A plan for a so-called "bus rapid transit" loop between downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland has the potential to change the way commuters in the Mon Valley get to work or school.
The Port Authority of Allegheny County will hold the first of three public hearings on the bus rapid transit proposal tonight at 6:30 p.m. at The Avenue apartments, 325 Braddock Ave. in Braddock.
The second will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Palisades Ballroom, 100 Fifth Ave., Downtown, and the third at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at Duquesne City Hall, 12 S. Second St.
Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said in a prepared statement that riders of the 61A, 61B and 61C buses are particularly urged to attend the hearings and provide input.
In case you missed it: This week on "Two Rivers, 30 Minutes," we talked to Jacqueline Edmondson, the new chancellor of Penn State University Greater Allegheny, about the students, the programs and role of the McKeesport campus in the region and across the state.
(CSX workers assess the damage following a derailment Wednesday in Downtown McKeesport. Almanac photo.)
The Federal Railway Administration has joined CSX Railroad in trying to determine the cause of a coal train derailment Wednesday afternoon in Downtown McKeesport.
Warren Flatau, a public affairs officer with the FRA in Washington, D.C., said investigators from the agency's Region 2 are looking into the accident, which derailed more than two dozen loaded coal cars, including three that flipped over on the ground behind the McKeesport public safety building.
It may be some time before the final cause of the wreck is determined, Flatau said, but a preliminary report based on the railroad's findings will likely be available for the public in about two months.
Train service was restored Wednesday night on one track through the derailment site, with the first train passing through at approximately 11 p.m., said Rob Doolittle, a CSX spokesman.
Trains will continue to operate while the recovery effort is underway, he said.
Rock Run Road in Elizabeth Twp. will close near Butler's Golf Course next week so that a bridge can be replaced.
A spokesman for the Allegheny County Department of Public Works said the closure begins at 9 a.m. Oct. 4 near the interesction of Williamsburg Drive and Rock Run Road and will continue through the end of November.
The closure is necessary so that crews from Pugliano Construction of Plum can replace a small bridge over a stream called Wildcat Run, the county said.
All traffic to access Butler’s Golf Course will have to enter from Industry Road, the county said.
(Above: Kris Letang prepares to run dek hockey drills with kids at the LaRosa Boys & Girls Club in McKeesport. Submitted photo)
Apparently, when you strip him of his helmet, pads, guards and playoff beard, Kris Letang doesn't look much like Kris Letang.
"A lot of the kids didn't believe it was him," says Jim Barry, director of special projects at the LaRosa Boys & Girls Club on Ravine Street, where the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman visited on Tuesday, along with Pittsburgh attorney Edgar Snyder. "They kept saying, 'Is that really Kris Letang?'"
It was. Letang, Snyder and several of Snyder's associates spent several hours running dek hockey drills and playing games with about 14 kids, age 10 through 12, in the LaRosa club's outdoor sports pavilion. Later, the guests bought pizza and pop for everyone at the club Tuesday night.
"It was a really good day for us here at the club," says Barry, who also holds an administrative position with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania. Letang "is just like a big kid," he says. "They had fun."
(Above: A CSX police officer guards the scene of a train derailment in Downtown McKeesport on Wednesday. Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
(Updated with comments from CSX Transportation.) (Updated with comments from Amtrak.)
No injuries were reported Wednesday afternoon when a CSX coal train derailed behind McKeesport's public safety building on Lysle Boulevard.
Ten loaded 100-ton coal cars were toppled in the derailment, with three overturned in the parking lot of Dura-Bond Industries' electric resistance weld mill.
Witnesses said that the derailing cars narrowly missed the guard shack at Dura-Bond --- the former U.S. Steel McKeesport Tubular Operations plant --- forcing a security guard inside to flee to safety. A utility pole near the guard shack was knocked over.
"It sounded like an earthquake in the building," said McKeesport firefighter John Munsie, who watched the derailment just before 12:30 p.m. from the entrance to the fire station.
Free flu vaccine shots will be available from 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 10 at the Carnegie Library of McKeesport, 1507 Library Ave., a spokeswoman said.
The shots will be administered by paramedics and will be available to anyone age 18 and over. Refreshments will be provided.
The event is free and open to the public and no registration is necessary. For more information, call (412) 672-0625.
In other programs announced by the library:
Daytime Movies: October's featured movies are "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" at 10 a.m. Oct. 3 and the Alfred Hitchcock classic "Rear Window" at 10 a.m. Oct. 31. Movies are intended for adults and are free, but attendees should bring a pillow to sit on.
The public is being asked to provide opinions next month regarding the planned reconstruction of U.S. Route 30 between Irwin and North Versailles Twp.
Nancy Kolenc, project manager for the state Department of Transportation's District 12 office, said in a prepared release that an open house will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 5 in the cafeteria of Norwin Senior High School, 251 McMahon Drive, North Huntingdon Twp.
Information on the proposed master plan for the corridor will be available for review, and a brief presentation will be made at 6:30, Kolenc said.
Motorists can expect restrictions on roadways in McKeesport and East Pittsburgh this week as crews begin road repairs.
Beginning Wednesday (Sept. 27), one lane of East Fifth Avenue will be restricted near the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge so that crews can make concrete repairs to one of the bridge ramps, said a district spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation.
The closure will affect one of the two lanes heading westbound (from East End to Downtown) between Queen Street and Pirl Street beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday and continuing through Oct. 20, PennDOT said.
Separately, a major repaving project is slated to begin tonight in East Pittsburgh and North Braddock.
The PennDOT spokesperson said Electric Avenue will be closed nightly from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. through mid-October so that crews can repair and repave the street and improve drainage.
