University Times

Lane restrictions for Forbes Avenue traffic entering Oakland tentatively are scheduled to end Aug. 18 — nearly a week earlier than originally planned.

Since late April, traffic had been reduced to one lane between Moultrie Street and McDevitt Place as part of the $29 million project to replace the crumbling Boulevard of the Allies Bridge and create a new gateway into Oakland.

The return of unrestricted traffic flow was set for Aug. 24, but the date was moved forward to better accommodate returning students, according to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesperson James Struzzi.

Beam setting for the new Boulevard of the Allies Bridge will take place in August. That work, which will require full road closings, was scheduled for June, but delays in the steel delivery in turn delayed the beam setting. Struzzi said the change is not expected to impact the overall schedule.

Similar closings occurred on two weekends in January and February to allow for the removal of the old bridge and ramps, but Struzzi said the future closings for installation of the steel would be shorter, lasting only as long as needed to set the beams.

The project got underway in April 2007. The bridge is expected to reopen in late November with the last of the construction scheduled to wrap up next May.

Additional information is available at otma-pgh.org.

—Kimberly K. Barlow