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Commuters Forced To Detour Due To Work On Light Rail's Red Line

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Red Line riders experienced some confusion and delays Friday morning as they worked to maneuver a detour.

"This is not that much of an inconvenience," said Montae Nicholson, commuter.

Nicholson and other Red Line riders packed their patience Friday morning and broke away from routine.

Watch David Highfield's report --

 

"We've been through this before when there was some type of work being done and we had to catch the Blue Line or the Red Line down to the Blue Line," said Nicholson.

On Friday morning Port Authority crews began work on a switch along the Red Line that will close the track through the holiday weekend and into Tuesday. Because of that closure, Red Line riders must follow a detour.

"It's a slight inconvenience, but it's still better than driving I think," said Nicholson.

Red Line riders that use the stops between Castle Shannon and Palm Garden to travel inbound must first board an outbound train and ride to the Willow/Overbrook Junction stop. They must then hop off and board a Blue Line train heading to the city. Transfers at the Willow/Overbrook Junction will be free.

"Because it's a holiday weekend, we know a lot of people take off Friday to extend that holiday and holiday weekends tend to be light traffic for us," said Adam Brandolph, of the Port Authority.

red line work
(Photo Credit: Meghan Schiller/KDKA)

Even though it's a holiday weekend and a baseball weekend, Brandolph said now is their best shot to knock the project out.

"They're going to have to rip up all the concrete here, rip up the rails...replace the rails and repour the concrete," he said.

Riders waited for longer on Friday morning, but not many complained. The fact that the sun was shining and it was the beginning of the long weekend seemed to make the detour more bearable.

"It's not a big deal," said one commuter.

No one seemed too upset Friday afternoon, just a little annoyed.

"It is [kind of frustrating]," Haley Engleman said. "They weren't exactly clear as to how it should be done and what exactly we should be doing and where we should be doing it."

"It affected me by taking time out of my day," Marcus Duck, who was trying to run errands and meet up with friends, said.

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