Traffic delays expected during East Carson Street project in Pittsburgh's South Side

Drivers should expect traffic delays on East Carson Street in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood during an $18 million improvement project that started Monday and will continue into 2020.

Pittsburgh started a $3 million project that will include new sidewalks with exposed aggregate concrete, pedestrian lighting, hanging baskets and trees between 10th and 25th streets.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is expected to start repaving East Carson from Smithfield to 33rd streets by late spring or early summer, according to spokesman Steve Cowan. The $15 million project is scheduled for completion in 2020.

City crews are working from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Vehicles parked in marked work zones will be towed.

PennDOT has classified the street, which carries between 12,000 and 15,000 vehicles per day, as a high-crash corridor. It’s the worst in the region and sixth worst in the state. PennDOT reported 473 crashes, including three fatalities, occurred along the popular bar and restaurant corridor from 2007 through 2011.

In addition to new pavement, PennDOT is installing new traffic lights, street lighting at intersections, pavement markings and painted crosswalks that are larger and more visible and curb “bumpouts” that will shorten the distance in crosswalks and extend sidewalks.