In response to the City Planning Commission's 1993 proposal to improve access to the Manhattan Central Business District, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) began exploring the possibility of an extension of the IRT Flushing Line to New Jersey.
In 2001, a business and civic group convened by Senator Charles Schumer argued that a westward extension of the Midtown office district could not be accomplished without a subway extension, saying:
The long blocks along the avenues make the walk as long as 20 minutes to the westernmost parts of the area.
In addition, there is no convenient link from Grand Central Station or elsewhere on the east side of Manhattan, making the Far West Side a difficult commute for workers from parts of Manhattan, Queens, Westchester and Connecticut.

A station on the West Side was again proposed as part of the New York City bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The city government wanted to get funding before July 2005, at which time the International Olympic Committee would vote on funding.
However, due to shortfalls in the MTA's capital program, as well as preexisting funding for the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access, the MTA could not pay to fund the extension.
After a proposal for the West Side Stadium, an Olympic stadium to be located above the nearby West Side Yard, was rejected in 2005, New York City lost their Olympic bid.

For then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the extension was still a priority.
His December 12, 2006, address to the New York League of Conservation Voters noted that in November 2006, the government began issuing bonds to fund the extension of the 7 subway to Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street.
The extension was funded with New York City funds from municipal tax increment financing (TIF) bond sales that are expected to be repaid with property tax revenues from future developments in areas served by the extension.
The one-station extension to the burgeoning Hudson Yards area was originally to cost US$2.1 billion, but eventually grew to US$2.4 billion, excluding a US$500 million intermediate station at 10th Avenue that was canceled due to costs.

In October 2007, the MTA awarded a $1.145 billion contract to build 7,000 feet (2,100 m) of twin-tube tunnel to S3, a joint venture of J.F. Shea, Skanska USA Civil, and Schiavone.
The contract was to build tunnel from the then-current 7 train terminus at Times Square westward underneath 41st Street to Eleventh Avenue, then down to 26th Street.
Richard Dattner and Partners, Architects, designed the 34th Street station.
After excavating the new terminal's shell and creating the first 1,000 feet (300 m) of tunnel using the drill-and-blast method, S3 placed two tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) in the ground to dig the remaining 6,000 feet (1,800 m); as it dug, each TBM placed precast concrete liner segments to create the tunnel interior.

On December 21, 2009, the MTA said that a tunnel-boring machine broke through the 34th Street station cavern wall.
Both tunnel-boring machines were scheduled to finish the required tunneling in the spring of 2010.

In April 2011, the MTA announced that the contract covering the tunnels, the station mezzanine and passenger platform was 85% complete, and that the systems contract, covering mechanical and electrical systems, electric power, lighting and train tracks would be awarded by July 2011.
The systems contract was awarded in September 2011.
In May 2012, the MTA announced that the extension, now 65% complete, had received the installation of the first set of rails.
By August 2013, the extension was 90% complete.

On December 20, 2013, Bloomberg took a ceremonial ride on a train to the nearly-complete station, celebrating a part of his legacy as mayor, during a press tour of the extension.
Train testing did not commence until June 2015.
In response to the City Planning Commission's 1993 proposal to improve access to the Manhattan Central Business District, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) began exploring the possibility of an extension of the IRT Flushing Line to New Jersey. In 2001, a business and civic group convened by Senator Charles Schumer argued that a westward extension of the Midtown office district could not be accomplished without a subway extension, saying:
The long blocks along the avenues make the walk as long as 20 minutes to the westernmost parts of the area. In addition, there is no convenient link from Grand Central Station or elsewhere on the east side of Manhattan, making the Far West Side a difficult commute for workers from parts of Manhattan, Queens, Westchester and Connecticut.
A station on the West Side was again proposed as part of the New York City bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The city government wanted to get funding before July 2005, at which time the International Olympic Committee would vote on funding. However, due to shortfalls in the MTA's capital program, as well as preexisting funding for the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access, the MTA could not pay to fund the extension. After a proposal for the West Side Stadium, an Olympic stadium to be located above the nearby West Side Yard, was rejected in 2005, New York City lost their Olympic bid.
For then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the extension was still a priority. His December 12, 2006, address to the New York League of Conservation Voters noted that in November 2006, the government began issuing bonds to fund the extension of the 7 subway to Eleventh Avenue and 34th Street. The extension was funded with New York City funds from municipal tax increment financing (TIF) bond sales that are expected to be repaid with property tax revenues from future developments in areas served by the extension. The one-station extension to the burgeoning Hudson Yards area was originally to cost US$2.1 billion, but eventually grew to US$2.4 billion, excluding a US$500 million intermediate station at 10th Avenue that was canceled due to costs.
In October 2007, the MTA awarded a $1.145 billion contract to build 7,000 feet (2,100 m) of twin-tube tunnel to S3, a joint venture of J.F. Shea, Skanska USA Civil, and Schiavone. The contract was to build tunnel from the then-current 7 train terminus at Times Square westward underneath 41st Street to Eleventh Avenue, then down to 26th Street. Richard Dattner and Partners, Architects, designed the 34th Street station. After excavating the new terminal's shell and creating the first 1,000 feet (300 m) of tunnel using the drill-and-blast method, S3 placed two tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) in the ground to dig the remaining 6,000 feet (1,800 m); as it dug, each TBM placed precast concrete liner segments to create the tunnel interior.
On December 21, 2009, the MTA said that a tunnel-boring machine broke through the 34th Street station cavern wall. Both tunnel-boring machines were scheduled to finish the required tunneling in the spring of 2010.
In April 2011, the MTA announced that the contract covering the tunnels, the station mezzanine and passenger platform was 85% complete, and that the systems contract, covering mechanical and electrical systems, electric power, lighting and train tracks would be awarded by July 2011. The systems contract was awarded in September 2011. In May 2012, the MTA announced that the extension, now 65% complete, had received the installation of the first set of rails. By August 2013, the extension was 90% complete.
On December 20, 2013, Bloomberg took a ceremonial ride on a train to the nearly-complete station, celebrating a part of his legacy as mayor, during a press tour of the extension. Train testing did not commence until June 2015.
34th Street–Hudson Yards station