Planning What is now the Archer Avenue subway was originally conceived as an extension of the
IND Queens Boulevard Line under the
IND Second System in the 1920s and 1930s. The original plans had a line diverging south of
Van Wyck Boulevard station (now called Briarwood), running down what is now the
Van Wyck Expressway to
Rockaway Boulevard near modern
John F. Kennedy International Airport. A
bellmouth with two additional trackways was built to the east of the station to facilitate this extension, which was never constructed due to lack of funding. The lines and the Jamaica El removal were part of
urban renewal efforts in the Downtown Jamaica area. This included the construction of the
York College campus, which was planned to be built in conjunction with the LIRR Atlantic Branch connection. The connection to the Jamaica Line, Route 133, was to begin at Jamaica Avenue and 127th Street and continue as an elevated to the LIRR embankment and then go underground at 91st Avenue before connecting with the Archer Avenue line at 132nd Street. Route 133 was to be over long. The original plan for the upper level (now the ) was for it to continue as a two-track line along the LIRR Atlantic Branch. It would have run through Locust Manor and Laurelton stations, with stops at Sutphin Boulevard, Parsons Boulevard (which was called Standard Place in planning documents), Linden Boulevard, Baisley Boulevard, and Springfield Boulevard. The line would have served a large-scale housing development at
Rochdale Village; such a line would have required conversion involving modifying existing platforms at
Locust Manor and
Laurelton to accommodate the IND loading gauge, as well as constructing new stations to serve Southeast Queens. It would have also run parallel to the eastern
Montauk Branch, which already provided parallel service through
St. Albans to Jamaica. As part of the project, several new engineering designs were employed, such as the use of graffiti resistant tiles, the use of welded steel rails on rubber pads to cut down on noise, and the use of blowers within the trackbed to disperse the heat generated by the trains' air conditioning systems. In addition, noise-dampening acoustical tiles were installed on station walls and ceilings to reduce noise levels. In the three stations, 21 escalators were installed in addition to electronic train arrival signs, backlighted station signage, and platform-edge strips. The stations were built to be nearly free of columns and have 213,000 square feet of high suspended ceiling. The mezzanine area of the Jamaica-Van Wyck station was designed to allow natural light to enter the station to the platform area, and has 5,000 square feet of windows.
Construction 1970s The Archer Avenue subway's groundbreaking took place on August 15, 1972, at Archer Avenue and 151st Street. The first section of the line to be built was between 147th Place and 151st Street under Archer Avenue. $162 million of the $242 million project was paid for by the city, with the state footing the remainder of the bill. Construction on the Archer Avenue subway began on October 23, 1973, at 159th Street and Beaver Road, just south of Archer Avenue. It was then expected that the subway would be complete by 1980 or 1981. On March 27, 1974, a fire broke out in the tunnel under 150th Street, temporarily severing telephone service in the area. The fire started when waterproofing tar being sprayed on the tunnel walls was ignited. In July 1974, the federal government announced its approval of a $51.1 million grant for the project. The Jamaica–Van Wyck station was estimated to have 1,200 passengers during rush hours, while the Sutphin Boulevard and Parsons Boulevard stations were expected to be used by 5,300 and 8,700 passengers during that period, respectively. Mayor
Abraham Beame, on December 13 of that year, announced that he had decided to prioritize the construction of the Southeast Queens Line while postponing construction of the Second Avenue Subway for six years, and as a result, he faced opposition among some members of the
New York City Board of Estimate. Prior to making this decision, in October, Beame had considered deferring the construction of all new lines, including this line, due to the lack of federal aid. On October 31, the MTA Chairman David Yunich had announced this decision. On January 16, 1975, a spokesman for the Mayor said that work on the line would proceed even though a report found that the Mayor's plan to save the existing fare and construct new lines was off by as much $1 billion. On June 3, 1975, Queens Borough President
Donald Manes and other Jamaica leaders pressed for the formal transfer of half of the $74 million in federal funds approved for the Second Avenue Subway to the Archer Avenue project. On March 5, 1975, the MTA announced that the line should open by 1981. Construction of two tunnels under the nine tracks of the LIRR
Main Line in Jamaica began in January 1976, and were part of a line sections starting at Archer Avenue near 159th Street and ending about south of South Road near the Atlantic Branch, passing underneath the center of the York College campus. The two tunnels were built by MacLean, Grove and Company for $4.35 million, while the entire segment, Section 5, cost $24,810,955. This section was constructed using the
tunneling shield method. The LIRR Main Line structure was heavily reinforced with metal beams and cables to prevent movement, which could have forced a temporary shutdown of the busy line. A continuous monitoring system was put into place and direct communication was maintained with LIRR personnel at track level. This section is below street level and below the LIRR tracks, and was deemed by the MTA's chief engineer to be the most costly and difficult portion of this section of the line. The average width of the two tunnels was . On May 23, 1976, MTA Chairman David Yunich announced that the construction of the two tunnels under the Long Island Rail Road in Jamaica were completed. going up a ramp, and onto the Atlantic Branch's right-of-way at an embankment at
Liberty Avenue. On October 26, 1979, the groundbreaking for Section 2, which stretched from 144th Street to 147th Place, took place. This section was awarded to Slattery Associate Incorporated and Agrett Enterprise Corporation for $45,251,350, and was constructed using cut-and-cover. This section was expected to be completed in four years, and included the
Sutphin Boulevard station. Work on the station was planned to begin in spring 1980. The reconstruction of the Queens Boulevard station to become the line's terminal and the transferring of equipment took 12 to 15 months and cost $2.2 million. One of the modifications made was the installation of a -long
double crossover to the west of the station. Work on the double crossover was completed at the NYCTA's new track plant at
Linden Shops, saving four months. It was installed over the course of two weekends.
