Officials continue to study transit alternatives in five corridors from Downtown east into Westmoreland County.

A first round of public briefings will be held as part of the planning effort following the Eastern Corridor Transit Study completed in 2003. Each will consist of a 45-minute presentation that will be followed by a 45-minute question-and-answer period.

The briefings are at noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Oakmont Municipal Building; 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Norwin Public Library; and 12:30 to 2 p.m. next Friday at the University of Pittsburgh Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

The five corridors are along the Allegheny River to Arnold; along the Norfolk Southern Railway mainline to Greensburg; along the former "spine line" light-rail corridor to Oakland; Downtown to Etna and McKeesport along CSX railroad rights of way; and extension of the Martin Luther King Jr. Busway east to Monroeville.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Westmoreland County Transit Authority, Allegheny County, the Port Authority and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation are participating in the study, identifying a list of transit improvements the agencies would like to see advanced.

Study information is available at the project Web site, www.spcregion.org/ECTS.