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Regular weekend PATH service between the World Trade Center and Exchange Place will resume Saturday, Dec. 20, after it was suspended for 11 months to allow crews to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy's flooding and the corrosive salt it left behind. (Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger)

JERSEY CITY — Regular weekend PATH service between Exchange Place and the World Trade Center will resume a week from Saturday, after a 10-month suspension to install a new signal system and repair damage from Hurricane Sandy, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.

Although weekday trains kept running for the bulk of commuters on the line, regular weekend service was suspended in February to let crews scrub or replace equipment corroded and otherwise damaged by millions of gallons of salt water that flooded into PATH tunnels as a result of the storm surge. Weekend trains have occasionally run on holidays or for other special events.

The Dec. 20th reopening will again allow PATH riders to travel directly between lower Mahattan and Jersey City, Harrison and Newark, where they will be able to transfer to NJ Transit trains or buses to various locations, including Newark Liberty International Airport.

Workers repair damage to the PATH tunnel linking the World Trade Center and Exchange Place stations.

The agency said crews have power-washed cables equipment and the shell of PATH tunnel below the Hudson River, clearing away corrosive salt residue left by Sandy. It also said crews made "significant progress" installing fiber optic cable and compressed air lines as part of a PATH-wide $580 million computerized signal system intended to allow trains to run more frequently without compromising safety.

In a statement from the Port Authority, PATH General Manager Stephen Kingsberry thanked passengers for their patience and said the agency was "happy to have the service back for the holidays.’’

“These repairs and upgrades, while tremendously inconvenient for our riders, are absolutely vital to ensuring a state-of-good repair," Kingsberry stated.

Weekend ferry service provided as an alternative to PATH trains at a subsidized fare of $2.50 each way will remain in effect for the time being while the operator, Billbey Ferry Company, assess demand, though the agency warned that ferry fares could rise.

New track clips were installed after the old ones were corroded by salt.

The agency warned that some work remains, and service is likely to be suspended intermittently on weekends in late 2015 on the World Trade Center and Journal Square-33rd Street lines.

However, the agency promised that at least one line will remain in service at all times on weekends, possibly with alternative service to minimize inconvenience.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow hin on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.