Reduced parking in Oakland highlights this week’s roadwork

If it isn’t already hard enough to find parking in Oakland, construction for Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s University Line will take out street parking on several blocks through the end of the year.

Beginning Monday, no parking will be allowed on either side of Forbes Avenue between Gist and Jumonville streets. That will allow two lanes of traffic to move through the construction area that begins at Jumonville.

Additionally, the no-parking area will be expanded to both sides of Forbes between Jumonville and Brady streets. Parking had been closed only on the right side of the street last month.

Crews will work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and some work could be done on Saturdays. All side streets and intersections will remain open, and temporary sidewalks and ADA-accessible ramps will be available during the work.

Because of the work, bus routes 61A, B and C will not serve stops on Forbes at Jumonville, Seneca or Moultrie streets. Temporary stops will be established at Watson, the Fifth Avenue bus lane at Seneca and the Fifth Avenue bus lane at Moultrie.

The changes will allow relocation of water and sewer lines, installation of new wider sidewalks, curbs, ADA-accessible ramps and underground power lines for traffic signals and stations for a series of new bus stops that are part of the University Line.

The University Line is a $291 million Bus Rapid Transit system that will establish exclusive bus lanes between Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland, inbound on Fifth Avenue and outbound on Forbes. Construction Downtown is nearly complete, but work in Uptown and Oakland is expected to last until 2027.

Other new road construction or changes to continuing projects this week include:

• Forbes Avenue 2 – City crews will begin construction Tuesday to install a raised intersection at Denniston Street in Squirrel Hill to improve pedestrian safety. A raised intersection is similar to a speed table because it raises the intersection several inches to make drivers more alert to pedestrians crossing the street. Denniston has stop signs on both sides approaching Forbes, but there are no traffic stops on Forbes at that intersection, which has Yeshiva School and a senior apartment complex nearby. The intersection has had six crashes – including one with a pedestrian injury – over the past four years. Asphalt will be spread from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, and the Denniston sides of the intersection will be closed. Flaggers will help move traffic on Forbes, but there could be delays.
• Interstate 79 – The southbound on-ramp from Route 910 to the highway will be reduced to one lane from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday in Franklin Park to allow utility relocation work. The work is part of the $46.5 million reconstruction of the interchange over the next two years.
• Fort Duquesne Bridge – The southbound ramp from Route 65 to the bridge on Pittsburgh’s North Side will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday. Additionally, the ramps from Allegheny Avenue/Ridge Avenue/Reedsdale Street will be closed overnight. Streets between PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium will have daytime lane restrictions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through the end of the year. The restrictions will allow crews to make concrete repairs under the bridge and on barriers between lanes under a $3.95 million contract.
• Coal Valley Road – The road in Jefferson Hills and Clairton will be closed for about a month between Routes 837 and 885 for the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s construction of the Mon-Fayette Expressway between Jefferson Hills and Duquesne. A nearly 4-mile detour will be posted. The road is expected to reopen by the end of October.
• Route 28 – There will be daytime and overnight work Monday through Friday this week in various areas on the warning system to detect wrong-way drivers on the highway between Anderson Street on the North side in Pittsburgh and the Harmar interchange. During the day, there will be single-lane and shoulder restrictions on the northbound off-ramp to Interstate 279 North/East Ohio Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. while crews install underground conduit and the foundation for traffic signs. Overnight, the southbound off-ramp to Millvale will be closed and traffic on the highway will be reduced to one lane at the interchange from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for electrical work. A detour will be posted.