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Groundbreaking for the Second Avenue Subway was held in a section of tunnel on 101st Street built in the 1970s, before the project was derailed by the fiscal crisis. (WNYC/Beth Fertig)

NEW YORK, NY April 12, 2007 —With the tap of some small hand axes, politicians and transit officials symbolically launched construction on the Second Avenue Subway. The first phase of the project is expected to cost $3.8 billion and transit officials are about $875 million short.

REPORTER: Gene Russianoff with the Straphangers Campaign says that's not a good sign, especially since work on the Second Avenue line has been halted three times before because of a lack of money.

RUSSIANOFF: This project is taking place at a time that the MTA has tremendous financial woes. Billions of dollars of deficits in their operating budget and huge capital needs. And so I'm counting on Governor Spitzer and the state legislature to help fund not only an important project like Second Avenue but the existing system and repairs.

REPORTER: Governor Spitzer says he's confident the state will come up with the funding in time to finish the first phase of construction in 2013. As for the other three stages, the MTA has yet to find the money.