On January 21, 1935, BOT Chairman John Delaney said that express service in Queens would not begin until construction on the proposed IND Sixth Avenue Line was completed. In February 1935, it was expected that work on Jamaica Yard would be completed by August 20. Construction was not begun until piles had been sunk, through mud and fill, into firm sand. On March 17, 1936, at a hearing of the New York State Transit Commission and the New York State Public Service Commission, the LIRR said that it would seek permission in 1937 to abandon the three stations along its Main Line between Jamaica and Pennsylvania Station—Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, and Woodside. The LIRR had said that it anticipated a loss of annual revenue between $750,000 and $1 million with the opening of the extension of the Queens Boulevard Line to Jamaica. The opening of the line to Continental Avenue was expected in October as of April 1936. At the same time, it was announced that Jamaica Yard would be placed into service with this extension of service. The installation of third rail and storage tracks were expected to be completed by the early summer. In April 1936, William Jerome Daly, the secretary of the BOT, stated, in response to requests for a stop at 178th Street, that constructing a station at that location would prevent express service from operating past Continental Avenue. He said that with a final station at 169th Street, expresses could run to Parsons Boulevard, and that if the line was extended to Springfield Boulevard as planned, express service could be extended past 178th Street with a yard east of the new terminal. In August 1936, construction to Forest Hills was expected to be completed by the end of the year. The tracks were installed all the way to 178th Street, and the stations to Union Turnpike were completed. However, the stops to the east still needed to be tiled, have stairways, turnstiles and lighting installed. Only two additional contracts remained to be put up for bid, both the results of last minute changes. The first of the two changes was for finishing the Ely Avenue station which did not open with the initial segment to Roosevelt Avenue. The second of the two entails the eastern terminal of the line. Initially, express trains were planned to terminate at a station at 178th Street. However, the plans