Pittsburgh Transit Completes Transit Tunnel Repairs

Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus and light rail vehicles will resume regular operations through the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel on Saturday, Nov.12, for the first time since a $14.1 million electrical system upgrade project began more than two years ago.

The 3,500-foot tunnel has been closed nearly every night since the project began in July 2020. Several bus routes have been detouring through the city’s Allentown neighborhood after 8 p.m.

Some of the improvements include:

• Replacement of 324 lighting fixtures.
• Replacement of all conduits, junction boxes, and power cables.
• Replacement of the 1,600-amp redundant power supply.
• Replacement of the emergency phone system, including conduits, phone cables, and emergency blue light markers.
• Replacement of the fiber optic communication lines.
• A new ventilation fan power and communication conduits, junction boxes, and power connections for 11 ventilation fans.
• New lighting control cabinets.
• New emergency strobe lights at each end of the tunnel.

The Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel was originally built in 1904. It runs under Mt. Washington and Beltzhoover and is the only tunnel in the U.S. shared by bus and rail service.