Mon Incline set to reopen Friday

The Monongahela Incline will reopen on Friday after being shut down for repairs for more than three months.

The incline has been out of service since Feb. 4 to repair damage caused by flooding. On Jan. 19, a Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority water main that runs along Grandview Avenue in Mt. Washington broke, flooding the upper station and forcing it to close for five days.

Two weeks later, that same water main broke in two separate locations causing extensive damage.

“I want to thank the residents and businesses in the Hilltop communities, especially those in Mt. Washington, who have been extremely patient over the last three months,” Port Authority of Allegheny County Development Officer David Huffaker said in a news release. “Closing the incline for an extended period of time certainly was difficult, but for safety reasons had to be done.”

Inspectors from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry authorized the reopening of the incline Thursday afternoon.

ICYMI: The Monongahela Incline will reopen on FRIDAY, May 10: https://t.co/UZrcoUNvEi

— Port Authority PGH (@PGHtransit) May 9, 2019

Port Authority crews also conducted routine maintenance while the incline was out of service, including replacing the safety cable, which will keep the incline from being taken out of service for that purpose later this year.

The total cost of the repairs has not been finalized. Once it is tallied, the Port Authority plans to seek reimbursement from the PWSA.

Shuttle bus service that had been operating between the upper and lower Mon Incline stations will be discontinued immediately.

The Mon Incline first opened in 1870 and is the oldest continuously operated incline in the country. It is open 365 days a year and is used by commuters and tourists alike, serving nearly 600,000 people in 2018, according to the Port Authority.