Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure will address problem spots in Bloomfield and Chateau with more than $2.3 million in new grants from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.
The department plans to redesign an intersection in the heart of Bloomfield at the Bloomfield Bridge, Liberty Avenue and Main Street, and will upgrade its traffic signals.
Upgrading the intersection, which cuts through Bloomfield, has been “a longtime community priority,” city spokeswoman Molly Onufer said in a release. The two roads leading to the Bloomfield Bridge — Bigelow Boulevard and Craig Street — carry over 21,000 vehicles daily, according to city statistics.
“This project will completely reimagine and rebuild the complicated intersection to improve pedestrian safety, reduce vehicle conflicts and improve transit accessibility,” Onufer said.
The department is working with PennDOT to secure a contractor to design the project and has yet to release potential construction details.
The department also received funds to stabilize a portion of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Chateau between Branchport Street and Columbus Avenue that deteriorated last summer.
Trail users had been detoured into the surrounding neighborhood and plans to fix the trail began immediately, Onufer said.
The funds are part of the $30.7 million in discretionary money the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission spread across more than a dozen projects in its 10-county jurisdiction.
The projects the SPC funded — which are part of its 2027-31 Transportation Improvement Program — met federal performance standards to improve safety, maintain air quality standards, reduce emissions and keep roads and bridges in good condition, spokesman DJ Ryan said in a release.
PRT received $9 million to extend its in-progress University Line expansion into Squirrel Hill. The project had stretched from Downtown into Oakland and will now potentially have a station along Murray Avenue or Browns Hill Road.
Other grants included $1 million for a roundabout in Center Township, Beaver County, $250,000 to study the Mt. Pleasant Road transit corridor in Westmoreland County and more than $350,000 to increase pedestrian safety in Manorville, Armstrong County.