The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently awarded Pittsburgh Regional Transit a $149.9 million Capital Investment Grants program grant toward the $291 million Downtown-Uptown-Oakland bus rapid transit (BRT) line project.
The Downtown-Uptown-Oakland BRT project would provide transit along 7.1 miles for residents and commuters along a heavily congested corridor from Downtown Pittsburgh to Oakland.
The project will create dedicated bus-only lanes and bike lanes and pedestrian infrastructure. It also include the installation of traffic lights that automatically turn green.
Once completed, a bus will arrive every five minutes during peak periods, and the line will run 22 hours a day. It will provide new options for the Central Downtown area, Hill district, and Oakland.
Currently, more than 40,000 riders daily use the bus in the communities served by the expected BRT.
“The Downtown-Uptown-Oakland BRT line will improve transit speed and reliability on one of the highest transit ridership corridors in Pittsburgh,” FTA Deputy Administrator Veronica Vanterpool said. “We are pleased to support this project that will better connect communities to jobs and education.”
The BRT would provide access to approximately 232,000 jobs.
Further development is planned for the Uptown-Oakland neighborhoods. The projects are partially funded by a FTA Transit Oriented Development planning grant.