planned, all three systems were included. Very few of these far-reaching lines were built, though provisions were made for future expansion on lines that intersect the proposals. The core Manhattan lines of the expansion were the Second Avenue Line (with an extension into the Bronx) and the Worth Street Line (connecting to the Rockaways). The Rockaways were eventually served by the subway via a city takeover of the Long Island Rail Road's Rockaway Beach Branch, which was also in the 1939 plans; the Second Avenue Subway is under construction as of 2007. It is of note that the majority of lines were designated to be built as elevated lines; this was likely a cost-cutting measure. The majority of the expansion was to occur in Queens, with the original proposal suggesting 52 miles of track be built in Queens alone.

Provisions

The following provisions were made for connections and transfers to the new lines:

• At Second Avenue on the IND Sixth Avenue Line, a large open space was built above for the four-track IND Second Avenue Line.
• At East Broadway on the IND Sixth Avenue Line (under Rutgers Street here), part of a two-track station was built for the line under East Broadway, above the existing line. This is now part of the mezzanine.
• At Broadway on the IND Crosstown Line, traces of stairways are visible going up to a six-track station on the line to the Rockaways.
• At Utica Avenue on the IND Fulton Street Line, a four-track station above can be seen in the ceiling of the existing station. The existing mezzanine passes over the unused space.
• At Roosevelt Avenue on the IND Queens Boulevard Line, a two-track upper level was built for the Winfield Spur towards the line to the Rockaways. Unlike the other stations, this one was completed, except for track.
• A junction was built on the IND Queens Boulevard Line for the line under Van Wyck Boulevard; it has since been connected to the IND Archer Avenue Line.
• The express tracks on the IND Sixth Avenue Line end at the curve into Essex Street; these were planned to continue towards the Rockaways.
• A line to the Rockaways would have split from the IND Eighth Avenue Line (under Church Street here), east under Worth Street. The junction was built and is used by the local tracks to World Trade Center.
• The tracks that the IND 63rd Street Line uses to split from the IND Sixth Avenue Line were built for a similar proposed line (under 61st Street).
• The completed IND 63rd Street Line, which the F train uses to cross the East River, was designed and built with bell mouths to allow for the construction of connections to the planned Second Avenue Subway for service to/from the north and south along 2nd Avenue.

1929 plan details

The first plan was made on September 15, 1929 (before the IND even opened), and is detailed in the table below. Cost is only for construction, and doesn't include land acquisition or other items.

Later plans

Later plans included the following:

• (1931 plan) A line splitting from the Second Avenue Line north of Houston Street, running southeast, merging with the Houston Street line, and crossing the East River from Stanton Street towards the huge line under South Fourth Street.
• (1931 plan) A line splitting from the Crosstown Line where it turns from Lafayette Avenue to Marcy Avenue, continuing under Lafayette Avenue and Stanhope Street to a junction with the line under Myrtle Avenue.
• (1939 plan) A line splitting from the South Brooklyn (Culver) Line at Fort Hamilton Parkway, and running under Fort Hamilton Parkway to end at 86th Street. A branch would split to run under Ovington Avenue and Senator Street, with a tunnel under the Narrows to Staten Island at the St. George Terminal. The line would split, with the north branch ending at Westervelt Avenue around Hamilton Avenue, and the south branch ending at Grant Street around St. Pauls Street. It was presumably designed this way to provide future service to both the Main Line and North Shore Staten Island Railway lines. The Staten Island Tunnel commenced construction in the 1920's, but was not completed.
• (unknown date) A third 2-track tunnel under the East River, from the north side of the South Fourth Street/Union Avenue station (as built for six tracks) west to Delancey Street.
• (unknown date) A line splitting from the Stuyvesant Avenue line, going southeast under Broadway.
• (unknown date) A line under Flushing Avenue from the huge line under Beaver Street to Horace Harding Boulevard (Long Island Expressway).

References

• 100 Miles of Subway in New City Project; 52 of them in Queens, New York Times September 16, 1929 page 1

External links

• NYCsubway.org - IND Second System
• NYCsubway.org - Roosevelt Avenue Terminal Station
• Abandoned Stations - IND Second System unfinished stations
• Abandoned Stations - Roosevelt Ave upper level
• Broadway-South 4 Street Station (junction with the Crosstown Line) photos
• Roosevelt Avenue-Winfield Spur Station (split from the Queens Boulevard Line) photos
• JoeKorNer - IND Second System (including a plan for a line to Staten Island)
• JoeKorNer - Roosevelt Rockaway Line (photos of the unused station)

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