Imagine a front door to the University of Pittsburgh that is not only beautiful, but easy too —whether you’re walking, biking, driving or taking a bus—a corridor in the heart of campus that is easily accessible, has an intuitive flow and welcomes you.
That’s the vision we’re bringing to life.
This streetscape and infrastructure project, will transform the block of Bigelow Boulevard between Fifth and Forbes avenues to accommodate all modes of transportation more safely and efficiently and enhance the William Pitt Union grounds to be more accessible, sustainable and accommodating for gatherings.
Pitt is aligning vital campus infrastructure work with the City of Pittsburgh’s previously-announced Complete Streets plan for Bigelow Boulevard. Coordinating the work as one project rather than two decreases costs and minimizes disruption. Pitt and the city, which owns Bigelow Boulevard, announced these reconstruction plans and have shared them in public meetings over the past two years.
Bigelow Boulevard is a key connection in Oakland. This project relocates and enhances the mid-block pedestrian crosswalk, calms traffic and upgrades an important bike connection, using best practices in street design to foster a stronger sense of place for Oakland and the University.
Aging underground utility infrastructure is in need of replacement and upgrades to water lines, chilled water supply and electrical power distribution are necessary to accommodate future campus construction in the campus master plan, which was completed in 2019 after 18 months of planning and input from students, faculty, staff and the community.
Improvements to the William Pitt Union grounds will expand programmable outdoor space for students and connect more seamlessly with the recently renovated Schenley Quadrangle.