June 2018. However, this was delayed by several months because of changes to the project schedule and cost. The construction duration was expected to be extended by three months, and the cost would increase by $25 million, because of additions to the original construction plan. A construction contract was awarded on March 7, 2019, with an estimated completion date of March 2022. The project is expected to take three years to complete. On August 2, 2019, the MTA announced that work on the project would begin on August 16. Work on the project will be completed in multiple phases, which were originally intended to create minor reductions in service, since only one track at a time would be taken out of service for construction. During the first phase of work, service operated on tracks 1 and 4. The second phase of work began on October 6, 2019, with service being limited to tracks 3 and 4. During this phase, only three of the four cars of the train on track 3 were available for use. On November 8, 2019, the MTA solicited bids for a consultant to manage, oversee, and coordinate work on construction projects taking place in the subway system between Times Square and Grand Central, in order to improve customer communication, minimize inconveniences, and to reduce the length and cost of these projects by bundling work. In January 2020, the MTA announced that it would package work on eight projects along 42nd Street, including the work to renovate the 42nd Street Shuttle, together into the newly branded 42nd Street Connection Project. The new approach was expected to reduce the time needed to complete renovations on the shuttle from 49 months to 36 months, allowed for the reengineering of project scope to reduce cost overruns, and improved the schedule of subway service during work. In February, work began on surveying the area that will be the new connection between the Times Square and Bryant Park stations. On April 6, 2020, a new phase of work on the project was scheduled to begin, with service then only running on tracks 1 and 3. However, on that date, New York City Transit issued a General Order that called for a complete shutdown of the line until December 31, 2020. Because the shuttle was already temporarily shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the upgrades were expedited by