Traffic on Forbes Avenue in Oakland limited by University Line work

More traffic restrictions begin Monday on Forbes Avenue in Oakland related to construction of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s University Line.

The right outbound curb lane will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays for the next three weeks between Schenley Drive and Schenley Drive Extension. During the closure, crews will install the sidewalk for a new bus station for the University Line, the $291 million bus rapid transit system between Oakland and Downtown Pittsburgh.

The lane closure will allow construction equipment to set up there, and traffic will be shifted to the center lane. Normal traffic patterns will be restored at the end of each workday.

The work zone will be fenced off, but the sidewalk, bike lane, crosswalks and side streets will remain open. Flaggers will help keep traffic moving during the work.

Overall, four stations will be built in Oakland for the University Line, which is in its second phase of construction in Oakland and Uptown. Work has been completed and five stations are open Downtown.

The system will use exclusive lanes for buses to go inbound on Fifth Avenue and outbound on Forbes Avenue with a goal of improving reliability between Downtown and Oakland by preventing buses from bunching during morning and evening rush hours. The second phase will be finished in 2027.

Other roadwork this week includes:

• Forbes Avenue – Traffic will be shifted in Oakland to an auxiliary lane near the Birmingham Bridge beginning at 7 a.m. Monday and lasting to the end of November. The shift will allow crews to repair concrete and the protective coating on Forbes as part of a $35.4 million project to improve bridges and ramps around the Boulevard of the Allies.
• Route 28 –Southbound ramps at Anderson Street and the 40^th Street Bridge will have shoulder and single-lane restrictions to install signs as part of the $4.8 million system to warn drivers going the wrong way on the highway. The work will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The system, which will operate from Anderson Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side to the Harmar interchange, should open early next year.
• Fort Duquesne Bridge – Work to repair the bridge deck and barriers at the North Side end of the bridge will cause the closure of the Route 65 and Interstate 279 ramps to the bridge from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Friday this week. The Allegheny Avenue/Ridge Avenue/Reedsdale Street ramps to the bridge also will be closed. Detours will be posted. Additionally, work continues from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays through early December to repair concrete on the underneath side of the bridges on Reedsdale Street, West General Robinson Street, Tony Dorsett Drive and North Shore Drive.
• Route 910 — Drainage upgrades, base and shoulder repairs, pavement markings and other various construction-related activities will take place through late December in Marshall, Pine and Richland. As a result, single-lane alternating traffic will be controlled by flaggers from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. between North Chapel and Hardt roads; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. between North Chapel and Mingo roads; and 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. between Hardt and Mingo roads.
• Highland Park Bridge – The bridge between Highland Park and O’Hara across the Allegheny River will have single-lane restrictions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday for bridge inspection.
• Veterans Bridge, Route 28 – Bridge washing will occur in two areas this week. The Interstate 579 bridge on Pittsburgh’s North Side across the Allegheny River will have single-lane restrictions from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Monday and lasting until Nov. 24. Bridges between the RIDC Park and the Harmar interchanges on Route 28 will have single-lane restrictions from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday and Tuesday.