By Terri T. Johnson

Staff writer

ttjohnso@observer-reporter.com

Traffic along Valley Brook Road between Peters and Cecil townships will be restricted to one alternating lane on Feb. 12 as girders are installed on a former railroad bridge to expand the Montour Trail.

Mark Imgrund, president of Montour Trail Council, said work will begin, weather permitting, after 9 a.m. so rush hour traffic and school bus routes will not be disturbed.

"Raising the girders on this bridge is a significant step in eliminating the most difficult and dangerous gap in the Montour Trail," Imgrund said.

Once the bridges are opened, just 250 yards will remain undeveloped between the Montour Trail and Arrowhead Trail, the section of the trail that is maintained by Peters Township and not the Montour Trail Council.

Three bridges are scheduled to be rehabilitated during the project that is expected to be completed by late 2008.

The former railroad bridges were razed before the trail was developed on the abandoned Montour Railroad right of way.

Money for the bridge reconstruction is coming from a $1 million package through the state Department of Transportation that uses federal funds.

Imgrund said U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair Township, and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum helped obtain federal funding.

Once the three bridges are restored, a now-unused 1.65-mile section of trail will be resurfaced and opened. The $250,00 project for paving and drainage is being paid for through a matching state grant from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The matching money comes from contributions from volunteers and materials from Peters Township and Bethel Park as well as the contractor, Mingo Creek Construction, Imgrund said.

Peters Township and Bethel Park contributed more than 1,000 tons of recycled asphalt from summer road projects that will be used as a sub-base, Imgrund said.

The bridges being renovated span Brush Run that flows into Chartiers Creek, the boundary between Cecil Township and Peters Township.

The Montour Trail Council is attempting to complete an unbroken trail on the abandoned rail line from Clairton to Moon Township near Coraopolis.

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