advertisement

---

Today, the Port Authority of Allegheny County is opening its Stage II Light Rail Transit project.

Part of its $386 million renovation of the 25-mile light-rail system, the Stage II project included purchasing 28 new light-rail vehicles and re-opening the rehabilitated 5.2-mile Overbrook Line, which was closed in 1993 because of deteriorated track and bridges.

"The scope of improvements under Stage II will result in a system with enhanced capacity, service levels, travel times, and park and ride opportunities," said Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Paul Skoutelas in a prepared statement.

The project also includes expanding and modernizing the port authority’s operations control center at the South Hills Village Rail Center; building new power substations near the McNeilly, Denise, Castle Shannon and Lytle stations; upgrading overhead power; constructing eight ADA-accessible stations along the Overbrook Line and Overbrook Junction; adding six gated crossings and improving current gated and signalized crossings; purchasing new signaling and communications equipment, including a fiber-optic communication systems and new public address system; and adding more than 2,600 new park and ride spaces.

Featuring 11 new bridges, the double-tracked Overbrook Line has been grade separated from the South Busway.

But the authority doesn’t plan to stop there. During the Overbrook Line re-opening ceremony, the Federal Transit Administration presented a $5.8 million grant to the authority for the North Shore Connector Light Rail Transit project.

Running under the Allegheny River, the 1.5-mile extension will provide direct service between the North Shore area and downtown Pittsburgh’s central business district.