SEPTA’s trolley tunnel to close for annual two-week maintenance blitz

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Get ready for the blitz — no, not the Eagles offensive line. It’s SEPTA’s annual summertime shutdown for maintenance along the trolley tunnel.

The two-week blitz starts Friday, July 12 at 10 p.m. The five-mile-long trolley tunnel between 40th and 13th streets will be closed through 6 a.m. on Monday, July 29.

SEPTA spokesperson Kelly Greene said the closure allows workers to do round-the-clock track work, clear drains and pipes, clean stations, remove graffiti, and conduct electrical upgrades to accommodate new trolleys, which are expected to go into service several years from now.

“Our crews can keep their equipment in place for the duration of the project and not have to worry about trolleys operating in the tunnel while they’re working,” she said.

This is the 12th year of the trolley tunnel blitz. Riders on five trolley routes — Routes 10, 34, 13, 11, and 36 — will have to transfer to or from the Market-Frankford Line east of 40th Street. Greene said the summertime disruption should pay off later.

“We scheduled the blitz during the summer when ridership is lower, just to impact the fewest number of customers,” she added. “It’s really a great opportunity for our crews to do a lot of work in a short period of time, and that helps reduce the number of outages throughout the year.”

Regular trolley service through the tunnel will resume on July 29.