As outgoing Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald tried to talk during a sidewalk news conference Tuesday about construction of the Bus Rapid Transit system in Downtown Pittsburgh, the sound of a backhoe behind him drowned him out.
“That’s progress,” he said when the sound eased. “That’s not noise. That’s progress.”
Independence Excavating Inc. began construction on the $291 million project that will link Downtown and Oakland in September after 15 years of planning and design. That dates back to when Fitzgerald was a member of Allegheny County Council, before he began 12 years as county executive.
Fitzgerald said the project has taken so long because its importance “cannot be overstated.” He noted that 50% of all jobs in the city are either in Oakland or Downtown, which are the second and third largest job centers in the state. Public transit also serves five hospitals and more than 50,000 universally students in the corridor.
The project will be built in two phases with 18 months of Downtown first, followed by the second phase in Uptown and Oakland next year. Crews are moving utilities from under five new stations first, including currently on Sixth Avenue near Grant Street.
The project will establish bus-only lanes inbound on Fifth Avenue and outbound on Forbes Avenue. Forbes will also get new bike lanes, and buses will have priority at traffic signals.
Sections of the project, dubbed the University Line, will open as they are completed.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.