North Shore Connector Update - Performance Oversight Committee (April. 15, 2009)
North Shore Connector Update - Performance Oversight Committee (March. 18, 2009)

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Installation of Track Bed Inside Tunnel Is Underway

North Shore Connector crews are busy preparing the twin tunnels that recently were mined for the installation of light rail tracks.

North Shore Constructors, a joint venture of Obayashi Corporation and Trumbull Corporation, is installing concrete on the tunnel floors that will serve as a bed for the T tracks.

Each of the tunnels, which link Downtown Pittsburgh and the North Shore, are 2,200 feet long and were completed in late January. They will house much of Port Authority of Allegheny County’s 1.2-mile light rail extension that will foster a cohesive business area involving Station Square, downtown, the North Shore and other areas along the T.

Shortly after the tunnel boring machine returned to the North Shore after completing the second tunnel in late January, workers started installation of the track bed.

In essence, creating the track bed involves installation of a steel-reinforced layer of concrete that will make for a level tunnel floor.

Crews completed installing the track bed inside the inbound tunnel in early March. Track bed installation inside the outbound tunnel is currently underway.

Close-up view of the track bed inside one of the North Shore Connector tunnels

Slurry Plant Comes Down:

A fixture on Pittsburgh's North Shore is about to come down.

With the tunnel boring work complete, the slurry plant located across Mazeroski Way from PNC Park is being disassembled. The facility provided slurry for the tunnel boring machine (TBM) as it mined twin tunnels under the Allegheny River.

Slurry, a material made of water and clay, was pumped to the cutter head of the TBM to facilitate the tunnel boring process. Material removed from the earth along with the slurry was transported back to the slurry-separation plant where the earthen material was separated and the slurry was reused.

Disassembling the plant will take two-to-three months and each piece of equipment will be loaded on to flatbed trucks and taken to a local storage facility.

A view of the slurry plant with PNC Park in the background

Stanwix Street Closures Scheduled to Continue

• Stanwix Street between Penn and Liberty avenues closed September 2008 through a yet to be determined date in 2011. The closure of the one block stretch of Stanwix is necessary to allow for construction of the new Gateway Center T Station.
• Beginning summer 2008, Stanwix Street between Liberty and Penn avenues was closed for approximately two years. Fort Duquesne Boulevard, Commonwealth Place and Liberty Avenue can be used as alternate routes.
• Overnight closures of the outbound lanes of Liberty Avenue between Stanwix Street and the Penn Avenue Extension will occur periodically to facilitate the drilling for and installation of steel piles as part of the support of excavation for the construction of the new Gateway Subway Station.
• Eastbound lane of Reedsdale Street is currently closed between Allegheny and Art Rooney avenues to facilitate relocation of underground utilities. Work will continue through February 2009. Restrictions are removed for events at Heinz Field. Access to surrounding parking lots will be maintained.

Read more about the contract to build twin tunnels under the Allegheny River

North Shore Connector Facts

Customers should expect delays due to these detours and those wishing additional information should contact Port Authority Customer Service at (412) 442-2000 or the TTY number, (412) 231-7007, for the speech and hearing impaired.