Category: News || By Submitted Report

The Great Allegheny Passage is one step closer to completion.

At a ceremony this morning in Munhall, representatives of Allegheny County, the Allegheny Trail Alliance and the Steel Valley Trail Council raised a ceremonial railroad crossing gate to officially open a three-mile section of the planned 150-mile biking and hiking trail.

Linda McKenna Boxx, president of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, called the new section "by far the most complicated piece of trail in our 30-year history of trail building."

She predicts the new section connecting the RIDC industrial park in Duquesne with the Waterfront shopping district in Munhall will become one of the most popular sections of the Great Allegheny Passage.

. . .

"There have already been hundreds of people on the trail since we informally opened it a week ago," Boxx said. "It will be used for recreation, but also by people who work at the Waterfront or the RIDC parks for commuting to work or going out for lunch."

The new three-mile section of trail runs from Grant Avenue in Duquesne to a new 110-foot-long, 37-ton bridge that crosses Norfolk Southern's Port Perry rail yard and connects to the southern end of the former U.S. Steel coke gas pipeline.

A second new bridge, which is 170 feet long and weighs 62 tons, crosses six sets of tracks operated by Norfolk Southern and Union Railroad. This second span connects the northern end of the coke gas pipeline trail to a portion of Allegheny County's Carrie Furnace site on the south side of the Monongahela River in Whitaker. From there, the trail connects to the Waterfront in Munhall.

Together, the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Canal Towpath will create a 335-mile traffic-free, non-motorized route between Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. The trail travels through a scenic and historic corridor, roughly following early footpaths leading west from the tidal areas of Virginia.

. . .

Development of the Great Allegheny Passage began in 1975. The trail will eventually form a continuous path between downtown Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Md., and then to Washington, D.C. McKeesport hosts one of the trailheads at the foot of Water Street, Downtown. A branch using the former Montour Railroad connects the trail to Pittsburgh International Airport.

"This is a transformational moment for our region, both economically and recreationally," said Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, adding that the passage opened this morning was the most difficult section of trail in the county because of the active rail lines and "numerous property owners."

The Munhall-Duquesne leg of the trail represents a significant milestone in the trail's history, he said.

"We are literally in the home stretch of finishing the entire 335-mile trail from downtown Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.," he said. "Less than one mile remains, and we are working hard to get it completed."

. . .

The final segment to be completed begins near the Costco store in West Homestead. The trail alignment will follow Sandcastle Drive and pass under a railroad bridge and the Glenwood Bridge. There, it will connect to a trail segment now under development, and then connect to the existing South Side trail.

During the past five years, Allegheny County and trail organizations negotiated with 18 individual property owners for easements or ownership of 28 separate parcels between McKeesport and Pittsburgh.

The county provided $1.6 million toward completion of the Great Allegheny Passage, including construction of the portal tunnel in Duquesne, property on the Carrie Furnace site, easements from railroads, engineering services and appraisals.

In addition, Allegheny County assumed ownership from U.S. Steel of the former Riverton railroad bridge, a 1,200-foot span that carries the Great Allegheny Passage across the Monongahela River between McKeesport and Duquesne.

The two new bridges dedicated today also are under county ownership. The state, private foundations and revenue from the county's 1 percent Allegheny Regional Asset District sales tax have together provided $11.5 million toward completion of the Great Allegheny Passage, said Kevin Evanto, Allegheny County spokesman.

(Editor's Note: This story was written entirely from a report submitted by Kevin Evanto, Allegheny County spokesman.)

You are previewing your comment. Be sure to click on 'Post Comment' to store it.