Pittsburgh Regional Transit has started work on the second phase of the Bus Rapid Transit system in the city’s Oakland and Uptown neighborhoods.
In Oakland, crews began work Monday evening on Forbes Avenue to relocate a water main between McKee Place and Meyran Avenue. The work will take place from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for several weeks, closing two lanes on Forbes.
The $291 million BRT system between Downtown and Oakland will establish exclusive bus lanes between two of the state’s three busiest economic centers. Buses will go inbound on Fifth Avenue and outbound on Forbes.
The Downtown end of the project, which includes five new stations, should finish construction this summer. PRT expects to begin using the lanes when they are finished, and the full project is scheduled to be finished in 2027.
In addition to the water line work, Independence Excavating Inc. also has been inspecting sewers and surveying sites for new traffic signals in Oakland and Uptown. Independence, which also is doing the Downtown work, has a $99.8 million contract to build 6 miles of exclusive bus lanes, 18 new stations, bike lanes, sidewalks, streetlights and traffic signals at 40 intersections in Oakland and Uptown.
Crews in Uptown have been inspecting underground drainage from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. along Forbes between Jumonville Street and the Birmingham Bridge and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. between Diamond and Jumonville streets. That will continue for several months, but daytime traffic restrictions are being removed at the end of the workday.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.