Great Allegheny Passage Trail Status - OCTOBER 7, 2008

The Great Allegheny Passage is now 132 miles complete and continuous from Cumberland, MD to McKeesport, PA.

PLEASE NOTE
The trail is complete to McKeesport, but not to Pittsburgh. The nine mile gap to the Pittsburgh city limits is under development; no date for completion can be given. Road-riding around this gap is difficult, even for experienced riders. We strongly recommend shuttling between McKeesport and Pittsburgh. Stay tuned for updates on our progress in building this most difficult section of the entire trail system.

Riverton Bridge  -  The bridge and new trail in McKeesport, totaling about a mile and a half, are now open.  Please come enjoy this newest addition to our system.  However, there is no access beyond the bridge, on the Duquesne side, because of a new flyover ramp under construction to connect Rt 837 to the industrial park.  Until that county project is complete (sometime in 2009) there should be no trespassing through that site!  Please respect the landowner's needs to maintain safety and please stay away from this active construction area.

The Brush & Borden tunnels in Maryland are NOT lighted. 

For your safety, PLEASE WALK through these two tunnels.

Ohiopyle State Park

• Ramcat Bridge:  The contractor is scheduled to mobilize the week of October 13 to 17, after the Columbus Day Weekend. This important project has been pushed out as far as possible. Vehicular access to Ramcat Launch will be shut down when they mobilize. Demolition/excavation/site prep will take about 2 to 4 weeks and the new cast concrete box should be delivered and installed in mid-November. A temporary construction detour for pedestrians and bicyclist (to walk their bikes) will be in place on the down stream side of the project.
• Bruner Run Curbs: We cut the curbs out at the Bruner Run Road crossing and put in concrete ramps that transition from stone to black top on both sides.
• The Jonathan Run Culvert (MM 75) is under design now and is funded for FY09: construction in late summer/early fall of 2009.  This very large culvert is in serious condition with an engineering estimate of $600,000 +.  The trail will remain open during this project except for short periods (less than 1 hour) for mobilization and/or equipment movement.  Like the last culvert replacement in 2006, bicyclist will be required to walk their bikes through the designated construction area.

Overnight Parking Permits and gate lock combination for Multi-Day Trail Use on the Great Allegheny Passage and the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail may be obtained at the Ohiopyle State Park Office.  12 day maximum for overnight parking.  Parking is first come first serve.  Parking is at your own risk. For questions on lot use and availability, please call the park office at 724-329-8591.

When we update our park map and Web page, this new special use lot will be added.  If Ferncliff parking lot is rehabilitated in FY10, this gated lot will remain in the same location and used for the same overnight purpose.  For the LHHT, overnight parking is still available at the remote parking lot on King Rd as well.       

Somerset County, PA

The 3,300 ft. long Big Savage Tunnel, near the Mason-Dixon Line, is open and lighted.  The tunnel will be closed for the winter on December 1, 2008 & will reopen on April 10, 2009.  

The Big Savage Tunnel Recognition Plaque is in the final phase of review.  When complete, it will be erected at the Deal Trailhead.  The unveiling date will be provided as soon as it becomes available.   This is a big undertaking, thanks for your patience!

Pinkerton Tunnel - near Markleton, remains closed with detour on abandoned rail line following the river. 

The Pinkerton Horn has recently been resurfaced and is in great shape.

Bollman Bridge is in open for use! 

Allegheny County, PA

The Hot Metal Bridge is opened for pedestrian/bike use!

Southside Trail
The long-term plan for the Southside Trail is to connect to the existing trail at the Waterfront in Homestead/West Homestead. At this point there are not construction plans because we need to work out agreements with private property owners. South Side 10-1 trail segment of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail is now complete. Trail users are finally able to travel from the Baldwin Borough Trail through the South Side and to Station Square, downtown Pittsburgh and beyond.

Work continues on the trail corridor on the Steel Valley Trail section.

There is no parking at the Baldwin side.

The trail is completely open from MP 0 to MP 22. At MP 22 where the trail crosses PA route 50 a temporary bridge over the stream and crosswalk is under construction. This will eliminate the current 0.5 mile road detour along busy Rte 50. Completion is expected during the 2008 cycling season.

Trail construction is underway on the section from Chartiers creek to US Rte 19 in Peters Township. Work is underway on the rehabilitation of bridges in this section. When this work is completed sometime in 2008 the gap in the Montour Trail from MP 27 to MP 31 will be eliminated except for a very short flat road section which may be eliminated during 2009.

From Route 19 to the Library Trestle the trail is complete. There are two detours in South Park along Rte 88 and Brownsville-Library road, and along Piney Fork Road. Design work is underway to reduce the length and difficulty of these detours. The trail is on road from Gill Hall Rd to Rte 51 at Large. The trail is complete from there to the terminus in Clairton.