With ideas in place as early as 1929, New York’s Second Avenue subway opening was a long time coming. While Jan. 1 only saw the opening of phase one of three of the project, the completion of subsequent phases will mark the biggest expansion of the subway system in more than 50 years.

When the expansion project is complete, the full-length subway lines will provide travelers with significantly improved transit, including service extending 8.5 miles along Manhattan’s East Side from 125th Street in Harlem to Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan; a connection to the 63rd Street and Broadway Lines, offering direct service from East Harlem and the Upper East Side to Midtown West; 16 new stations serving Harlem, the Upper East Side, East Midtown, Gramercy Park, East Village, the Lower East Side, Chinatown and Lower Manhattan; and easy transfers to subway lines, facilitating smoother, faster transportation between uptown and downtown and the East and West Sides.

Ultimately, the aim of the project is to reduce overcrowding and delays on the Lexington Avenue line, expected to benefit more than 200,000 daily riders and reduce travel times by 10 minutes or more for riders from the Upper East Side.

The new subway system and stations will also feature impressive installations of artwork, aimed at improving the overall subway traveler experience.

Four stations — 96th Street, 86th Street, 72nd Street and 63rd Street — will undergo one of the most ambitious contemporary art projects the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has ever undertaken.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo told The New York Times, “With every public works project, I believe there is an opportunity to elevate the everyday, to build a public space where community can gather and where culture and shared civic values are celebrated.”

Four artists were chosen in 2009 from a pool of more than 300 to create individual installations in each of the stations. While there is a lot of work left to complete, the city of New York and its visitors are looking forward to the finished project.