By Jack Tomczuk<\/p>\n
After being shut down for two months, SEPTA\u2019s trolley tunnel<\/a> connecting West Philadelphia and Center City is set to reopen Monday.<\/p>\n The T routes \u2013 formerly the 10, 34, 13, 11 and 36 \u2013 will begin running through the tunnel at 5 a.m., authority officials said. Trolleys have been diverted to 40th and Market streets since early November, impacting tens of thousands of passengers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe recognize that this prolonged closure of the trolley tunnel posed a significant inconvenience for our riders, and we appreciate their patience,\u201d SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said in a statement Friday. \u201cOur crews worked around the clock to complete the emergency repairs and run test trolleys through the tunnel to ensure it is safe to reopen for service.\u201d<\/p>\n In October, SEPTA decided to replace the three-inch sliders atop trolley poles with four-inch pieces, believing that the switch would lead to lower maintenance costs. Instead, the new sliders caused unexpected damage to overhead wires, clips, power insulators and other attachments inside the tunnel.<\/p>\n SEPTA representatives acknowledged last month<\/a> that more testing could have been completed before the new parts were installed.<\/p>\n Days after the four-inch sliders went into service, hundreds of passengers were evacuated from the underground tracks when trolleys lost power on two separate occasions. The Federal Transit Administration, in response to the two instances and a pair of unrelated trolley incidents in Delaware County, ordered SEPTA on Oct. 31 to inspect its entire overhead catenary system.<\/p>\n Gov. Josh Shapiro\u2019s administration in late November said it would be distributing nearly $220 million<\/a> to SEPTA to address its emergency infrastructure needs, including more than $48 million for the trolley wires.<\/p>\n Authority officials said crews have replaced nearly 5,000 feet of wire, about 20% of the total in the 5-mile-long tunnel. To continue the rehabilitation project, trolleys will not operate in the tunnel between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. daily, and longer periodic closures have been scheduled.<\/p>\n SEPTA says the tunnel will be shut down between 10 p.m. on Jan. 23 and 5 a.m. on Jan. 26; 10 p.m. Jan. 30 and 5 a.m. Feb. 2; and from 5 a.m. Feb. 15 to 10 p.m. Feb. 22.<\/p>\n The T shuttle bus, which was launched in mid-December to help impacted riders<\/a>, will be discontinued beginning Monday. However, the bus service will operate during the scheduled tunnel closures, according to the authority.<\/p>\n Transit advocates, who are planning to hold an event Monday morning celebrating the reopening of the tunnel, described the ordeal \u2013 along with recent infrastructure issues affecting Regional Rail<\/a> \u2013 as a symptom of SEPTA\u2019s broader state funding shortfall.<\/p>\n