![The RTA board meets Aug. 6 and will update the riders on when Red Line service is expected to return to normal. [Linda Krecic / Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f8f6e80/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1688+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F8%2F01%2F20190731_093024.jpg)
Passengers taking RTA’s Red Line from downtown to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport have had to hop on the bus when the train reaches the Cudell station since May 30. But repairs and upgrades on the rapid tracks are almost complete, say officials at the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.
Rail service between Cudell and Hopkins was halted in June as the agency replaced 70 steel beams along a retaining wall between Cudell and the West 117th Street Station. The emergency coincided with renovations to the tracks that had been scheduled earlier, according to RTA.
66R busses have been minding the gap in service during the construction.
Riders will feel the difference when both projects are completed in late August, says Mike Schipper, who oversees all planning, design and construction for RTA.
“It means that this will be a smoother and faster more reliable service. In this project alone, we’re replacing 12,000 railroad ties,” Schipper says.
The transit agency plans to announce a projected return to service date when the RTA board meets Aug. 6.
