New Montour Trail bridge opens in Cecil Township
Ned Williams, Montour Trail Council president, addresses those gathered for the bridge opening.
Jessie Piazza of Cecil Township was selected as one of the cyclists to make the first ride over the new bridge.
The massive bridge that once covered the intersection of routes 50 and 980 in Cecil Township finally has been replaced by a much more recreationally friendly version.
Wednesday marked the opening of the new Montour Trail span, 14 years after the demolition of the apparatus that once carried the Montour Railroad.
“This has been an amazing project,” Ned Williams, Montour Trail Council president, said to the dozens of exercise enthusiasts who gathered to take a walk or spin following a ribbon cutting. “I was talking to one of the gentlemen in (state Department of Transportation) District 12. He has been working on it nearly as long as we have, back to the late 1990s.”
Construction of the bridge, which separates trail users from road traffic, represents a cooperative effort between District 12 and neighboring PennDOT District 11.
”They used many of the same team members that are working on the rebuild of Route 50 between here and Bridgeville,” Williams said. “So it was very, very efficient in terms of construction management for them.”
Transportation planner Leann Chaney of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission spoke about the collaboration between her organization and the trail council.
“We are honored to be part of this project and to be able to have helped,” she said. “It’s an important part of our vision to achieve an active transportation network that improves safety for all users.”
Dennis Sims, president of Cecil Township Friends of the Montour Trail, recalled that local efforts on the trail started 23 years, 1 month ago.
“Now, we’re finally connected,” he said. “We have all of Cecil together.” The bridge closes the final gap in the trail in Washington County.
Cecil resident Shirley Broglia made sure she was on hand for the opening.
“I walk between three and four miles every day – oh, my goodness – for about seven years,” she said, explaining that she wants to continue to get plenty of exercise following her career in health care. “I was an RN. We were all over the place.”
Montour Trail Council members, construction and engineering supervisors, and elected officials joined to cut the ribbon, after which trail users had their first opportunity to venture across the busy intersection below with a new sense of safety.
The trail’s main line has about 46 of a projected 48 miles complete, while the total system with spurs extends for 56 miles, making it the largest suburban trail in the United States. The route is from the Coraopolis area to Clairton, including sections in Cecil, Peters and Mt. Pleasant townships, and a spur in Bethel Park.