For the next two weeks, riders who use light rail service in Downtown Pittsburgh will face challenges and delays, especially on weekends.
That’s because the Wood Street Station will be closed from Friday until Dec. 22 for continuing work to replace the escalators and crews will be performing weekend work in the underground tunnels that will cause additional disruptions.
That means riders won’t be able to use the Wood Street station at all during the closure. Pittsburgh Regional Transit is replacing nine escalators at its Downtown stations, including four at Wood Street, and more work will be done on that project during the closure.
Weekday riders should plan to use either the Steel Plaza or Gateway stations. All other Downtown stations will be open on weekdays, and no delays are expected.
Wood Street is scheduled to reopen at 4 p.m. Dec. 22, but the escalator project isn’t expected to be finished until March.
Things will get more complicated on the weekends.
Due to tunnel work, the path of rail service will be changed beginning 8 p.m. Friday through the start of service on Monday. During that time, inbound trains will go from Steel Plaza to Penn Station on Grant Street, which ordinarily is closed, and stop there. Passengers can take a shuttle bus from there to Gateway Plaza, where they can reboard light rail trains to the North Side.
Trains from the North Side to Downtown will end at Gateway, where riders can take a shuttle bus to Penn Station to resume their light rail ride through Downtown to the South Hills.
The shuttle bus also will stop at a temporary stop created at Liberty Avenue and Strawberry Way instead of stopping at the Wood Street Station on Liberty.
Because of the changes, PRT said riders can expect delays of 30 to 45 minutes. Those changes also will be in place the following weekend, Dec. 15-18.
The agency is in the midst of a $13.5 million project to replace nine escalators at three Downtown stations to improve performance, safety and reliability. When the Wood Street station is open, riders can use stairs or elevators to get to the tracks.
Riders with questions about the disruptions should contact PRT’s customer service office by calling 412-442-2000, on X @PghTransitCare or via live chat at www.ridePRT.org.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.