Ribbon-cutting for Montour Trail bridge set
Ribbon-cutting for the final bridge on the Montour Trail in Peters Township will take place at 11:30 a.m. Saturday trail-side at the west abutment of the bridge, near mile marker 30.3 on the trail.
The long-awaited Valley Brook Bridge No. 2 at last carries the trail over Valley Brook Road, a short distance west of Route 19. This completes the final gap between the heavily used Peters Township Arrowhead section and the scenic stretches of the Montour Trail that beckon further west.
With both the Valley Brook No. 1 and No. 2 bridges now open, trail users travel high above the road, entirely separated from motor vehicle traffic. For Peters Township area walkers and bicyclists who had not previously ventured beyond the gap, much additional trail mileage is now easily accessible.
This project’s completion couldn’t come soon enough for the thousands of people who walk and bike this section of trail. “Valley Brook Bridge No. 2’s completion significantly increases the safety of trail users,” said Mark Imgrund, project manager of the bridge. “Crossing a busy, high-traffic road like Valley Brook is tricky at best, and a real barrier for many. It’s important that we’ve now eliminated the at-grade road crossing and the temporary construction detour, especially for families enjoying the trail with their children.”
The Tom Robinson family, trail neighbors on the west side of the project, were generous in allowing trail users to more safely detour over their property, and to temporarily park on it, for the duration of the construction project.
Located where an old railroad structure had been removed and the road realigned, the bridge had been in the planning stages for more than 15 years, but had to wait until funding, permitting, design and utility issues were resolved.
The Montour Trail is one of Pennsylvania’s most heavily used recreational resources, with nearly 60 miles of an active trail system in Washington and Allegheny counties. The nation’s longest suburban rail trail, it connects Pittsburgh’s western and southern suburbs to the Great Allegheny Passage trail to Washington, D.C.
Additional information may be obtained at montourtrail.org or by calling 412-257-3011.