The line was incrementally built northward since its opening until 1920, when it reached its northernmost terminal at Gun Hill Road and connected with the northern portion of the IRT White Plains Road Line.
On May 12, 1955, the Third Avenue Line was closed south of 149th Street in response to developers wishing to construct newer residences and commercial buildings on the East Side of Manhattan.
[2][3][4] The remainder of the Third Avenue Line, wholly within the Bronx, was closed on April 28, 1973 and was subsequently demolished.
[5] In the Bronx, the earliest stations and infrastructure of the New York City Subway still in existence lie in the IRT White Plains Road Line.
[7] Also under the contract, the IRT Jerome Avenue Line was opened in 1917 between 149th Street–Grand Concourse and Kingsbridge Road before its extension northward to Woodlawn and the completion of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line a year later.
[13][14] The most recent expansion of Bronx service happened shortly after the unification of the three New York City subway systems: in 1941, the former tracks of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway between East 180th Street and Dyre Avenue were acquired by the Board of Transportation to be part of the IRT Division as the IRT Dyre Avenue Line.
[15] Through service to Manhattan via the White Plains Road Line at East 180th Street began in 1957.