Pittsburgh closing an intersection near Charles Anderson Bridge to rebuild it

The Parkview Avenue intersection at the Boulevard of the Allies in Oakland, near the closed Charles Anderson Bridge, closed Monday and will remain closed for the next few months for reconstruction.

Parkview will remain open on both sides of the intersection, but traffic will have to detour to get around the closure.

As part of the bridge rehabilitation project, the traffic pattern on the bridge will be changed from two lanes in each direction to two lanes outbound and one lane inbound, plus a bicycle lane going both directions on the inbound side, said Jacob Williams, spokesman for the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure. The Parkview intersection must be rebuilt to accommodate the bike lane to Dawson Street, the next intersection inbound.

The intersection project will be done in two phases. The first phase will be on the side closest to the bridge with Parkview traffic headed toward the Monongahela River able to continue straight or turn right on the Boulevard of the Allies, but outbound traffic on the boulevard will not be able to turn left on Parkview.

During the second phase, work will be done on the inbound side of the intersection. That means neither traffic headed toward the river on Parkview nor outbound on the Boulevard of the Allies will be able to turn at the intersection, but traffic on Parkview can continue through the intersection.

Detours will be posted for those who need access to either side of Parkview.

In addition to the bike lane, the intersection reconstruction also will include new crosswalks to make it safer for pedestrians to cross the street there and concrete curbs.

Williams said studies by DOMI after the pandemic showed that many more vehicles use the Charles Anderson Bridge outbound than use it inbound. That’s why the city is installing bike lanes separated from other traffic by bollards and paint to connect that area with the Greenfield neighborhood.

“The numbers show the two-way cycle track will be more beneficial,” Williams said.

The bridge in the midst of a $48.5 million rehabilitation project. Since it already has been closed for more than two years, Williams said, the city looks at it as if it will be adding a lane of inbound traffic when it reopens the structure next year.