Buses in Downtown Pittsburgh should begin using exclusive bus lanes for the University Line by the end of June.
Amy Silbermann, chief development officer for Pittsburgh Regional Transit, told the agency’s Planning & Stakeholder Relations Committee Thursday that the Downtown portion of the $291 million project is in its final stages. The Bus Rapid Transit project will connect Oakland and the Golden Triangle with exclusive bus lanes, inbound on Fifth Avenue and outbound on Forbes Avenue, to provide more reliable service.
Without the exclusive lanes, buses get caught in rush-hour traffic and bunch together, making it difficult for them to remain on schedule.
Silbermann said crews for Independence Excavating Inc. began work Tuesday on the first of five Downtown stations for the system. That station is at Fifth Avenue and Ross Street.
Other stations will be built at 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.
When the stations are finished, crews will paint the exclusive lanes red before the Downtown loop opens. The opening is tentatively scheduled for June 22, when the agency’s scheduled route selection changes for bus operators will take place.
The contractor also has started preliminary investigation to determine the location of underground utility lines in Oakland for the second phase of the project. Construction there is expected to begin in the spring and should be finished in 2027.
That work in Oakland and Uptown will include 18 new stations for riders, 19 revamped intersections, ADA-compliant curb ramps, pedestrian countdown signals and accessible push-button activators. New bus lanes will be installed along Forbes Avenue.
In the Uptown neighborhood, both streets will receive new sidewalks, trees and streetlights.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.