• June 23rd, 2026
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According to the latest from Pittsburgh Regional Transit's construction updates portal website, the first and second new PRTX bus station shelters have been erected along Forbes Avenue in Oakland.

The first in Central Oakland is located at the intersection of Forbes Avenue and South Bouquet Street in front of the University of Pittsburgh's Barco Law Building. When completed, the 60-foot shelter will have an ADA-compliant loading zone and accessible ramps, and will also include seating, lighting, next-bus arrival screens, fare vending, emergency phones, and security cameras. For perspective, this shelter will resemble the Steel Plaza PRTX Station already constructed in Downtown Pittsburgh.

The second shelter, in West Oakland, is located mid-block between Craft Avenue and Halket Street. When completed, this 30-foot bus shelter will also have an ADA-compliant loading zone and accessible ramps, in addition to seating, lighting, next-bus arrival screens, fare vending, emergency phones, and security cameras.

Crews will continue to install additional components related to these two shelters through the end of August. When construction for the University Line is complete, there will ultimately be 24 total PRTX stations throughout Downtown, Uptown, and Oakland.

On June 19, new temporary traffic pattern changes went into effect along Fifth Avenue near the entrance to Boulevard of the Allies where Fifth Avenue is reduced to a single lane between Craft Avenue in Oakland and Kirkpatrick Street in Uptown. Current schedule has this work slated for completion by July 9 – in advance of the upcoming 25-day full closure of I-376 Parkway East for the Commercial Street Bridge Replacement project which begins July 10 and is expected to detour a significantly higher than usual volume of traffic through Oakland as motorists navigate around that work zone near the Squirrel Hill Tunnel using PennDOT posted detour routes.

To retain access to the Boulevard of the Allies on-ramp, a portion of the concrete median that divided travel lanes has been removed and flaggers are on-site during work hours to direct traffic appropriately. As part of this work, the existing yield condition for vehicles entering Fifth Avenue from Robinson Street has been replaced with a stop sign.

During the Commercial Street Bridge project's scheduled detour period, PRT will be temporarily suspendindg construction activities on Forbes Avenue in Oakland and will maintain three travel lanes on Fifth Avenue between Bellefield and Craft Avenue.

Work hours are generally 7am-5pm, Monday through Friday, with weekend work occurring as needed, and of course, all construction activities are weather dependent. Motorists should observe construction signage and reduce speed through all work zones. Travelers are encouraged to plan for additional travel time and remain alert to changing traffic conditions and posted detour information.

In other University Line construction news, crews continue to work on road and sidewalk restoration along the north side of Fifth Avenue in Uptown in preparation for the future bus lane here. Final paving is anticipated to be completed by the end of June with red paint to be applied to denote the new bus lane in early fall. When the north side paving work is completed, construction moves to the south side of Fifth Avenue between Kirkpatrick Street and Diamond Street where sidewalk and future road restoration activities will begin in July, scheduled through Q1 2027.

During this period, several bus stops have been temporarily impacted including the following removed from service: Fifth at Seneca, Fifth at Gist, and Fifth at Van Braam; and the following other stops relocated to the opposite side of the intersection from their typical location: Fifth at Kirkpatrick, Fifth at Wyandotte, Fifth at Dinwiddle, and Fifth at Pride. Bus stop information can be found at rideprt.org, using the Ready2Ride smartphone app from PRT, or by calling customer service at 412-442-4000.

Parking has been prohibited on both sides of Fifth Avenue during construction to allow at least one lane of traffic to continue to flow safely through the work zone. When the project is completed, parking in this area will be permanently eliminated along Fifth Avenue in the following areas:

• Both sides of Fifth Avenue between Pride Street and Diamond Street
• North side of Fifth Avenue between Kirpatrick Street and Pride Street
• At the intersections on the south side of Fifth AVenue between Kirkpatrick and Pride
• Both sides of Fifth Avenue at Wyandotte Street

While roadway restoration work continues on Fifth Avenue, a single travel lane on the north side will be maintained between the Boulevard of the Allies and Kirkpatrick Street then shifting to the south side of Fifth between Kirkpatrick and Diamond.

When sidewalk work begins in July on the south side of Fifth, this single travel lane will be shifted to the recently completed northern side; and two lanes of traffic will be opened periodically within the construction corridor in conjunction with other activities like the upcoming 25-day full closure of I-376 Parkway East for the Commercial Street Bridge Replacement project.

Other work areas in Oakland related to the project include between Bellefield Avenue and Craft Avenue where two left lanes (including the former contraflow bus lane) remain closed as PRT contractors continue work in the area to rebuild the roadway and sidewalks in preparation for a future bi-directional bike lane that will be installed here. Pedestrian access and access to local businesses is being maintained throughout via temporary walkways and ADA-accessible ramps.

Along the north side of Fifth Avenue, PRT contractors are also working to complete sidewalk restoration and widening activities while pouring concrete foundations for future PRTX bus stations/shelters, installing new traffic signals and pedestrian safety systems, and new lighting that consists of a mixture of shorter decorative poles and larger light poles.

Sidewalk work has progressed on Forbes Avenue in Uptown reaching final stages in early June 2026. Many have already been completed including recent framing/pouring between Marion/Van Braam, Van Braam/Miltenberger, Seneca/Brady, Stevenson/Pride, Gist, Magee/Pride, and new hatches at Moultrie and Miltenberger, among many others. Ultimately, nearly the entire length of Fifth and Forbes Avenues in Uptown will receive new sidewalks and curbs on both sides of the street in addition to the newly paved road surfaces.

The next phase along the southern lane of Forbes Avenue is slated to begin in early July 2026 and will focus on road restoration in preparation for the future bus lane, introducing a new single lane traffic pattern from Boyd Street to Brady Street at the Birmingham Bridge ramps interchange. To accommodate the work while maintaining a travel lane through the corridor, on-street parking will continue to be suspended on both sides of Forbes Avenue in the work zone.