• September 30th, 2026
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As of September 2026, the City of Pittsburgh has notified the community that the City and its contractor for the Frazier Street Steps project have mutually agreed to terminate their contract. As a result, work on the site has been suspended for the time being.

Work completed to date by the City and its original contractor includes pre-construction efforts to relocate utilities in the area and demolition of the existing steps. The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) is now working to re-scope the project based on existing conditions and plans to put the remaining work out to bid in the coming months. According to DOMI sources, no significant scope changes are expected in this effort, just selection of a new contractor to resume the work that was already planned.

The City remains committed to re-establishing this important connection to the community and will provide additional information when a new contractor has been hired and work can begin again. As of October 3, 2026, the published timeline for project completion is Winter 2027/2028.

About the project: The rehabilitation of the existing Frazier Street Steps connecting Frazier Street in South Oakland to Bates Street is being planned for completion in advance of the larger Bates Street Widening Project. Preliminary engineering for the project went into final design in Fall 2024 before being advertised to bid. Construction began in summer 2025. As of May 28, 2025, staging for the project was underway in South Oakland along Bates Street near the intersection with Second Avenue and the I-376 Parkway East interchanges.

Project details, drawings of the proposed reconfiguration, and photos of prior conditions can be found on OTMA's Construction Resources Map or on the City of Pittsburgh EngagePGH page related to the project.

Timeline: Community Engagement launched in Fall 2022 with community meeting #1 held at Dan Marino Field in November 2022. Engineering Agreement Phase occurred from Fall 2023 through Spring 2024 with land surveying and soil core borings obtained to support the design effort. Final Design Phase continued from Spring 2024 through Summer 2024 followed by Bid Opening in November 2024. Utility Relocation takes place in Spring 2025 followed by the primary Construction phase scheduled from Summer 2025 through Summer 2026, however as of September 2026 the City of Pittsburgh has notified the community that the City and its contractor have mutually agreed to terminate their contract and work on the site has been suspended until further notice while DOMI works to re-scope the project based on existing conditions. The City remains committed to re-establishing this important connection and DOMI expects to put the remaining work out to bid in the coming months to hire a new contractor to complete the work.