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MTA Chairman 'Confident' In Meeting Phase Two Deadline For Second Avenue Subway Project

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved a new operating budget during its final board meeting of the year on Wednesday.

But as WCBS 880's Paul Murnane reported, MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast also discussed concerns surrounding the Second Avenue Subway project.

Timeline questions were recently raised by an independent MTA engineer, warning that installation of track, communications and a power system could slow the pace of construction.

Prendergast is keenly aware of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's end of next year arrival demands for phase one, Murnane reported.

"So we're doing everything to make sure that that's the case, and right now, we're confident, but there are risks with anything that we do," Prendergast said. "But we're confident we're going to meet that Dec. 31, 2016 date for phase one of Second Avenue."

But phase two in East Harlem still lives in shadows of doubt in many minds after funding cuts.

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