The IND side of the station, the southern side, was completed in 1984, when it was named the Construction Achievement Project of the Year by the Metropolitan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers; however, it did not open for passenger service until October 29, 1989, due to delays in the construction of the multi-level 63rd Street Tunnel, caused by the financial crisis of the 1970s. Upon the station's opening, it operated as a typical one-track, one-side platform station on each level, with only the IND side in use, while the BMT side of each level was hidden beyond an orange tiled false wall. Switches on both levels connected the lines to the west of the station.