{"id":690917,"date":"2026-03-29T20:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T20:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/690917\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T20:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T20:45:13","slug":"septa-buses-replace-m-service-between-bridgeport-and-norristown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/690917\/","title":{"rendered":"SEPTA buses replace M service between Bridgeport and Norristown"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.septa.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">SEPTA<\/a> began running shuttle buses Sunday between Norristown and Bridgeport in place of M service, to allow crews to begin a $55 million bridge restoration project.<\/p>\n<p>The Bridgeport Viaduct carries the M, also known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.septa.org\/schedules\/M1?directionId=0&amp;date=2026-03-29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the Norristown High Speed Line<\/a>, over the Schuylkill River. It will be shut down until May 9, with future closures planned later this year and in early 2027 to complete the work.<\/p>\n<p>Buses will only be needed between Norristown Transit Center and the Bridgeport stop, with trolleys running normally from there to 69th Street Transit Center.<\/p>\n<p>A schedule incorporating the shuttle service <a href=\"https:\/\/wwww.septa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/communication\/M_WEB_3_26.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">is posted on SEPTA\u2019s website<\/a>. The adjustment should only cost commuters an extra 6 minutes, according to the authority\u2019s general manager, Scott Sauer.<\/p>\n<p>SEPTA officials said the project will impact a third of the M line\u2019s 5,600 weekday riders who travel to and from Norristown.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe project is a significant commitment at a time when our capital budget is severely constrained, but it\u2019s an investment that we must make,\u201d SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr. said at a news conference Friday in Bridgeport.<\/p>\n<p>Constructed 115 years ago, the viaduct is 3,525 feet long, making it the third-longest bridge in the SEPTA system, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Contractors will be assessing and repairing the concrete abutments that rise out of the river, along with the steel structure of the bridge. A concrete deck and maintenance catwalk will be replaced, according to SEPTA. The project also includes repainting the viaduct and redoing a stairwell at the Norristown station.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat this kind of work does for us is it ensures that we never get to a place where we have to stop running service on this bridge,\u201d Sauer added.<\/p>\n<p>The viaduct was <a href=\"https:\/\/wwww.septa.org\/news\/septas-bridgeport-viaduct-re-opens-after-four-month-repair-project\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">closed for four months in 2013<\/a> for emergency project track tie and timber replacement; however, Sauer said the structure has not undergone a significant rehabilitation since 1985.<\/p>\n<p>SEPTA leaders said they want to do the restoration in phases and reopen the bridge in May to allow uninterrupted M service for the FIFA World Cup, MLB All-Star Game and festivities surrounding the nation\u2019s 250th birthday over the summer.<\/p>\n<p>Future viaduct closures are scheduled to take place from Aug. 1 to Dec. 19 and from Jan. 18 until Feb. 6, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/wwww.septa.org\/news\/bridgeport-viaduct-shuttle-bus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the authority\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEPTA began running shuttle buses Sunday between Norristown and Bridgeport in place of M service, to allow crews&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":690918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,84952,18394,151438,1448,2830,1311,15940,11900,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-690917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-america","tag-bridgeport","tag-buses","tag-norristown","tag-pa","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-septa","tag-transit","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116314421750857656","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}