By Sean P. Ray | Managing Editor

EAST DEUTSCHTOWN AND SPRING GARDEN — The second and final phase of a project to renovate Chestnut Street with new bricks began on Feb. 12 and will run through early-to-mid August.

The Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) is overseeing the replacement of the street’s bricks with new ones, as well as evening out the road and improving drainage, among other repairs. The street’s historic streetcar rails, one of the few remaining artifacts from back when streetcars dominated the streets of the city, will be removed, eventually to be repurposed for an art installation.

The first phase of the rehabilitation began on Sept. 25, 2023, and repaired roughly one-third of the street. At first DOMI was unsure whether the project would involve two or three phases, as the timeline was dependent on funding from the city. If the project received insufficient funding in 2024, DOMI would have only repaired another third during the year, and finish the work in 2025.

Fortunately, the project has received enough funding to complete the project this year. According to Michael Panzitta, DOMI project manager for the rehabilitation, $909,593.90 of bond funds were allocated to the project in the 2024 Capital Budget.

So far, Panzitta said work on fixing the street has gone well.

“It was smoother than expected considering the age and condition of the roadway and the work remained on schedule pretty much the whole time,” he told The Chronicle in an email. “Further, the neighbors and businesses along the street have been helpful and willing to work with the contractor to accommodate the construction while maintaining the best access possible.”

Gayle McGarril, owner of The Garden Café, which is located on the northern end of Chestnut Street, said she definitely saw an impact on her business by the closure of one-third of the road during the first phase of the construction. She said October is usually one of the café’s busiest months, but with the closure occurring in late September, the café took a hit.

“We’ve also seen a decrease in foot traffic on the weekends — if folks are out walking their dogs, it doesn’t make much sense to them to try to navigate around a closed street,” McGarril said in an email.

Despite this, McGarril said she thought the already-repaired sections of road looked “beautiful” and called it a “huge improvement.”

“I just hope all of the heavy traffic (including large trucks) that Chestnut Street usually sees won’t ruin the brickwork,” she said.

Despite one-third of the road already being repaired, the second phase of the construction calls for Chestnut Street to be closed from Phineas Street to all the way to Spring Garden Avenue — the entire section made up of brickwork.

“There is approximately twice as much work involved in phase two as in phase one, so the existing closure was maintained and expanded to allow for more space for the additional materials and equipment required for construction — essentially to give the contractor a bit more space to work in to move the project as quickly as they can,” Panzitta said. “As construction progresses toward East Ohio Street, DOMI and the contractor can reassess the need for stockpiling space and adjust the closure accordingly.”

Detours will be posted using Spring Garden Avenue, Vinial Street, Phineas Street, East Ohio Street and Madison Avenue. Further, sections of Peralta Street and Suismon Street will be restricted to oneway traffic.

As for the streetcar rails, Panzitta said DOMI has around 100 feet of the old tracks stockpiled for a planned art installation using the rails. Panzitta said the plan is for the Community Alliance of Spring Garden – East Deutschtown (CASGED) to take the lead on the art project, and that the city got the community organization in contract with “a local artist whose practice involves welding and metalwork.”

Messages left for CASGED for more details on the art installation were not returned by deadline. The Engage page for the project says DOMI is “investigating partnering with Industrial Arts Workshop (IAW) to figure out how to give the tracks new life in an educational and community- oriented capacity, including exploring the option of a public art installation.”

The idea of using the rails for a public art installation was first pitched at an April 13, 2023 meeting at the Tripoli Street Community Center. Several attendees voiced support for the idea, which seemed to catch on with city officials as well.

For more information about the project, visit engage.pittsburghpa.gov/chestnut- street-rehabilitation.