Six of the seven subway lines that connect Queens to Manhattan converge at the foot of the Queensboro Bridge, where Queens Plaza meets Queens Boulevard, Northern Boulevard, and Jackson Avenue. There, the elevated Queensboro Plaza station handles the N, Q, and 7 trains, while the E, M, and R serve the underground Queens Plaza stop. The two stations face increasing pressure from steady growth in both Long Island City and the borough as a whole, as well as the impending overflow of Brooklyn commuters displaced by the L train shutdown. The need for a transfer connection between them has become more pressing than ever.