This tunnel is a continuation of the 63rd St Tunnel, completed in 2001 to make the connection between the 63rd St Tunnel that opened in 1989 and the IND Queens Blvd Line, around 40th Rd and Northern Blvd in Long Island City. This final connection of the 63rd St Tunnel to the Queens Corridor had massive effects on service capacity in Queens.
The tunnel was constructed with a bellmouth provision for connection to a future Queens “Super Express” line which would run via the nearby Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) right of way. The idea for this Super Express line had actually been around for quite a while, along with the many other plans for branches/extensions under the Second System that never materialized. Under this iteration of the plan, in accordance with the 63rd St Tunnel plan, the Super Express would have gone through this bellmouth and a short distance in a new tunnel before surfacing in the Sunnyside Yard. The line then would have continue on the LIRR Main Line right of way across Queens, going express via the underutilized 5th and 6th tracks. A new tunnel would be constructed in Forest Hills to connect the Super Express back into the subway, and into the Forest Hills—71st Ave station.
The extra capacity this plan would have provided in Queens was part of a larger plan for more extensions in Queens. Trains originally would have continued onto the planned Hillside Ave extension, and in the later version would have served the new area connected to the Archer Ave Line.
The tunnel itself that contains the provision is rather dull, as can be observed in the photos. It’s a pretty plain gray color, though it is still relatively clean being that it’s one of the newer tunnels in the system. The provision has become a bit of a sewer, dark and full of disgusting muck. It smells awful, a phenomenon I have noticed with many similar tunnels, built near the same time and using similar construction techniques/designs. There are a few gross looking mysterious goos inside the bellmouth of off white, orange, and dark colors—likely the result of water intrusion and erosion in the concrete and steel structure of the tunnel.
