What is happening with Route 65 and in Manchester-Chateau?

You may have heard of a few projects mentioned in the Manchester-Chateau neighborhoods or along Route 65 in the last few years, and increasingly in 2025. This website was created as a medium to educate, inform, and solicit feedback on Project 19/65 and related projects affecting the Route 65 corridor.

Project 19/65 is a community-led effort to reconnect the Manchester and Chateau neighborhoods—divided for decades by the construction of Route 65—into one unified, vibrant, and accessible community once again.

Built on a towering viaduct with limited crossings, it cuts off access to schools, jobs, businesses, and the riverfront and is a physical and social barrier between neighbors. Project 19/65 seeks to change that.

Led by the City of Pittsburgh and Manchester Citizens Corporation (MCC), this initiative is part of the federal Reconnecting Communities Program and will begin with a feasibility study and alternatives analysis—driven by community feedback and neighborhood priorities including the broader region. You can complete the Community Input Form (linked below) to share your insights and questions.

Which communities will be impacted?

Route 65, or PA-65, is a corridor spanning multiple municipalities. These communities are all impacted differently by the interstate based on factors like geography, policies, design, and development. At present, the resident partners who have engaged and informed this project website include Manchester, Chateau, and the 16 municipalities that make up the Quaker Valley COG (QVCOG). You can find the complete list of municipalities and review their community input and engagement profiles below.

< Fig. 1. 23-mile map of Route 65 from Bellevue to Rochester.

Where are we in the process?

Manchester Citizens Corporation (MCC), the City of Pittsburgh, local and state elected officials, and other corporate and community partners have created a series of documents and deliverables that are available for your review in the Resources section below. Projects like the 2019 Neighborhood Plan and 2021 TRID Study have laid the groundwork for our current phase.

Now, the Reconnecting Communities Planning Study can commence. This planning phase will explore ways to Beautify the Boulevard, Create Clear Gateways, and Slow Traffic to:

• Safely reconnect east-west travel across Route 65;
• Improve access for pedestrians, bikes, transit riders, and drivers; and
• Reimagine how this corridor can better serve the people who live, work, and travel here.

As part of this study, a Community-Based Advisory Council will inform six critical areas of impact along the sixteen Route 65 communities, including in Manchester and Chateau. These areas include (1) Land Use & Housing; (2) Community & Economic Development; (3) Mobility; (4) Open Space, Public Health & Public Safety; (5) Cultural Heritage, Public Art & Urban Design; and (6) Environment & Sustainability.

Based on this study, a development consultant will explore multiple possible solutions in the 16 communities.

Fig. 2. Overlay of original neighborhood map over Route 65 in Manchester-Chateau

Fig. 3. - Developer’s project management framework including all areas of priority and alignment.

Why does this project matter?

Unity

Manchester and Chateau were once one community.

Route 65 split them apart in the 1960s, disrupting the street grid, harming local businesses, and displacing residents.

Equity

75% of today’s residents in Manchester and Chateau are people of color and 71% are Black.

Reconnecting the neighborhood is a matter of racial equity, mobility, and economic justice.

Safety

On, below, and along PA-65, current travel conditions are not ideal.

The existing conditions—narrow sidewalks, wide roadways, and poor pedestrian safety— can make travel difficult and dangerous for everyone.

Economic Growth

This is part of a larger strategy.

Past planning efforts (see resources below) already point to a clear goal: lowering the highway and restoring neighborhood connectivity create ongoing regenerative opportunities.

Resources

The Communities Along Route 65

Each of the communities below has a stake in what happens to and along PA-65. These municipalities have a huge opportunity to be better connected and benefit from safer travel and economic growth. Additionally, many are signatories of the fully-executed Route 65 Intergovernmental Agreement.

If you are a member of one or more of these communities and have not yet had a chance to engage with the outreach or project teams, please complete the feedback form linked in the “What Can I Do?” section below.

If you are a community leader or elected official in any of the listed municipalities have any additions or changes you’d like to propose to your community’s input and engagement profile (full profiles coming soon!), please contact info@manchestercitizens.org to schedule a discussion with their team.

What are community members saying?

What Can I Do?

• Share Your Thoughts with MCC – Complete this community input form to share your perspective and any questions you have regarding the impact of Project 19/65 in your community.
• Stay Connected – Stay tuned for updates and engagement opportunities from the Manchester Citizens Corporation by leaving your email in the community input form linked above.

A Note of Thanks

This website was created as a gift from Leadership Pittsburgh Inc.'s Leadership Development Initiative (LDI) XXXII Cohort to the residents of Manchester, Chateau, and the sixteen QVCOG communities along the Route 65 corridor that will be impacted by Project 19/65. LDI XXXII partnered with the Manchester Citizens Corporation (MCC) to investigate the potential impacts of lowering PA State Route 65 and re-establishing connections between the historically rich Manchester and Chateau neighborhoods to ensure communities are aware of and informing that process.

“We learned that Route 65 is a vital part of our region's infrastructure and our role over the past 10 months was to document the perspectives and questions of community members regarding how changes to the route could impact them and their neighbors.

Understanding this importance, our cohort initiated a series of engagements with stakeholders. Our work has included researching and reaching out to residents, leaders, and partners along the Route 65 corridor to find out more about their relationship to Route 65 and changes they might like to see to this integral roadway.

The tenets of our engagement were to remain neutral, listen actively, host spaces to have a respectful dialogue with community members as information concerning their neighborhoods is announced, and to document feedback prior to the launch of a Community-Based Advisory Council to ensure community feedback is actively and accurately captured and considered. This website was created to keep those lines of communication both open and strong beyond the formal timeline of our Community Impact Project (CIP).

We thank Manchester Citizens Corporation, Leadership Pittsburgh Inc., and the many partners and officials throughout our state and region who are committed to investing in our local communities. Mostly, we are grateful to the community members and residents who opened their doors and our minds with their perspectives, experiences, and hopes for this project.”

- LDI XXXII (Best class ever!)