Nearly three years of construction on the second phase of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit system will begin in Oakland later this month.
The $291 million project, dubbed the University Line, will create exclusive bus lanes between Oakland and Downtown Pittsburgh to keep buses on schedule rather than have them bunch together in rush hour traffic. The Downtown portion should finish construction this summer but the section through Uptown and into Oakland won’t be done until late 2027, officials said Tuesday during an online meeting to give residents and businesses a general idea of how the project will proceed.
“It won’t be an overnight construction project by any means,” said Amy Silbermann, PRT’s chief development officer, “but we are excited to get it started.”
Denise Ott, PRT’s director of capital projects, said the work should begin before the end of the month on Forbes Avenue in Oakland and likely will last most of the year. Work is starting there so the agency can keep the outbound bus lane open on Fifth Avenue from Jumonville Street to North Bellefield Avenue until the new lane is ready on Forbes.
The new configuration will send buses inbound on Fifth Avenue and outbound on Forbes, which also will have new protected bike lanes. Construction will shift to Fifth Avenue near the end of the year and could last until late 2027.
In the Uptown neighborhood, work on both streets will begin in the early part of the year and also is expected to last until late 2027.
In this phase of work, Independence Excavating Inc. will build 18 new stations for riders that will have fare-vending machines, real-time bus arrival displays, seating, lighting, security cameras and emergency phones under a $99.8 million contract. Additionally, crews will revamp 39 intersections in Oakland and Uptown that will be equipped with ADA-compliant curb ramps, pedestrian countdown signals and accessible push-button activators.
In the Uptown neighborhood, both streets will receive new sidewalks, trees and streetlights.
Ott said some streets may have lane restrictions during the project, but none will be closed.
Independence also has a $27.9 million contract to build five stations in the Golden Triangle and install 35 new traffic signals at 15 intersections. Buses will enter the central business district on Fifth Avenue, turn right on Liberty Avenue and right on Sixth Avenue before heading to Oakland on Forbes.
Five bus routes from the east and south, 61A, B and C, 71B and P3, already follow that loop and will use the exclusive lanes. Eventually, PRT plans to extend the system to Highland Park, Greenfield and McKeesport when funding is available.
The agency will have two more in-person meetings about the upcoming work: 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Power Center Ballroom at Duquesne University, 1015 Forbes Ave., and 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Connelly Ballroom at the University of Pittsburgh’s Alumni Hall, 4227 Fifth Ave. No registration is required.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.