Part of the Silver Line on the "T" will be closed next week for electrical work
People who use the Silver Line to ride the "T" in and out of Pittsburgh from the South Hills will need to be aware of electrical work that will be disrupting service next week.
Pittsburgh Regional Transit said that service on the Silver Line will be temporarily suspended in parts of South Park and Bethel Park so that crews can replace and reinforce overhead electrical lines.
Because of the electrical work, the Silver Line will not be running between Library and Lytle stations between 10 a.m. on Monday and 3 p.m. on Friday.
PRT said that nine stops between the two stations will be out of service and that shuttle buses will be running to take riders to Lytle station, where they can get on a Silver Line train towards Washington Junction and the city of Pittsburgh.
For riders heading out of the city of the Pittsburgh towards the South Hills, service will end when trains get to Lytle station. From there, shuttle buses will be able to take them to stations along the rest of the route along Brightwood Road and Library Road.
"Shuttles will follow the regular rail schedule as closely as possible; however, delays may occur due to traffic conditions," PRT said.
For riders who utilize the park-and-ride lots at West Library and Library stations who don't wish to get a shuttle bus, the Lytle park-and-ride and Washington Junction park-and-ride lots will be the closest options.
PRT is asking riders to allow for additional travel time during the suspension of service next week.
Riders caught off guard by closures
For some riders, the upcoming closure was unexpected and could impact their daily commute.
"I think they could do a better job of communicating, this is the first I've heard of it," said John Previs.
John was not alone; two other riders said they had not known of the impending closure until we spoke with them, but they believe that the work is long overdue.
"I think it's long overdue, quite frankly," said Molly Smith. "The system's been in place for god knows how long."
"I think they should fix the tracks, too, I mean, they haven't been fixed in years," added Linda Klein.
The tracks were often a topic that riders took issue with.
"The line from here to Library always, historically, had trouble for whatever reason," Previs said. "The rail lines, and trees falling, and all that."
