Commuters Deal With Red Line T Closure For 1st Time
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Part of the Red Line is closed for six months and commuters dealt with it for the first time today.
The Red Line is closed for rail repairs between Fallowfield Avenue in Beechview and ending at Potomac Avenue in Dormont. Crews will be working daily from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m.
The work through Beechview will be extensive, and starts in the area where the tracks are embedded in Broadway Avenue. Parking won't be allowed on parts of Broadway Avenue during the first phase.
The orange barrels at the Potomac T stop gave Red Line riders a glimpse of what's to come this morning.
"Expect delays, plan ahead for it. Be understanding though because it does need to be done," Andrew Hussein said.
According to the Port Authority, "The Red Line will only operate between Allegheny and Fallowfield stations, serving all stations in between, including those in Downtown.
"I've been at certain points on the track in bad weather where there was problems with the train. So, I can see how they do need to do some work on it, but at the same time it's not going be easy for us to deal with that," Josh Michael said.
It won't be easy, but the Port Authority is doing its best to get riders where they need to go via shuttles, extra Blue Line service and even an added bus from Mount Lebanon to Downtown.
They've also put out information via the mail and are handing it out. It's also posted on their website.
Today, some said the only way they're going learn what to do is by just doing it.
"I think it was going to be a trial run where I didn't know what time I had to be here or how much time it would take. I probably should've gotten here earlier," Greg Plachecki said.
Port Authority employees are going to be at various T locations that are impacted by this closure. They say they'll be around throughout the week handing out pamphlets and giving out information to riders.
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