Light-rail service will be interrupted for work

NORFOLK

Light rail will not run through downtown this weekend so crews can install a track switch that will give Hampton Roads Transit greater flexibility in managing train movements.

Buses will travel every 15 minutes between the Harbor Park and the EVMC/Fort Norfolk stations on Saturday and Sunday, following The Tide's route.

"We'll get people exactly where they want to go," said Jim Price, HRT's chief operations officer.

Normal weekend rail service will be provided between the Harbor Park and Newtown Road stations.

The service disruption is necessary so a track switch can be installed between the York Street/Freemason station and Botetourt Street. Work will begin after midnight Friday and will continue through Sunday evening.

Normal service will resume Monday morning.

The switch, which allows trains to move between the eastbound and westbound tracks, was part of the original design but was removed to save money, Price said. When it was added back before light rail opened, the contractor had already finished installing the tracks.

Price said it was cheaper to install the switch later, at a cost of $130,000, than to reopen the construction contract.

"We've been waiting for the right time to install it," Price said. "If we have a light time of year, it's now, in the middle of winter."

Light-rail trains currently must run the full route between Harbor Park and Fort Norfolk because there's no mechanism between those stations for switching tracks.

The switching device will allow HRT to turn a westbound train back to the east at York Street. Price said that is helpful for large downtown events, such as the holiday parade, when extra trains are needed downtown. If the switch had been in place a couple weeks ago when a train derailed near the Fort Norfolk station, Price said, HRT could have continued to run trains through downtown to York Street instead of using buses.

Work should wrap up Sunday, but Price warned there's a slim chance it could resume the following weekend.

Debbie Messina, 757-446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com