By SUSAN JONES
Work on the PRTX/University Line of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s new bus rapid transit system is picking up steam in Oakland.
On June 22, contractors removed the traffic islands on Fifth Avenue at Bellefield Street to prepare for fencing at various locations on the north side of Fifth between Chesterfield Road and Bellefield. Crews will be working in that area from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. weekdays, according to Pittsburgh Regional Transit.
To accommodate this work, one travel lane and the sidewalk adjacent to the work area may be closed. Street parking will be restricted in the work zone. Traffic restrictions will be removed by 6 a.m. each morning. Work areas will be covered with steel plates during the day.
The concrete traffic islands were added at Fifth and Bellefield in 2019 after Staff Council had long advocated for changes at the intersection, which was the site of several pedestrian and vehicle incidents.
Eventually, the contra-flow (outbound) bus lane on Fifth Avenue will be removed as part of the project. Because of that, the traffic islands will no longer be needed, Melissa Rubin, a spokesperson for PRT, said.
But work on Forbes Avenue must be completed before PRT can move buses from the Fifth Avenue contra-flow lane to Forbes Avenue, which is not expected to happen until fall of 2025.
Right now there is ongoing work in 11 blocks along Fifth Avenue, between Chesterfield and Bellefield, Rubin said. “Intersections are open, crosswalks are open. Traffic is able to flow, but they’re taking up — depending on the area, because there’s more lanes and some areas are wider than others — a travel lane and/or a parking lane.”
There also are several ongoing PRTX-related work sites on Forbes Avenue — next to Schenley Plaza, at South Bouquet Street near the Pitt law school, between McKee Place and Halket Street near UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, and at Craft Avenue.
Rubin said the contra-flow buses will move to Forbes once the hard surfaces, sidewalks, concrete slabs and accessible ramps are in a condition so buses can stop, although work will still need to be done on the bus shelters.
The University Line will have transit-only travel lanes and intersection and signal improvements, as well as upgraded bus shelters with improved seating, lighting, new bus arrival screens, emergency phones, and security cameras. Additionally, fare vending machines will be installed at a later date.
The University Line will operate between Downtown, Uptown and Oakland with bus service from the corridor extending into the East End and beyond. The University Line will use Fifth and Forbes Avenues in Uptown and Oakland and Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Downtown. Five bus routes — the 61A, 61B, 61C, 71B and P3 — will operate on this corridor once construction is complete.
PRT’s contractor is wrapping up installation of five new bus shelters in downtown Pittsburgh, and plans to open the new stations in the next few weeks.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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