expected to be completed in four years, and included the Sutphin Boulevard station. Work on the station was planned to begin in spring 1980. On September 10, 1977, the Jamaica elevated was cut back from 168th Street to Queens Boulevard, closing the stations at 168th Street, 160th Street, and Sutphin Boulevard. The demolition of the elevated line was originally planned to be done upon the completion of the Archer Avenue line, but was pushed up at the request of Mayor Abe Beame, who wanted to accelerate the redevelopment plan for Downtown Jamaica. The reconstruction of the Queens Boulevard station to become the line's terminal and the transferring of equipment took 12 to 15 months and cost $2.2 million. One of the modifications made was the installation of a -long double crossover to the west of the station. Work on the double crossover was completed at the NYCTA's new track plant at Linden Shops, saving four months. It was installed over the course of two weekends. Q49 buses (distinct from the modern Q49 route) replaced Jamaica elevated service, and free transfers were provided to subway service at Queens Boulevard. Bus service ran every two to three minutes during rush hours, and met every train during late nights. The removal of the elevated's frame was expected to take six to eight months. Demolition on this section was expected to begin early in 1978. In April 1978, work was scheduled to begin on May 1 and be completed in mid-July. However, the work started on June 28, 1978, and was scheduled to be completed by early fall 1978—six to ten weeks later. The $927,000 contract to demolish the structure was awarded to the Wrecking Corp. of America. The demolition of the structure, with the exception of the station platforms, was completed overnight to minimize potential impacts to businesses and traffic. Work to reconstruct the street, install new traffic lights and overhead utility lines was expected to take an additional year. Work tearing down the structure began at 168th Street and proceeded to just west of the Queens Boulevard station. In November 1978, the only sections of the structure left were at 155th Street and 160th Street. In April 1979, the Jamaica Water Supply Company, which supplied water to 118,000 residents of western Nassau County and southeastern Queens, sent a report to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The report stated that