In 1913, the New York City Public Service Commission formalized the Dual Contracts, specifying new lines or expansions to be built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. As part of the Dual Contracts, the IRT was to complete and open the Steinway Tunnel as part of the new Flushing subway line. The tunnel, running under the East River with trolley loops on both the Manhattan and Queens sides, had sat unused since 1907, when test runs had been performed in the then-nearly-complete tunnel. The route was to go from Times Square through the tunnel over to Long Island City and from there continue toward Flushing.
