NY1's Jose Martinez got an up-close look at the latest with the construction of the Second Avenue Subway. He filed the following report.

It's a subway line that's nearly a century in the making. And after years of blasting and construction headaches, the opening of the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway line is now a little more than 18 months away. Or so the MTA hopes.

On Thursday, the agency showed off two of the stations taking shape more than 100 feet beneath Manhattan, a project the MTA now says is 82 percent complete.

"What's left is truly a very important part. It's the systems, the system integration," said Michael Horodniceanu, president of MTA Capital Construction. "And that is not a small thing. In fact, it is fraught with risks."

Some of the tracks have already been laid down, and platforms are in place. Some of the escalators are installed, and others are coming, to bring passengers into what will be some of the deepest stations in the city.

One thing riders will notice when they finally get down here is that none of the three stations along the Second Avenue Subway will have steel columns. That makes them different from every other underground station currently in the system.

"In terms of the modern design, this is really the way to go," Horodniceanu said.

Still to be done? The subway signals, the bulk of the track work, and finishes to walls and ceilings.

"All of these things are very complex and require testing at a variety of levels," Horodniceanu said.

The new line will run from 96th to 63rd streets and is expected to relieve overcrowding on the Lexington Avenue line.

"Two hundred thousand people will shift over," Horodniceanu said. "It's a big number, given the congestion that we have."

The MTA hopes a Phase Two can extend trains north to 125th Street. Horodniceanu is looking beyond that.

"This is the future tunnel downtown to Houston Street. It's Phase Three," he said.

Neither of those two phases are funded yet, but after decades of stops and starts, the line is finally getting close to transporting New Yorkers.