Traffic patterns change on Fifth, Sixth avenues in Downtown Pittsburgh as part of bus project

Two Downtown Pittsburgh streets will have traffic patterns change over the next two weeks as crews finish segments on Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s University Line.

Work will begin Monday to expand sidewalks on Fifth and Sixth avenues to align with some of the 35 new traffic signals the agency is installing in the Golden Triangle. The lights are on the loop of exclusive lanes buses will use as part of the region’s first Bus Rapid Transit project, designed to ease congestion for buses between Oakland and Downtown.

The work will eliminate on-street parking in some areas, and stops for valet parking will be relocated. “No parking” signs have been posted.

Independence Excavating Inc. is expected to work from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for about two weeks to make the changes. Safety personnel will direct traffic.

This is part of the first phase of the University Line, which will include five new stations where passengers can get on and off buses. 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 should be finished and begin operation next spring.

Meanwhile, work on the second phase of the project should begin early next year. PRT’s board of directors on Friday awarded a $99.8 million contract to Independence for the remainder of the project between Pittsburgh’s Uptown and Oakland neighborhoods.

That segment will include 18 new stations for buses traveling inbound on Fifth Avenue and outbound on Forbes Avenue. It also will include bicycle lanes on Forbes, new sidewalks, traffic signals and other amenities.

Five bus routes — 61A, B and C, 71B and P3 — will make up the University Line when the system is fully operational some time in 2027. Eventually, traffic signals will give buses priority at intersections.

The goal of the $291 million project is to keep buses on a more predictable schedule by preventing them from bunching together during rush-hour traffic. The system also will include 15 electric buses to reduce air pollution.