Bloomfield receives state grant to address dangerous intersection on Liberty Avenue

This story was updated Friday at 5:56 p.m.

Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood finally may be able to address safety concerns at one of the city’s more dangerous intersections: the five-way juncture where the Bloomfield Bridge meets Liberty Avenue.

Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Thursday the city would receive a $1.8 million grant to address problems with the intersection. The grant was part of $49.6 million awarded for 58 projects across the state through the Multi-Modal Transportation Fund, which funds projects to improve road conditions for motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists and public transit.

Bloomfield advocates say they have been pushing for help with the intersection for more than 20 years. Although the grant application was filed without neighborhood input, Bloomfield Development Corp. Executive Director Christina Howell said she expects it would be used for a feasibility study of how to address safety issues because it likely isn’t enough money to make substantial physical changes.

“We weren’t able to review the application, but we’ve been advocating for this area to be addressed for a long time,” said Christina Howell, executive director of the Bloomfield Development Corp. “Hopefully, this amount will get the process started.”

The area is a hotspot for congestion and accidents because the bridge joins on one end with Bigelow Boulevard, a four-lane highway from Downtown Pittsburgh, and on the other end with Liberty Avenue. Liberty curves in front of the bridge, but on the far side Liberty splits to provide an easier connection with Main and Howley streets just across from the end of the bridge.

“We have a highway with an exit ramp onto a city neighborhood,” Howell said. “We’ve definitely seen an increase in vehicular traffic. It’s just a super dangerous intersection.”

In a statement Friday afternoon, Angela Martinez, the city’s assistant director of policy, planning and permitting, said the grant should cover the full cost of revamping the intersection.

“The award will cover engineering and construction for a full rebuild of the signal at Liberty Avenue, Bloomfield Bridge and Main Street,” she said. “The upgraded intersection will include improved accommodations for pedestrians and cyclists. The public can expect to be engaged throughout the process.”

City Councilwoman Deb Gross, whose district includes the neighborhood, said her office and others have battled for years to address the intersection. It is a particularly dangerous area because children walk to two elementary schools in the neighborhood, and Bloomfield Playground and a city swimming pool are under the bridge.

“There has been 20 years of community organizing around this issue,” Gross said. “We want to work with [the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure] to see what we can come up with.”

The project also comes at an opportune time because Giant Eagle has proposed replacing the existing Shursave IGA supermarket at the Liberty end of the bridge with a Market District store and more than 200 apartments. That project is working through the city planning process, but the neighborhood supports it with some restrictions to require affordable housing.

Two other projects in Allegheny County also received funding:

• Ingram, $555,046 to calm traffic along Ingram Avenue and restore the pavement, install a bike lane and create a raised pedestrian crosswalk.
• Thornburg, $152,000 to replace 492 feet of sidewalk and fence along Hamilton Road and reinforce the hillside where they are located, which is above a park and other borough facilities.