SEPTA Trolley Tunnel to close for 10 days for Trolley Tunnel Blitz

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- SEPTA's Trolley Tunnel Blitz is on!

Starting 10 p.m. Friday and lasting for 10 days, trolleys will not operate in the tunnel. The Blitz ends at 5 a.m. on Monday, August 19.

Trolley Routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36 will temporarily divert to 40th and Market streets.

SEPTA says customers may transfer at 40th Street to the Market Frankford Line for service to/from Center City.

Tents will be available as a temporary shelter for customers transferring from Trolleys/Market Frankford Line.

For late night travel, customers can transfer to Market-Frankford Line Weekday Night Owl Bus Service or the all-night Train service on weekends while this work takes place.

"Giving SEPTA forces the opportunity to tackle maintenance, track construction, station facility, and safety improvement work in a concentrated period of time reduces the number of late night and weekend outages over the course of the year," SEPTA says.

This work is being done in the summer, according to SEPTA, when ridership is traditionally lower in an effort to impact the fewest number of customers.

SEPTA says, on average, 700 vehicles operate through the five-mile Trolley Tunnel every day.

Here is what SEPTA will be doing during the Blitz:

- Replacing Trolley Tunnel track curved rail along the Eastbound and Westbound sides of the Tunnel at 15th St and 36th Streets, and the Eastbound side at the 40th St portal (this helps to reduce the noise you hear when the Trolley travels through the Tunnel); Replacing the switch at the 40th St. Portal; aggressive cleaning campaign that includes vacuuming the entire track bed and drainage system and power washing the entire track bed at all stations and all of the track right of way

- Replacing old low pressure sodium light fixtures with new, high efficiency LED light fixtures in the tunnel between 36th & 37th Street Stations; Heavy cleaning, inspection, and maintenance at all stations including plumbing, tile, railings and partition screen repairs; painting; graffiti removal; and a major beam repair at 19th St. Station

- Working in coordination with the Track Department, C&S will replace and upgrade track circuit and signal wires associated with the track work. They will inspect and complete maintenance on the entire signal system while replacing old incandescent lamps with new, higher efficiency LED lamps. C&S will also perform full maintenance on the track switches in the tunnel

- Removing almost one mile of retired steel piping and communications cable in the tunnel between 19th and 22nd Streets. Replacing about one quarter mile of old wood overhead protection boards with a new fiberglass protection board system between 19th & 22nd Street. Working in coordination with the Track Department, Power will replace and upgrade rail return wires associated with the track work. Power will also perform heavy substation maintenance and cleaning; replacing all overhead section insulators in the tunnel; and testing and maintaining the emergency lighting backup power generation system

- SEPTA will be installing and testing a new leak prevention method at two locations: near 33rd St. Westbound and between 36th and 37th Street Westbound Stations; and installing shielding at the roof of the tunnel to support future improvements at the 30th Street Market-Frankford Station. The SEPTA Key project will be installing and testing equipment at 33rd, 36th, & 37th Street Stations

This is the seventh consecutive summer SEPTA has held the Trolley Tunnel Blitz.

http://septa.org/blitz/index.html