Q49 buses (distinct from the modern
Q49 route) replaced Jamaica elevated service, and free transfers were provided to subway service at Queens Boulevard. Bus service ran every two to three minutes during rush hours, and met every train during late nights. The removal of the elevated's frame was expected to take six to eight months. However, the work started on June 28, 1978, and was scheduled to be completed by early fall 1978—six to ten weeks later. The $927,000 contract to demolish the structure was awarded to the Wrecking Corp. of America. The demolition of the structure, with the exception of the station platforms, was completed overnight to minimize potential impacts to businesses and traffic. Work to reconstruct the street, install new traffic lights and overhead utility lines was expected to take an additional year. Work tearing down the structure began at 168th Street and proceeded to just west of the Queens Boulevard station. In April 1979, the Jamaica Water Supply Company, which supplied water to 118,000 residents of western
Nassau County and southeastern Queens, sent a report to the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The report stated that the NYCTA would excessively pump too much water out of the ground during the station's construction, which could lower the water table to the level at which salt water would infiltrate and destroy its shallowest aquifer, which produced a quarter of its water supply. These charges were denied by the NYCTA, which said that it would recharge water it pumped from the ground, like in past projects, and that it would replace water flushed into the city sewer system. 2 billion gallons of water worth $1.4 million had been given to the company since 1976. The company had agreed to reduce its pumping at wells near the subway by the amount received by the NYCTA under previous agreement, but did not do so due to an increase in consumer demand. Subsequently, a new agreement was negotiated for work at the Sutphin Boulevard stop, which required more water pumping because more time was needed for the project–a sewer underneath Sutphin Boulevard had to be reinstalled. On October 17, 1979, the groundbreaking for Section 7, a cut-and-cover section of the Archer Avenue line, took place. This section included the Hillside Avenue Connector, which connected the line with the
IND Queens Boulevard Line, and included the
Jamaica–Van Wyck station. This section extended north from 89th Avenue to a point past Hillside Avenue, and was expected to be completed in 43 months. This section was constructed by Schiavone Construction Company for $37,728,140. Most of the project was constructed via
cut-and-cover methods, with portions of the lines excavated with
tunneling shield methods.
1980s On September 26, 1980, $40 million of federal funding was transferred to the MTA to build the connection to the Jamaica Line, to complete the Parsons Boulevard station, and the installation of track along the line, including the section south of that station to South Road and 158th Street. Work continued on the connection to the Queens Boulevard Line. In October, the contract for the section between 89th Avenue and Archer Avenue was supposed to be let. In October 1980, the MTA considered stopping work on the line and on the 63rd Street Line, due to its budget crisis and the bad state of the existing subway system. This decision was supported by City Council President and MTA Board Member
Carol Bellamy. It was unclear whether the federal government would allow the MTA to transfer the funds to system maintenance. At the time, the line was scheduled to be opened in late 1984, with the project's cost ballooning to $455 million, of which contracts worth $268 million had been awarded. Originally set to be opened in 1980, the line kept getting delayed, and by the late 1970s, the opening was delayed to 1983, then to 1985 or 1986. In 1981, due to lack of money, all bidding on new subway and bus projects for the MTA was suspended, except for the already-built portions of the 63rd Street and Archer Avenue lines, which were allowed to continue. Progress of the Archer Avenue line temporarily stopped in March 1982, when on March 4, part of the tunnel caved in around the vicinity of Archer Avenue and 138th Street, where one construction worker was killed, and three others narrowly escaped injury. In September 1983, the project was 80% complete, and was expected to be in operation in fall 1985. This temporary service pattern was estimated to be in effect for six or seven months.
