Building Phase 1 of NYC’s Second Avenue Subway
What You'll Learn
- Why NYC’s Second Avenue Subway took nearly a century to advance — and what finally pushed the project forward.
- What made constructing a subway beneath one of the world’s densest urban environments uniquely challenging.
- How the Second Avenue Subway set off a domino effect, unlocking projects like East Side Access, Grand Central Madison, and the Hudson Tunnel Project.
- What surprised the project’s chroniclers most about New York City’s aging and complex infrastructure.
On this episode of the ITP, Mass Transit magazine Associate Editor Brandon Lewis sits down with Dan McNichol, Bill Goodrich and Joe Stanford to discuss their new book, "Second Avenue Subway: Building New York City's Most Famous Thing Never Built" — a 350-page hardcover featuring over 256 mostly unpublished photographs on Phase 1 of the project.
About the book
A hundred years of planning. A decade of construction. New York City's Future. "Second Avenue Subway: Building New York City's Most Famous Thing Never Built" is the story of the past, present and future of New York's newest subway line. This 350-page hardcover book tells the story of the multi-faceted challenges faced by critical infrastructure projects, and how Phase 1 of the project was finally completed through the grit and determination of everyone involved.
Featured Guests
Dan McNichol
Dan McNichol is a best-selling author, award-winning journalist and public speaker known for chronicling America’s most significant infrastructure projects. A contributor to National Public Radio and a former White House appointee focused on transportation policy, he has also served as chief spokesman for major projects, including Boston's Big Dig, California's High-Speed Rail and the reconstruction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Bill Goodrich
Bill Goodrich is a transportation infrastructure executive and licensed professional engineer with more than 40 years of experience in engineering and construction management. Most recently, he served as executive vice president and senior program executive at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, overseeing Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access, including the opening of Grand Central Madison. He previously contributed to the Fulton Transit Center and Boston’s Big Dig and is a graduate of United States Military Academy with an MS in civil engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Joe Stanford
Joe Stanford is a strategic communicator and editor with decades of experience in America's infrastructure, including work with the U.S. Departments of Energy and Transportation. He has worked as transportation systems analyst, energy technology specialist, writer and editor, with a constant focus on communicating difficult and important concepts to key stakeholders. He has a master's degree from MIT in System Design and Management, focusing on complex socio-technical systems, with a specialization in transportation and urban planning.
Inside the Episode
Episode Length: 39:31
Timestamps:
- 2:25 — Mass Transit interview
- 32:30 — The team's takeaways
Useful Links
- "Second Avenue Subway: Building New York City's Most Famous Thing Never Built"
- Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway Project
- Send us a topic suggestion!
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