When Superstorm Sandy hit the city last October, floodwaters washing over the East Side did not penetrate subway construction sites.

NPR: New York Expanding Nation's Biggest Transit Hub

Subway construction is disrupting direct weekend service to Flushing, so be sure to check alternate travel options with the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

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Two deadly collapses in 2008 spurred reforms and even criminal charges, but another crane fell and killed a worker in the city just this past April, at a subway construction site largely exempt from city safety rules.

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Sadik-Khan says she's working on express buses as a way around a 70-year federal backlog in subway and rail construction.

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The projects totaling 21 in all include construction of subway and light rail lines in 23 cities, 13 highway projects spanning 2, 000 kilometers, 10 municipal-level projects and three ports and waterway projects.

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Zoning was relaxed near the subway stations, allowing the construction of higher-density homes and businesses.

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Also under construction is the Second Avenue Subway that eventually will serve Manhattan's far East Side, from Harlem to the island's southern tip.

NPR: New York Expanding Nation's Biggest Transit Hub

Construction on Cologne's North-South subway line began in 2004.

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