On March 17, 1976, construction began on a -long section of Route 133 underneath the LIRR tracks and the Van Wyck Expressway. The first tunnel between the Jamaica Avenue Elevated and the Archer Avenue subway was holed through in October 1977. The second tunnel connection holing through of the Archer Avenue subway tunnels occurred on December 14, 1977. On October 26, 1979, the groundbreaking for Section 2, which stretched from 144th Street to 147th Place, took place. This section was awarded to Slattery Associate Incorporated and Agrett Enterprise Corporation for $45,251,350, and was constructed using cut-and-cover. This section was expected to be completed in four years, and included the Sutphin Boulevard station. Work on the station was planned to begin in spring 1980.