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NEW YORK, NY April 12, 2007 —After more than 75 years of planning and a failed start in the 1970s, the 2nd Avenue subway is finally back on track. A groundbreaking is scheduled for at 10:30 this morning. WNYC's Beth Fertig has more.

REPORTER: The MTA is picking up where it left off in the 1970s. Contractors will begin digging on the Upper East Side in a small section of tunnel that was never completed. The MTA's Executive Director, Elliot Sander, says the $3.8 billion subway line is finally moving ahead because of a housing boom and a thriving economy.

SANDER: We determined along with the support of the legislature and Washington that to support future growth it had to happen.

REPORTER: But a full subway line from Harlem to Wall Street won't happen until more funds are available. The MTA is only committed right now to the first phase, which will start at 96th Street and eventually head west, stopping at 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue. It's scheduled for completion in 2013 and is expected to serve about 200,000 riders. For WNYC I'm Beth Fertig.