unwilling to renew the contract. For the next five years, the tunnel, with trolley loops on both the Manhattan and Queens sides, remained unused. In 1913, Belmont sold the tunnel to the city government after the IRT signed the Dual Contracts, which incorporated the Steinway Tunnel as part of the new Flushing subway line. Subway operation Initially, the IRT intended to use the tunnel for trolleys; however, it subsequently decided instead to use the tubes for a heavy-rail rapid transit line. After the IRT measured the tubes, the company found that third rail installation could be possible with small modifications. Regular subway cars could not use the loops and the ramp because of the tight radius of the loops and the steep 6% incline. The roadbed and the rail were determined to be usable for subway service, but even so, the duct banks in the tunnel were replaced. The platforms could be easily extended, and it was also found that the tunnel's width corresponded to the width specifications of the existing IRT subway's car fleet. Work began in 1913, and the tubes were modified to accommodate IRT subway cars in 1914. The work included removing part of the tunnel walls on the Manhattan side and building a cavern to create a track crossover between the tubes. The first IRT Steinway test train between Grand Central and Vernon Avenue (today's Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue station) ran June 13, 1915, with a regularly scheduled shuttle service beginning June 22. The planned metro route was to go from Times Square through the tunnel over to Long Island City and from there continue towards Flushing. The IRT was to operate this line, with the trackage east of Queensboro Plaza to be shared by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (later the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation, or BMT). Meanwhile, the construction work continued on the planned route. To the east of the tunnel, the Hunters Point Avenue subway station went up to the level of the Hunterspoint Avenue LIRR station. Immediately east of it was a ramp up to the elevated subway towards Queensboro Plaza. Hunters Point Avenue opened on February 15, 1916, and on November 5 of the same year, it was extended to Queensboro Plaza. Because the line did not have track connections to the rest of the IRT network, a provisional maintenance workshop was operated at the tunnel ramp until 1928. To the west, construction