The Port Authority of Allegheny County is currently reconstructing portions of old trolley lines to light rail transit (LRT) standards, constructing park and ride lot facilities and making systematic improvements throughout its Light Rail Transit System, the “T,” as part of the Authority’s Stage II Light Rail Transit Improvement Project. In addition to the reconstruction of the trolley lines to more efficient standards, improvements to the system by way of Stage II will reduce travel times into downtown Pittsburgh on the “T” by up to 20 percent. Improved transit reliability and enhanced system-wide operational efficiency also will be benefits.
In April 2000, Port Authority broke ground on the Stage II project along the Overbrook Line. Among other improvements, the project includes the purchase of 28 new light rail vehicles, the remanufacture of Port Authority’s existing fleet of 55 light rail vehicles, expansion and modernization of the Authority’s Operations Control Center and the addition of approximately 2,200 park and ride lot spaces. These components of the Stage II project are scheduled to be completed by late 2003.
Port Authority suspended service on the century-old Overbrook Line seven years ago due to the deteriorated state of bridges and track bed along its right-of-way. Currently, construction is underway to reconstruct the entire 5.5 mi. (8.85 km) of the Overbrook Line to modern light rail transit standards. Rebuilding five major bridges, consolidating 22 stops into six ADA accessible stations, installing new traction power substations, constructing an exclusive right-of-way, and double-tracking old single-track segments of the line will be a three-year undertaking to restore light rail transit service to the communities of Beltzhoover, Bon Air, Overbrook and Castle Shannon. Construction is under way on the entire line, from the South Hills Junction Station in Beltzhoover to the Willow Station in Castle Shannon.
Since 1984, the Operations Control Center (OCC) has housed the employees and computer system that oversee and monitor the day-to-day operations and communications systems of the “T.” With the Overbrook Line rehabilitation underway and the desire for future “T” expansion, the 17-year-old computer monitoring equipment currently in use at the OCC facility must be upgraded and expanded.
The Gateway alignment will extend the “T” from the Gateway Subway Station underneath Stanwix Street and the Allegheny River, emerge from a subway to an at-grade alignment just west of PNC Park, continue west past the new Steelers Stadium, rise to an elevated alignment over Allegheny Avenue, continue west to a proposed Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC) and descend to an at-grade alignment that terminates near the West End Bridge. The Gateway alignment also includes a line connecting the Steel Plaza Station with a new station serving the Convention Center, Liberty Center, Greyhound Terminal and Amtrak Station. The North Shore Connector will include five new “T” stations:
• the Convention Center station;
• a new inbound Gateway Subway Station with an entrance on Stanwix Street directly adjacent to Fifth Avenue Place;
• a subway station just west of PNC Park;
• an at-grade station at Steeler Way; and
• a station in the proposed ITC.
According to Fred Chace, chief operations officer of A&L Inc., the contractor on two sections of the project, everything is going as well as expected for a project of this magnitude. “This is a combination of two projects, with many different phases underway at the same time. The first part of the project, which involves busway, grading and retaining walls, is 70-percent complete. The second portion of the project is 25-percent complete and involves the structures, right-of-way, stations which pertains to all three components of the project.”
First Avenue Station is currently under construction and is a $6.3-million project. It is a 1,200 public parking space structure being built adjacent to the station. In addition, 1,200 ft. (365.7 m) of trackage will be realigned, OCS re-strung, and signalization installed. This portion of the project was a partnership between Allegheny County, City of Pittsburgh, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Pittsburgh Parking Authority and Port Authority.
An addition to the facility was completed in January 2001 to accommodate the new communications equipment. Work is under way on a contract that was awarded this past spring to HSQ Technology to design, test and install the new computerized control system. The center’s updated equipment will be operational in late 2003.
On Aug. 11, 2000, the board authorized the awarding of a contract to Construcciones Y Auxiliar De Ferrocarriles, S.A. and CAF USA Inc. (CAF) for the purchase of 28 new light rail vehicles (LRVs) and the remanufacture of the authority’s current fleet of 55 LRVs. The new vehicles will be phased into the system over the next three years. The remanufacture of the current fleet is underway and is anticipated to be complete by late 2005.
Fishbach and Moore Electric Inc. recently was awarded a contract by the Port Authority Board to manufacture, test and install four new traction power substations, an overhead contact system, and a feeder cable network that together will strengthen the existing power system. Improved electrical power is needed to support the 28 new light rail vehicles and two-car train operations along the Overbrook, Library and Beechview Lines.
Union Switch and Signal Inc. (US&S) received a $44-million contract on Jan. 26, 2001 to manufacture, test and install several types of modernized signaling and communications equipment that will be incorporated into many components of the “T” over the next three years. These system equipment upgrades will be implemented along the Overbrook Line, portions of the Beechview Line and in downtown Pittsburgh.
The first phase of renovations and upgrades to Downtown’s Gateway Center, Wood Street and Steel Plaza Subway Stations are nearing completion. In addition to improving customer comfort and station aesthetics, Port Authority is constructing high-level platforms and performing structural concrete work at various stations throughout the system. For example, the Fallowfield Station along the Beechview Line is being reconstructed to include high-level platforms to accommodate the operation of two-car trains that will help reduce travel time and improve service. Phase II of the station improvement program will include further minor modifications to the Downtown subway stations, upgrades to several stations along the Beechview Line, and the rehabilitation of the South Hills Junction Station. A contract was awarded to the Massaro Company in March 2001 to begin construction on the second phase. The anticipated completion for the entire station improvement program is in late 2001.
Stage II will advance the authority’s successful Park and Ride Lot Improvement Program by adding hundreds of new park and ride lot spaces along the “T.” The South Hills Village and the Washington Junction Park and Ride Lots will be expanded to offer a combined total of approximately 1,290 spaces. By 2003, roughly 2,200 new spaces will be available to Port Authority customers. A new park and ride facility also will be constructed at the end of the Library Line in South Park Township. Additional park and ride lot facilities will be added along the Overbrook and Drake Lines.
Construction bids were solicited in the summer of 2001 to construct a 430-space park and ride facility at the southern end of the Library Line in South Park Township, a new station at the Castle Shannon Junction, and improvements to the Logan Road grade crossing, among other enhancements. All of the work in this contract is scheduled for completion by the end of 2002. The entire Library Line also is slated for modernization and reconstruction under Stage II. However, construction is contingent upon future funding availability.
Construction equipment used on the job includes a number of cranes, particularly a 22-ton (19.8 t) and a 30-ton (27 t) Grove crane. A Cat and a Hitachi excavator, Cat bulldozers and graders and several Volvo trucks also are being used.
Joe Francis, owner of American Contractors Equipment located in Indianola, PA, stated that his company provided a good portion of the equipment to A&L for the project. That included a Tadano TR300E crane, Hyundai loaders and excavators, boom trucks, aerial lifts and more.
“We have always had a good working relationship with A&L,” said Francis. “They are one of the premier contractors in the area and, in the past 30 years, we have grown along with them. As usual, working with them on this project has been a great experience for us.”
Lou Ruscitto, president of A&L, reiterated the praise about working with American Contractors. He said that the company has been involved with A&L on all types of projects in the past several decades.
“What’s great about American Contractors is they actually come to a job site and assess the situation and determine which applications are important for that particular job,” said Ruscitto. “That’s really unique for an equipment company.”
Some of the subcontractors working on the Light Rail project include: Atlas Railroad Construction, rail specific work; Shelly Drilling, drill shaft work; Howard Construction, post-tension tie-backs; and Power Contracting, all electrical including signalization and communications.
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