Description
The Port Authority, Allegheny County, the City of Pittsburgh, and the URA are working together to design the University Line project that will run from Downtown Pittsburgh, through Uptown and Oakland, and into the eastern suburbs and Monongahela Valley. This project was formerly known as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
Status
Under construction — “The second phase of construction started in Uptown and Oakland in January 2025 and is expected to be completed in 2027” (PRT, 2025).
The Oakland phase will involve re-routing all outbound buses to Forbes. Following the completion of the bus-only lane on Forbes Avenue, PRT will replace the bus express lane on Fifth Avenue with a protected two-way bicycle track.
Upcoming Events
N/a
Past Events
Project Resources
Updates
For more recent updates, visit https://prt-brt-newshub.prezly.com/.
June 13, 2023: BRT is fully funded with $150 million from the Federal Transit Administration. The "University Line" will run between Downtown, Uptown, and Oakland. Work on the Downtown section of the University Line is expected to get under way this fall. Source: WESA.
December 15, 2022: PRT is conducting a public comment period for the purpose of receiving public comment regarding proposed major service changes through 5 PM EST on Wednesday, February 1, 2023.
June 27, 2022: Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) and the City of Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) held a DAM (see above). The emphasis of this meeting was station design and art.
December 2021: The Federal Transit Administration continues their review of the BRT plans and work is now projected to start in late 2022. The Port Authority expects the system to be in operation by the end of 2023.
January 2021: The design is at 90%. Multiple public meetings were held earlier this year, and construction is set to begin in the fall/winter of 2021, pending approval of federal funding.
October 2019: The BRT design is at 60% and is at the stage in the process called “value engineering,” during which a consulting team of engineers reviews the proposal and suggests money-saving solutions. One recommended solution is to consider not completing a full-depth reconstruction of streets in Uptown and, instead, opting to just re-surface. Since the complete re-construction of streets in Uptown was a big selling point to residents, the Port Authority and DOMI hosted a public meeting on November 6, 2019, in Uptown to gather community feedback.