Here's something I found from the Post-Gazette's website:South Hills garage won't be finished on schedule
Saturday, October 23, 2004By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe Port Authority's mammoth 2,200-space park-n-ride garage next to South Hills Village mall won't be finished on schedule next month.March 6 is the revised date for opening the seven-story garage -- largest in Western Pennsylvania -- and phasing in new 47S light rail "express" service originating there and traveling Downtown via the new Overbrook line.Coincidentally, it's also the day the authority is to eliminate bus, trolley, incline and paratransit service after 9 p.m. weekdays and on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays if the Legislature fails to rescue it from a $30 million operating budget deficit. Authority officials also disclosed yesterday that the Wabash Tunnel, being converted for use by car and van pools, is nearing completion and will probably be opened sometime between Christmas and New Year's. Construction of the $21 million facility is 90 percent done, including the ramp connecting the north end to Carson Street across from Station Square.The electrical contractor is still installing and testing the reversible lane-control system that will be used to operate the tunnel inbound in the morning and outbound in the afternoon. The authority projected that 700 high-occupancy vehicles a day will use the tunnel, some of which would park free in a new parking lot on the bluff above Carson Street.Authority Engineering-Construction Manager Henry Nutbrown blamed the delay in the $24 million parking garage on a Marietta, Ohio, subcontractor who was supposed to manufacture more than 700 precast beams for the prime contractor, Walsh Construction Co. of Chicago. When the supplier went out of business, Walsh had to find four other subcontractors to fill the order and truck the beams to the Bethel Park site.The contract with Walsh Construction includes a $6,000-a-day penalty provision for damages, or delays, for every day after Nov. 1 that the transit agency is unable to use the new garage.To ease the park-n-ride crunch for T riders displaced by construction, the authority is paying $63,700 to Simon Property Group Inc. to lease 600 spaces in the Lazarus-Macy's lot at the mall. The authority said the lease covers the upcoming holiday shopping season and that parking, while tight, has been manageable.The authority has agreed to pay about $500,000 to Parkway Paving of Pennsylvania Inc. to operate the park-n-ride garage for the first two years. Although the all-day fee has not been disclosed, it will be at least $1.Authority Operations Manager Steve Banta said the agency always intended to start 47S service at the same time as the parking garage opens.It will provide South Hills riders with a time-saving trip on the Overbrook line as opposed to the 42S line that passes through Mt. Lebanon, Dormont and Beechview.He said 18 of 28 new light rail vehicles have been delivered. Although a dozen are in daily use, he acknowledged mostly computer glitches have caused delays or forced riders to switch to other cars."It's part of the shakedown period," Banta said. "All vehicles are under warranty, so there's no additional cost to us. Unfortunately, some riders are being inconvenienced."Banta said the manufacturer has finished rehabilitating the first two of 40 existing LRVs.One is sitting in Baltimore Harbor awaiting customs clearance before being trucked to Pittsburgh; the other is aboard a freighter sailing from Spain.The Port Authority has a $151.3 million contract with a Spanish firm, CAF, to build 28 new cars, rehabilitate the 40 existing cars, and supply parts and employee training.
Michael
CEO and Founder of Virtual Morgan Run Shop, now hiring!
My Photos at RailPictures.net!
[ Home | MSTS Forum | MSTS FAQ | How To... | File Library ] Copyright © 2004 by Nels Anderson. All Rights Reserved.