The once-doomed 7-line subway stop at 42nd St. and 10th Ave. may be back from the dead — as long as the city and MTA can cough up $550 million.
Initially canceled because the city couldn’t afford it, engineers decided that the station could be redesigned in a way that wouldn’t increase the cost of the rest of the project and wouldn’t interrupt the train’s eventual route to the Javits Center at 34th St. and 11th Ave.
But city and MTA officials admit they’re not sure where the funds will come from.
“We need engineers to confirm that it’s viable, but we’re confident we’ve found a way to keep the prospect of a future Tenth Avenue station alive without delaying the current extension,” Mayor Bloomberg said.
“The City is in no position to step in and pay for a Tenth Avenue station too, but it will be good news if we can finish the current extension without closing off the possibility of it happening in the future.”
Instead of building one massive station where riders could enter the southbound or eastbound directions from any entrance, the new design would have two exclusive entrances for each direction.
Even if it’s built, the station wouldn’t be ready by the original December 2013 roll-out date.
The new design would allow workers to build the two, smaller stations without having to stop the 7 line’s new route to the west side of Manhattan.
The city will try to nab $3 million in federal funds to study the station idea and make sure it’s possible.
Separate-entrance stations exist in the subway system, but the MTA does not build them any longer.
The work to extend the 7 line is unique because the city is paying for the $2.1 billion construction with proceeds of bonds backed by the future tax revenue to be generated by commercial development at the Hudson Yards — which would be the train’s new terminal.
The state-run MTA is managing the project.
The Real Estate Board of New York and city council members have pushed for the station’s construction in the past.
“The MTA is fully supportive of the Mayor’s proposal to seek federal funding to study the viability of building out a Tenth Avenue station in the future,” the MTA said in a statement. “While neither the City or MTA can fund the station due to financial constraints, we should not preclude the possibility of a station in the future.”