Dormont Junction rail station set for improvements next year

A long-term project to upgrade the Dormont Junction light rail station is finally ready to move forward.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit has been talking about the estimated $6 million project since at least 2018 and expects to go out for bids by the end of the year with two years of construction to begin in early 2027. The agency will hold a virtual hearing on the project Thursday to discuss the final design and outline how construction will proceed.

Chief Development Officer Amy Silbermann told PRT's Planning & Stakeholder Relations Committee last week the project will result in "new pretty much everything" at the station. The station serves the Red Line on the light rail system.

The station sits along West Liberty, Biltmore and Raleigh avenues in Dormont, and a big part of the plan includes changing the entrance to the center of the site to make it more accessible from West Liberty and Biltmore. Inbound and outbound waiting areas would be covered by a roof and there would be landscaping between the buildings to allow a variety of entrances to the site.

In an interview, Silberman said plans are to improve inbound and outbound sides of the station separately so there isn't too much construction at one time.

"We're refreshing everything a little to bring it up to date," said Silbermann, noting the station opened in 1985.

Protective canopies will be extended on each side to provide more coverage for riders. Additional landscaping, fare machines, lighting and improved crosswalks also are part of the project.

Anyone interested in attending the online meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday should sign up on the PRT website.

Plans are to complete the station upgrade in about two years, then begin a transit-oriented development on nearly four acres of property the borough owns adjacent to the station. PRT and the borough have signed a two-year development agreement with Pennrose LLC for the site, where the initial proposal is for three low-income apartment buildings, one for seniors and two for families.

Designs for the station were part of a joint contract that included PRT's bus and light rail station at Station Square on East Carson Street. A key part of that project would provide pedestrian access at the far end of the station, which now only has access near Smithfield Street.

The agency had a similar hearing last week on that project, which likely won't move forward until construction is finished in 2029 to rehabilitate the nearby Panhandle Bridge that carries light rail trains across the Monongahela River between South Side and Downtown Pittsburgh.

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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 8:14 AM.