The Third Avenue Elevated, the only other elevated line in the area, closed on May 13, 1955, and was demolished in 1956. The Lexington Avenue Line was now the only subway transportation option on the East Side, leading to overcrowding. By 1957, the 1951 bond issue had been almost entirely used for other projects, and "The New York Times" despaired of the line's ever being built. "It certainly will cost more than $500 million and will require a new bond issue", wrote one reporter.