PRT Awarded $9 Million to Extend University Line
Extension will go through Squirrel Hill, Greenfield
July 30, 2026
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission has awarded Pittsburgh Regional Transit $9 million to help fund the PRTX University Line extension from Squirrel Hill to the Homestead Grays Bridge. This adds to a previous award of $7.4 million in 2023 from SPC to extend the University Line from Oakland to Squirrel Hill.
The new funding will partially cover the cost to extend the line to the City of Pittsburgh side of the Homestead Grays Bridge, where it will then continue across the bridge to Homestead and McKeesport as part of a separate PRT project.
The extension from Squirrel Hill to the Homestead Grays Bridge could include six station pairs with accessibility improvements including extended sidewalks, next bus arrival screens, fare vending machines, seating, lighting, bike racks, emergency phones, and security cameras. PRT will host public meetings and solicit community feedback on the location and sizes of the stations in the near future.
PRT will spend the next 12-18 months advancing the planning and design of the Murray and Forbes Avenue portions of the project and integrating it with the rest of the corridor, including the extension down Browns Hill Road, across the Homestead Grays Bridge, and along State Route 837 to McKeesport. The project will include close coordination between PRT, PennDOT, the City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, and Allegheny County Department of Public Works, which are also advancing projects in the corridor.
With this new funding, PRT has approximately 60% of the costs needed to construct the Squirrel Hill Branch from Oakland to the Homestead Grays Bridge. The total project is estimated to cost between $28 and $35 million.
Construction for Phase II of the University Line is currently underway. Phase II includes 19 PRTX stations in Uptown and Oakland and is expected to be completed in 2027. Phase I of the project included five new PRTX stations in Downtown Pittsburgh. It was completed in the summer of 2025.
For more information on the University Line, including weekly construction updates, please visit www.rideprt.org/BRT