MTA Awards $498M Contract to Skanska for Second Avenue Subway Work

Development and construction group Skanska and two other civil engineering firms have landed a $1.02 billion contract to build the next phase of New York City’s Second Avenue Subway extension, the company announced.

Skanska will get $498 million for its share of the project, while Traylor Brothers and Walsh Construction will take the remaining shares from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) as it extends the Q train from East 96th Street to East 125th Street.

Designs for the project will be completed by engineering company Mott MacDonald.

The contract follows the May 20 announcement by the Trump administration that Skanska and construction firm Halmar had been selected to redevelop Midtown’s Pennsylvania Station with white and gold-trimmed flair and with Madison Square Garden remaining in place.

“The Second Avenue Subway will significantly improve mobility for New Yorkers by expanding Q line access into East Harlem and Harlem,” Michael Viggiano, executive vice president of Skanska USA Civil, said in a statement. “Building on the successful completion of Phase 1 in 2017, we are honored to continue our involvement in this transformative program and to help deliver faster, more reliable transit options that better connect communities across the city.”

The MTA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Skanska will connect existing tunnels that have been periodically dug over the course of the 20th century as efforts to build an underground right-of-way have sputtered across the decades. Skanska will also build subway station structural shells between 105th Street and 110th Street for what will eventually become the 106th Street station.

“Projects like this demand deep underground expertise, strong coordination, and a commitment to working safely in one of the most complex urban construction environments in the country,” Chris Hebert, vice president of Traylor Brothers, said in a statement. “Continuing our partnership with Skanska on the previously constructed 86th Street cavern, we’re proud to help build infrastructure that will improve mobility and serve New Yorkers for generations.”

But the tunnel portions of the construction companies’ work will be complementary to a previous $2 billion tunnel boring contract awarded by the MTA to Connect Plus Partners, a joint venture between Halmar International and FCC Construction, in August 2025.

Completion of the Q train extension is set for September 2032, but it could be delayed after Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed another extension in January that would go westward along 125th Street to Broadway, where it would connect to the 1 train and other subway lines.

The Q line extension has also been delayed before, as the Trump administration finally released seven months’ worth of withheld funding to the MTA in April, allowing the extension project work to continue.

Meanwhile, the MTA has also been dabbling in transit-oriented development, filing a Uniform Land Use Review Process application in May 2025 with the New York City Council to build 684 units of housing at Lexington Avenue and East 125th Street.

Skanska, Traylor Brothers and Walsh are expected to complete their portion of the Second Avenue Subway work by 2030.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.