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Milwaukee streetcar electrical switches fail
Winter weather and all that comes with it is wreaking havoc on Milwaukee's downtown streetcar system.
MILWAUKEE - Winter weather and all that comes with it is wreaking havoc on Milwaukee's downtown streetcar system.
What's at issue?
What we know:
The city's Department of Public Works (DPW) said snow and salt are causing electrical switches to short out – and that is causing repeated service shutdowns.
The Hop streetcar
Each time a shutdown happens, DPW officials said they have to inspect and clean out the switches before they can safely resume the streetcar's operation.
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DPW Finance Manager Chuck Schumacher told a Common Council committee on Thursday, Feb. 20 they hope to replace the malfunctioning switches when the weather dries out – but only if they can come up with the money.
Schumacher said the replacement switches cost about $100,000 each.
The Source: The information in this post was gathered from the Milwaukee Department of Public Works and the city's Public Works Committee.