7 Train Tunneling Completed

MYFOXNY.COM - During a bad week for the MTA because of rowdy public hearings and expected cuts and layoffs - there was finally some good news.

Mayor Bloomberg and MTA Chairman Jay H. Walder announced the completion of the tunnel mining for the extension of the number 7 train from 42nd street and 7th avenue at Times Square to 34th Street and 11th Avenue in the Hudson Yards area in Midtown West Manhattan.

The $2.1 billion project, funded by the City and managed by the MTA, is the first subway expansion in decades, creating nearly 500 construction jobs.

On Thursday, the last machine broke through the cavern wall underneath 41st Street and 8th Avenue, completing the more than 9,300 feet of mining.

"For decades, people have talked about the Hudson Yards on Manhattan's Far West Side as a potential opportunity to provide new office space, housing, parks and jobs adjacent to the world's premier business district, but nothing ever happened. We're acting to make sure that it does," said Mayor Bloomberg.

The subway extension is on track to be completed at the end of 2013,