Pittsburgh Regional Transit next month will start a $150 million rehabilitation project for the agency’s light-rail network.
The construction will lead to rolling closures of parts of the rail lines and will require significant detours.
The agency, the region’s largest public transit operator, said it will repair concrete rail foundations in Downtown subway tunnels, replace more than 10,000 feet of light-rail track, upgrade and rebuild three stations, and overhaul the 1.2-mile Panhandle Bridge, which takes light-rail cars over the Monongahela River near Station Square.
Construction will start April 5, after the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home opener, in Downtown Pittsburgh.
The light-rail system, known as “the T,” will be closed between Steel Plaza and Gateway stations for about seven weeks starting in April, officials said.
Rail cars coming from the South Hills will serve First Avenue and Steel Plaza stations before continuing to Penn Station, the usually inactive station next to the East Busway across from the Amtrak station.
Riders wishing to continue to Gateway station can take a free shuttle bus from Penn Station.
Outbound riders coming from Pittsburgh’s North Shore will have to exit at Gateway, and then take a free shuttle bus to Penn Station.
Closures and detours will continue as work progresses through 2028.
“As one project ends, another will begin. Some will present only minor travel delays to riders while others will close portions of the light rail system and require significant detours,” the agency said in a statement.
Starting in mid-May, crews will replace tracks at Willow Street in Castle Shannon, and light-rail cars will use a single track between St. Anne and Willow stations.
From mid-June through mid-July, Red Line tracks will be replaced at Alfred Street in Mt. Lebanon, causing rail cars to single-track between Overbrook Junction and Dormont Junction stations.
A section of the Red Line between Overbrook Junction and South Hills Junction will be closed from mid-June through August to accommodate several other projects, officials said.
Pittsburgh Regional Transit CEO Katharine Kelleman said many of the $150 million worth of projects are already fully funded, adding that the agency will seek additional money. She said the projects are important to ensure the light-rail can run efficiently moving forward.
Ryan Deto is a TribLive reporter covering politics, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County news. A native of California’s Bay Area, he joined the Trib in 2022 after spending more than six years covering Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh City Paper, including serving as managing editor. He can be reached at rdeto@triblive.com.