Downtown Escalator Project

(Update March 8, 2024)

The outbound platform of First Avenue Station will be closed on Monday, March 11, and Tuesday, March 12, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. for escalator repair work.

Riders should board all rail vehicles on the inbound platform.

Inbound traffic will not be affected.

Delays of up to 5 minutes are expected.

(UPDATE 12/1/23)

PRT will close Wood Street Station entirely from December 8-22 while crews install new escalators. During the closures, riders who use Wood Street Station should instead use Steel Plaza or Gateway stations.

(UPDATE 11/21/23)

The outbound platform of First Avenue Station will be closed nightly from 8 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 while crews remove the escalator in preparation for its replacement. Riders who use the outbound platform will instead get on and off light rail vehicles on the inbound platform during work hours.

The Sixth Street entrance of Steel Plaza Station will be closed nightly from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. between Dec. 6 and Dec. 8 while crews remove the escalator at that entrance to prep for its replacement. The Grant Street and Ross Street entrances will still be accessible for entering and exiting the station during work hours.

Three new escalators at Steel Plaza reopened on Nov. 17. Work to replace the escalators began in April. The fourth escalator at Steel Plaza will be replaced in 2024.

(UPDATE 11/2/23)

The previously scheduled full closure of Wood Street Station from Nov. 6-17 will no longer occur as previously reported, and the station will remain open and under normal operation during that time.

Crews will continue to prepare for the new escalators, which will be installed at a later date.

(UPDATE 10/3/23)

PRT will close Wood Street Station entirely from October 9-23 and from November 6-17 while crews remove the existing escalators and install the new escalators. During the closures, riders who use Wood Street Station should instead use Steel Plaza or Gateway stations.

(UPDATE 8/22/23)

The project will be moving into Wood Street Station on September 5 and running through February.

Four escalators in Wood Street Station will be removed and replaced.

During construction the stairs will continue to remain open, and ADA access will be maintained using the elevators. If the elevators are out of service, announcements will be made over the audio/visual service in the rail system, as well as on Twitter at @PghTransitAlert.

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Nine escalators in three downtown rail stations will be replaced to improve reliability, performance, and safety, including those at Wood Street, Steel Plaza, and First Avenue stations.

The project will begin at Steel Plaza Station, with the removal of the first three escalators in the main part of the station beginning in April, followed by all four escalators at Wood Street, with the last phase including the escalator at First Avenue on the outbound platform side and a final escalator at Steel Plaza going to Sixth Avenue within the BNY Mellon Customer Service Center.

Crews are expecting the first phase at Steel Plaza to continue to September. The escalators will be out of service during that time, but elevators and stairs will remain open throughout the project, allowing ADA access to the platforms. If elevators are out of service, announcements will be made over the audio/visual service in the rail system, as well as online at @Pghtransitalert.

The work is expected to be completed by late summer 2024. The project will cost around $13.5 million to complete.