Mount Washington Tunnel to close for repairs, detours set for light rail and buses
Crews will work on electrical systems inside the transit tunnel during a closure scheduled to start Monday, with rail and bus routes shifted through Allentown and the Wabash Tunnel.
By Wyatt Cooper ·
The Mount Washington Transit Tunnel will shut down for a week starting at 1 a.m. Monday, forcing light rail and bus traffic onto detour routes through Allentown while crews complete electrical repairs. The closure runs until the start of service Saturday, and transit officials are warning riders to build extra time into their trips.
Light rail trains will reroute through Allentown in both directions. A rail shuttle will run between the outbound platform at Station Square and Allegheny Station. Inbound buses will also use Allentown, while outbound buses will move through the Wabash Tunnel. The Wabash Tunnel normally switches direction through the day, but it will stay outbound-only for the duration of the closure to handle the detour. Pittsburgh Regional Transit spokesman Eddie Phillipps said in a release that riders should plan for delays of up to 20 minutes.
The work is one of several restrictions scheduled across the region. Fifth Avenue in Oakland drops to one lane from Bellefield Avenue to Craft Avenue between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily through Saturday, with crews preparing the roadway for a new bike lane as part of the University Line project. On West Liberty Avenue in Beechview, alternating lane restrictions run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily through mid-November between Saranac and Pauline avenues for utility restoration and paving, with flaggers directing traffic.
In Allegheny County, westbound I-376 narrows to one lane between the Monroeville/Plum and Penn Hills interchanges from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly through Nov. 16 for median barrier sealing under the Parkway East Betterment Project. Northbound I-79 will reduce to a single lane across the Neville Island Bridge from 7 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday for deck repairs. The Boyers Road railroad crossing in Mercer, Butler County, closes Monday, Nov. 9 at 6 a.m. through Friday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. for Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad maintenance, with detours posted via Route 8 and Route 308. In Washington County, a portion of Old Brick Road at the bridge over Interstate 70 closes Monday for preservation work, with detours via the Claysville exit and Dallas Pike.
Other scheduled work includes single-lane restrictions on Irishtown Road and Braun Road in Bethel Park weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through early December for a $3.49 million paving project; lane closures on I-376 between the Squirrel Hill Tunnel and the Edgewood/Swissvale interchange Saturday from 4 a.m. to noon for the $95 million Commercial Street Bridge replacement; and alternating single-lane traffic on northbound I-79 between Route 910 and Penn Hills nightly from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Nov. 16 for median barrier work under the Parkway East Betterment Project, a separate $100 million effort. Structural repairs on Edgewood Avenue between Oak View Avenue and Elm Street run daily in two blocks from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. through late December under that same project.
In Westmoreland County, a portion of White School Road between Paul Good Road and Faulkner Way closes Monday through mid-November for slide repair, with a detour posted via Route 30, Marguerite Road, Marguerite Lake Road and Route 130.
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
