Pittsburgh Regional Transit seeks bids for Phase II of Bus Rapid Transit system

After months of delays, Pittsburgh Regional Transit is advertising for bids for the second part of its Bus Rapid Transit system from Uptown to Oakland.

The agency began advertising Sunday for the second phase of the project that will create exclusive bus lanes between Oakland and Downtown Pittsburgh when it is finished in 2027. It began work Downtown in September and should finish with that section early next year.

This part of the project will involve creating bus-only lanes inbound on Fifth Avenue and outbound on Forbes Avenue, including 18 stations with amenities such as seating, fare-vending machines and display boards to show when buses will arrive. There also will be sidewalk and crosswalk improvements, bike lanes and new traffic lights throughout the neighborhoods.

The goal of the $291 million project, dubbed the University Line, is to eliminate delays caused by rush-hour traffic that bunches some buses tightly together and then creates long periods with no buses. The five routes that will use the exclusive lanes – 61A, B and C as well as 71B and P3 – will have smart traffic signals that will give them priority at intersections, but they won’t be programmed initially when the system opens.

Additional wings to Highland Park and Greenfield will be added later.

The second round of contracts had been expected to be awarded last fall, but it took longer than expected for the agency to sign agreements with Pittsburgh and utility companies that spell out who is responsible for which part of the work. The agency expects to award the contract this fall and begin construction early next year after a series of neighborhood meetings to discuss the schedule for construction activities.

Independence Excavating Inc. began work on the five stations in the Golden Triangle in fall 2023 and expects to finish the work early next year. PRT expects buses to begin using the lanes and stations at Fifth Avenue and Ross Street, Fifth and William Penn Place, Fifth and Market Square, the Wood Street T Station on Liberty Avenue, and Steel Plaza at Sixth Avenue and Grant Street as soon as they are finished.