Oakland Streets Closed As 30,000 Pound MRI Scanner Installed

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Heads up if you are traveling in the Oakland area over the weekend.

Crews will be blocking off several roads as they lift a 30,000 pound MRI scanner into place at the Mellon Institute.

Fifth Avenue, between Bellefield Avenue and Dithridge Street will be closed to vehicular traffic and parking from 7 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday.

The new 3-Tesla Siemens Prisma MRI scanner will be the centerpiece of a new joint Carnegie Mellon - University of Pittsburgh neuroimaging research facility.

The machine will be assembled on Fifth Avenue in front of the building, and then crews will use a large crane to lift it over the building, eight stories high. The scanner will then be lowered into the center courtyard.

The scanner is a purely research-dedicated system that will support more than $54 million in ongoing research projects at the schools.

Pedestrian traffic will also be restricted between Bellefield and Dithridge.