page_title: 34th Street–Hudson Yards station
section_title: Delays
hierarchical_section_title: 34th Street–Hudson Yards station / History / Delays
caption_attribution_description: 34 St-Hudson Yards Station
context_page_description: 34th Street–Hudson Yards is a New York City Subway station in Manhattan's West Side on the IRT Flushing Line, and is the western terminus for the 7 local and <7> express services. It has two tracks and one island platform, with two levels of mezzanines: one directly above the platform and the other directly below street level. The station directly serves the Hudson Yards mega-development above it, and is located within the greater Hudson Yards neighborhood. The station contains two entrances along Hudson Boulevard: a primary entrance south of 34th Street, and a secondary entrance south of 35th Street.
  The station, originally part of the city's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics and the failed attempt to build the West Side Stadium, was first scheduled to open in summer 2012. When London was chosen for the Olympics, the opening date was pushed to December 2013. In 2011, the opening was postponed to June 2014, pending the completion of the escalators and elevators in the station. After a series of delays involving escalator, elevator, and fire and safety systems, the station finally opened on September 13, 2015.
context_section_description: In January 2012, the station was touted as under-budget and on schedule to open in 2013, before a series of delays plagued the project. The station, originally part of the city's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, was supposed to first open as part of a two-station subway extension, including 10th Avenue station, in summer 2012. When London was chosen for the Olympics, the opening date was pushed to December 2013; the Tenth Avenue station was dropped from construction plans soon after. By June 2012, trains were still expected to run "for test purposes" by the end of 2013. That same month, the station's opening was delayed to June 2014 for completion of the station's fitting-out.
  Michael Horodniceanu, chief of MTA Construction Company, told The New York Times in January 2014 that complications in the installation of the inclined elevator would likely cause a further delay of about three months, bringing the opening date to very late summer or early fall of 2014, or to November 2014. By March 2014, the station's tentative opening date was still to be in November 2014.
  Then, in May 2014, the opening was delayed again to install the inclined elevators, as they had originally failed a factory test in Como Province, Italy. Officials had insisted that the Italian-manufactured elevators had software and parts made from a variety of different companies in America, rather than from a single foreign company. However, the station was not delayed solely because of the elevators. The station's opening was also pushed to later dates due to "integrated testing for fire protection", which required the completion of all station infrastructure, including escalators, stairs, and elevators. Escalators and tunnel ventilation systems also caused the station to be delayed. At this point, the station was expected to open for service in late 2014, but due to further elevator delays as well as problems with the extension's ventilation systems, it was delayed in October 2014 by a further few months, to February 2015.
  At this point, the project was so far delayed that the MTA was offered US$4.75 million in "incentive" money if the station opened by February 24, 2015. Software changes were made to solve the elevators' problems, and the elevators were installed. Testing would be complete by November. Three ventilation systems were already installed by October 1, 2014, with two more systems to be installed by the end of the month. On November 17, it was confirmed that February 24 would be the opening date for the station; new signs and the southern entrance's canopy started to be erected. However, just a month later, the MTA stated that it was unable to open the subway extension for service until April to July 2015, due to the failure to get the inclined elevators to work properly. The MTA also cited problems with the fire alarm and security systems as another reason for the delay. In addition, the developer of the Hudson Yards mega-development, The Related Companies, also needed to dig caissons for the foundations of 55 Hudson Yards, just above the subway station, and the foundation work needed to be complete before the MTA could proceed with opening the station.
  The MTA made another announcement, on March 24, 2015, saying that the station's opening would be delayed again to summer 2015, due to more problems with the fire and security systems. In addition, third rails, public service announcement systems, ventilation fans, escalators, and elevators would need to be tested. By April 2015, the station was complete, but unopened. On June 15, 2015, though, the extension was pushed back again to "before the end of the third quarter" of 2015. A month later, the MTA confirmed that the station would be opened on or before September 13, 2015. The opening date was confirmed on August 28, 2015. By this point, MTA chairman Thomas Prendergast had stated that the myriad delays in both the new station and in the other MTA Capital Construction projects were humiliating.
caption: Lower mezzanine level
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