Construction projects to tie up Oakland

Pitt and Oakland will be getting an extreme makeover this summer, both inside and out…. Pitt and Oakland will be getting an extreme makeover this summer, both inside and out.

With major facelifts, new buildings, renovations, route changes and road changes, construction companies will be hard at work in the months to come, adding to Pitt in major and minor ways.

The Market Central construction continues with the closing of Marketplace and the Litchfield Towers lobby dining entrances. While the unveiling of the project is yet to be seen, students and passersby will be able to watch the progress of another project that may seem long overdue.

The 42-story Cathedral of Learning will continue to get a cleaning this summer as the University approved the Cathedral of Learning Exterior Preservation Project.

After 70 years of existence, stones of the Cathedral are cracked, and inspections further revealed “mortar that was loose or missing in hundreds of locations caused by expansion and contraction over time,” a University press release said.

A feature of the Cathedral not originally in its design is the decades of soot and grime that gathered on the exterior of Pitt’s landmark. According to the press release, this will be cleaned off this summer, and all limestone, mortar and caulking that needs to be replaced will be done to match the original colors and textures.

With the major cleaning headed by the Cost Company, all of the dust coming from the preservations will be nontoxic, but visitors will still be protected from any wayward dust.

While the Cathedral is being cleaned, Port Authority Transit will be continuing its cleanup because of its extreme deficit in 2006.

On June 17, 2007, PAT’s approved revised service proposal will begin. There will be a 15 percent reduction of service, as opposed to the proposed 25 percent reduction of service, Carmen Bray, a public relations officer for PAT, said.

Of the 33 bus routes that pass through the Oakland area, 17 will be affected in June, Bray said.

Fortunately for Pitt students, the feedback PAT received after first proposing to eliminate the 28X helped to influence their decision to make adjustments, such as using bigger buses for the routes that are less expensive to maintain, as well as adjusting the times to make it more efficient for students and PAT, Bray said.

“For students in Oakland, the route changes will not change dramatically, because routes in Oakland were very popular. We made minor changes to make the routes more efficient,” Bray said.

The 59U will have trip eliminations and adjustments during the week, but no changes on the weekend. The 501 has been completely eliminated, although most of the other changes were trip eliminations and time adjustments, with the 67A receiving routing changes. But the 54C, with service to the South Side, will have its routes completely retained.

The major Boulevard of the Allies project that began April 2 will make a change to Oakland starting on Monday with a new lane closure on Fifth Avenue, Mavis Rainey, executive director at Oakland Transportation Management, said.

With this closure, westbound traffic will move over one lane and the bus lane will be moved to the center, restricting traffic to three lanes instead of four, although the bus will still pull over and make its normal stops, Rainey said.

This new lane closure is for the construction of a new exit ramp that students and residents of Oakland will see in November of 2007, Rainey said. Those traveling down Fifth Avenue will pass Craft Avenue and will have an exit directly taking them to the Boulevard of the Allies, Rainey said.

Additional lane closures that are currently in place are Forbes Avenue from Moultrie Street to the Parkway East exit ramp, said James Struzzi, press officer for PennDOT’s District 11, as well as Route 885 around the current Boulevard of the Allies bridge.

“This summer, it should not congest traffic or impact Oakland too badly,” Struzzi said. “We have worked closely with Pitt and other Oakland businesses to create a schedule that will minimize the impact as much as possible.”

With commencement weekend fast approaching, some are worried that lane closures will affect traffic. Rainey does not see this as a problem.

“With commencement on the weekend, there will be a reduced number of commuters on the road, for most of the travelers during the week are from UPMC,” Rainey said. “I can’t imagine that traffic will be severe that weekend, and it should be accommodating for those coming into Oakland for the ceremony.”

Next year will be a different story, Rainey said, because beginning in January 2008, the Boulevard of the Allies bridge will be completely closed.

Other projects over the summer include the Cathedral of Learning sprinkler project, various classroom renovations and Trees Hall gym floor replacement, Pitt spokesman John Fedele said.