Queens Community Board 9 members and businessmen complained about the removal of ten parking spots from the south side of Jamaica Avenue and of three spaces on the north side, all between 121st Street and 120th Street for the bus shuttle. In October 1986, the elevated section from 127th Street to Sutphin Boulevard was turned over to New York City to be demolished. The demolition of the structure and the reconstruction of Jamaica Avenue was estimated to cost $1.6 million. The removal of the structure was slated to begin in mid-1990.
Opening delays Despite the delays, disagreements over the condition of the line and the speed of construction, and the federal
Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA)'s reluctance to provide funding to complete the line due to concerns over the quality of concrete and the leakage of water into the tunnels, construction was completed a year ahead of schedule, in 1983. Due to the
New York City fiscal crisis in 1975, the subway line was truncated to
Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer. Construction on the project was suspended indefinitely, the MTA announced on July 29, 1985, because of water leakage into the tunnel. The tunnel flooded in summer 1984 during a heavy rainstorm, and even though structural improvements were made to fix the issue, groundwater leaks continued, scattering puddles along of the line. On August 3, 1985, Senator
Al D'Amato of New York stated that the project was unsafe and called for the suspension of $44 million in federal aid for the project, citing a preliminary report by the
United States Department of Transportation inspector general. The report claimed that the NYCTA failed to test the quality of 94% of the concrete poured in the project and that no follow-up work was done even though 23% of the concrete had failed tests after being reexamined. UMTA suspended the payments at his request on August 17. It stated that it would consider restoring the funds if the MTA hired an independent consultant completed studies on the tunnels' structural integrity. On August 26, 1985, the MTA hired an independent consultant, Construction Technology Laboratories (CTL), to inspect the tunnel. A preliminary visual inspection by CTL found corrosion on the steel beams and minor cracks in concrete walls. On August 23, the MTA agreed to commit $39 million of its own funds to fix the Archer Avenue and 63rd Street Lines, of which $14 million was given to the Archer Avenue project. Had the UMTA funds not been restored, the MTA would have absorbed the cost by cutting back other projects in its $8.5 billion capital program. On April 9, 1986, the head of UMTA stated that if the 63rd Street and Archer Avenue lines were not completed, he would demand that the NYCTA refund more than $700 million in federal aid used on the projects. The federal government paid for two-thirds of the $1.23 billion spent on the two projects. In June 1986, CTL issued a final report that found that the tunnels of the Archer Avenue and 63rd Street Lines were structurally sound. The report had been ordered by the MTA after UMTA stopped payments on $75 million in grants for the projects, which were 90 percent complete. While the grants were frozen, for a year, the MTA spent $22 million of its own funds to complete existing contracts and to maintain them. The study was requested to show that it was possible to fix leaks and cracks in both projects and an improperly altered ceiling girder in the 63rd Street Tunnel. If the study was approved, work projected to resume in January. It found that there were minor flaws in the projects, such as flaking concrete on a portion of the Archer Avenue tunnel wall, and uneven welds in the altered girder in the 63rd Street Tunnel. The report recommended some rewelding, the removal of stalactites, filling air pockets in some sections of concrete, the removal of debris, waterproofing, and the use of weak electrical charges to prevent corrosion of steel beams. UMTA released $60 million in funds to complete the Archer Avenue and 63rd Street Lines on July 1, 1987. The MTA announced that they would open in December 1988 and October 1989, respectively.
Opening and later use The line opened on December 11, 1988, at a cost of nearly five times its original budgeted cost and cut back to a length of . The project's final cost was $465 million. The line's opening was hailed as a catalyst in the redevelopment of Jamaica, ending the neighborhood's urban blight. In 2020, the MTA announced that it would reconstruct of track and of third rail on the IND Archer Avenue Line, which had become deteriorated. During the first phase of reconstruction, for six weeks between September 19 and November 2, E service was cut back to Jamaica–Van Wyck, with a shuttle bus connecting to Sutphin Boulevard and Jamaica Center. The second phase of the IND line's reconstruction was completed in December 2020. Two years later, the MTA announced it would reconstruct of track on the BMT Archer Avenue Line. The work continued until September 2022. A shuttle bus, the J99, ran from 121st Street to Jamaica–Van Wyck for the duration of the work. ==Service plans==