[Nexis4Jersey]

MTA Finishes LIRR Tunnel Connecting Grand Central to Queens
NEW YORK — Manhattan and Queens have never been closer.
The MTA broke down a final concrete wall Thursday to create a new Long Island Railroad tunnel between Grand Central Terminal and Sunnyside, Queens.
The tunnel is part of the MTA's $8.24 billion East Side Access project, scheduled to finish in 2019. The ambitious plan features a new LIRR terminal beneath Grand Central, shortening commutes for thousands of riders and marking the first expansion of the railroad in more then a century.
"For the first time since the East Side Access project began, there is now a continuous path through [a] newly built tunnel from Queens to the East Side of Manhattan," MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota said in a statement Thursday.
"This is the path Long Island Rail Road trains will follow when this project is completed."


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