Another round of work set to begin for PRT’s University Line project

PITTSBURGH — Downtown bus riders and drivers are bracing for another work zone after Pittsburgh Regional Transit announced an additional location that will be under construction starting Jan. 22. It’s all part of the $300 million University Line project that will eventually connect Pittsburgh’s two largest business districts: Downtown and Oakland.

This phase begins on Jan. 22 between Wood Street and Liberty Avenue, adjacent to the Wood Street Station. Contractors plan to excavate the area to relocate water and drainage infrastructure, shutting down both lanes of traffic on Sixth Avenue heading from Wood Street toward Liberty Avenue. A single lane heading from Liberty toward Wood Street will remain open.

While some riders we spoke with are not thrilled about another work zone downtown, others are excited to see this project come to fruition.

“You have six different buses that go through there. Doing that, you might be able to cut those buses back and not have as many and put more on other routes,” said Stephanie Bartok, who rides the bus.

“Ugh...it’s going to be hard. A lot of people use downtown to get to where they need to get to, especially the t, so more construction, I don’t know...it’s going to make it more complicated,” said Carmen Smith, who lives in South Side. “One thing after another.”

“Why not do it now when they’re already in the pattern of going another way and driving around? I think now would be the time to do it, in my opinion,” Bartok said.

Also starting on Jan. 22, PRT’s electrical subcontractor will begin to install connections for future traffic signals and poles. In January, the work will occur at the following locations:

• Liberty Avenue at Seventh Street, adjacent to the 7-Eleven
• Liberty Avenue at Seventh Street, across from the 7-Eleven
• Liberty Avenue in front of Wood Street Station
• Sixth Avenue at Grant Street, adjacent to Mellon Green

Work in the third location is expected to take six to eight weeks to complete.

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