Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Tyler Waldman, WBAL NewsRadio 1090 and FM 101.5

Light Rail service, already hamstrung by repairs to a downtown water main break and sinkhole, will face another closure north of downtown starting next week.

Repairs to address erosion in the area of Cold Spring Lane will begin Monday and will take roughly three weeks. While that work is underway, service will be suspended from Lutherville to North Avenue, Maryland Transit Administration officials said.. Service was already suspended from North Avenue to Camden Yards.

“The safety of riders is our first priority,” MTA Administrator Kevin Quinn said in a statement. “While the well-being of everyone who rides our system is our primary concern, we are focused on completing repairs thoroughly, efficiently and as quickly as possible.”

The sinkhole claimed the wheelchair ramp on the northbound platform at the Convention Center stop. MTA officials have not put a timeline on repairs there.

During the three-week closure, MTA crews will also replace pedestrian walkways at the Falls Road, Mt. Washington and Woodberry stops, and replace tracks at Woodberry.

Riders will have multiple options to reach their destinations. From Monday to July 25, express buses will run from 6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. going back and forth from Lutherville to Camden Yards, serving no stops in between. From July 26 to Aug. 13, the express buses will instead run from Falls Road to Camden Yards.

Local service will serve all affected stops from 5 a.m. to midnight weekdays, 6 a.m. to midnight Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. That bus will serve all stops from Lutherville to Camden Yards until July 26, when it will serve all stops from Falls Road to Camden Yards.

Passengers are also being asked to look into alternative bus routes to reach their destinations.