Which block of Smithfield Street are you trying to reach this week? For the next two years, that question will matter more than any headline about the project. The city broke ground on September 22 under the Kaufmann's Clock with Mayor Corey O'Connor, Councilman Bobby Wilson and DOMI Director Jeff Skalican on hand. The figure in most coverage is 18 to 24 months for Phase 1, which runs from Forbes Avenue to Sixth Avenue.
But the street isn't closing all at once. It closes one block at a time, and the order sets your walk, your bus stop and how easy it is to reach a given storefront. The finished street is expected around summer 2028. The closed block will move well before then.
The order the blocks close
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership's October 2 construction update gives the order. Smithfield has been closed to traffic between Oliver and Fifth since September 21, and the work will move through the corridor in three steps:
- Oliver to Fifth. Closed now, including the Smithfield bus lane.
- Fifth to Forbes. Next up. This block runs from the Kaufmann's Clock corner toward Forbes.
- Oliver to Sixth. Last. This block runs past Mellon Square Park to the Carnegie Library's Downtown branch at the Sixth Avenue end.
So the block by the library and Mellon Square stays open to traffic the longest. The Fifth Avenue corner gets the earliest disruption.
Nobody has published the timing in one place, and the two main estimates don't match. Pittsburgh Regional Transit's detour notice says the first block will be closed "approximately two months" before work moves to Fifth–Forbes. PDP says each phase will take six to nine months. On the PRT estimate, the closure could shift to the Fifth–Forbes block around late November. On the PDP estimate, Oliver–Fifth could stay closed into spring. Neither source gives a date for the switch, so treat any date you hear secondhand as a guess.
The work week has its own pattern. A July 8 stakeholder presentation from the city showed Merante Contracting working four 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday, tentatively from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closures stay in place on the days crews aren't working. If that schedule holds, a Friday walk past the site will be quieter, but the barriers will still be up.
Your bus stop may already be on Wood Street
The bus changes are where the block order hits hardest, and they reach well beyond Downtown. Six routes lost their outbound stops on the Smithfield bus lane, among them the 51 Carrick, the 48 Arlington and the Y46 Elizabeth Flyer.
| Routes | Outbound stops discontinued | Where to board instead |
|---|---|---|
| 43 Bailey, 48 Arlington, 51 Carrick, Y46 Elizabeth Flyer, Y47 Curry Flyer, Y49 Prospect Flyer | Smithfield Street Bus Lane at Fifth, at Forbes and at Third | Wood St. at Sixth Ave. by the Wood Street T Station, Wood St. at Fifth Ave., Wood St. at Third Ave. |
| P12, P16, P67 | Smithfield at Fifth | Smithfield at Sixth stays open. Grant/Oliver stop moves to Grant at U.S. Steel Tower Stop B |
One detail in the commuter-route alert shows how the block order plays out. The P12, P16 and P67 still stop at Smithfield and Sixth because that block isn't closed yet. When the work reaches Oliver–Sixth, that stop is the obvious candidate for the next change.
The bus lane itself will come back. The city's announcement says the existing transit-only lane "will be maintained as it exists today" in the finished design. Check the live PRT detour page for your route before each block change. PRT's own end-date fields don't line up with the construction schedule.
Every storefront stays open, but getting there changes
PDP's update says pedestrian access to all businesses will be maintained throughout. The city's July presentation explains how. Sidewalks and the basement vaults beneath them are rebuilt one block at a time, while people on foot use a temporary path down the middle of the roadway, with access structures leading to building entrances. On the closed block, you'll reach a shop door by walking down the center of the street and crossing a short ramp or platform.
That matters because several of the businesses on this stretch are new to the street. PAIR Charcuterie at 201 Smithfield and The Market at Greenwood Smithfield at 215 Smithfield are listed as participants in PDP's Project Pop-Up. That program gives selected storefront businesses free or reduced rent for six to 12 months and grants of up to $15,000. Further along, PDP's current business directory lists Origin Story Coffee at 309 Smithfield and Taco Guapo at 626 Smithfield.
PDP launched a Business Boost campaign on September 9, less than two weeks before the closure began. It includes direct outreach to businesses, promotion, small-business meetings and feedback collection, and a later phase is planned to add marketing toolkits and coaching.
What the finished street adds
The city lists the scope as a full roadway rebuild with expanded sidewalks, new curbs, safety bump-outs, signage, pavement markings, street landscaping and infrastructure for better lighting. WESA's February reporting added planters, street trees and infrastructure for artistic light installations. No current public source gives final sidewalk widths or a tree count.
Federal money covers 80 percent of the cost and local sources cover 20 percent. The project began as "Smithfield Reimagined," one of nine high-impact priorities in the Downtown Mobility Plan that the city and PDP developed between 2019 and 2021. That's about five years from plan to groundbreaking, and the street is expected to take most of two more.
Two blocks west, the last makeover is already open
Downtown just finished a project much like this one, so you can see the finished version now. Market Square reopened on April 22 after its modernization, with a central pavilion, more room for dining, a pedestrian-priority streetscape and the south road closed. On the Allegheny, the upper promenade of Allegheny Riverfront Park between the Sister Bridges and the Cultural District was completed April 2, with bluestone pavers, 35 new trees, lighting and more open event space.
This fall's Downtown calendar is centered on those finished spaces:
- Prostburgh/Oktoberfest Pittsburgh runs October 1 through 11 in Market Square and on the Roberto Clemente Bridge, with German food and beer, music, a Ferris wheel, stein-holding contests and dachshund races. Part of the Market Square roadway closes Friday evenings from 4 to 11 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. through October 11.
- City Social, PDP's Thursday after-work series, came back September 10 and runs through the holiday season. Barcelona Wine Bar is listed for October 8.
- The Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District is on PDP's calendar through November 27.
Some of the newest public work is a block away from the construction. On Strawberry Way, street artists Ish Muhammad, Gloria "Gloe" Talamantes and Tomás Ives started a 10-day residency on September 17. Each one is working with two local artists on one of the alley's three blocks, and PDP has scheduled the finished mural's unveiling for late October. That puts a new mural one block from a street that will be under construction into 2028.
Keeping track this fall
- Check the PDP construction updates page before you head toward Smithfield. That's where block changes are announced first.
- Bookmark the PRT detour notice for your route if you ride the 43, 48, 51, Y46, Y47, Y49, P12, P16 or P67.
- Plan on Wood Street for outbound boarding at Sixth, Fifth or Third until the corridor reopens.
- Expect the Sixth Avenue end to change last. Mellon Square and the library side of the street stay open to traffic until the final phase.
- Use the city's EngagePGH Smithfield Street project page for design documents and official notices.
If you're weighing a Downtown condo or a South Hills home with a commute into town, the project's timeline is part of the decision. Rachel Mazzie can go through how the Smithfield schedule and the bus detours affect the places you're considering. Schedule a free consultation.
