Section Of Port Authority Red Line To Shut Down For Six Months

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A section of the Port Authority trolley tracks in the middle of the Red Line will close for six months starting in March.

The Red Line will be getting some love in the spring.

Riders like Jeff Duerr are trying to stay positive.

"It will be a pain but well worth it in the long run," Jeff Duerr of Bethel Park said.

The T tracks of the Red Line provide service to about 12,000 daily riders between the South Hills, downtown and the North Shore.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County says these tracks have reached the end of its life.

Starting on March 27, the Red Line will be closed for rail repairs between Fallowfield Avenue in Beechview and ending at Potomac Avenue in Dormont.

This stretch runs for a mile, and has been repaired 22 times since 2008 to keep it open.

"There's been significant repairs required there. We've been patching it and patching it. It's time to do the repair," CEO of the Port Authority of Allegheny County Ellen McLean said.

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Street pavement in the center lanes of Broadway Avenue in Beechview also need replaced.

Some riders say they're discouraged.

"That's a big stretch. A lot of people live in that area and ride the trolley," Jeffrey Gentile of Carrick said.

"If they have to work on it to make it better, that's a good idea as long they have transportation for people to get back and forth," Stacy from the North Side said.

That's what the Port Authority will be doing.

"We have shuttles so you'll get off, pick up a shuttle and it will drop you off at the bottom then you get back on again," McLean said.

The project was supposed to last through two construction seasons but the Port Authority cut it down to six months by providing the contractor a financial incentive. Officials hope it can be completed ahead of schedule. Riders like Helen Trautman of Mt. Lebanon are taking it in stride.

"It's something you have to do. The nature of the business," Trautman said.