non-profit org. news...op en ig f 9.5 m l s f ltrai in oh opy e st at ep rk i sn ow ju t n im le aw...

NEWSLETTER OF THE GREAT ALLEGHENY PASSAGEand member organizations of the Allegheny Trail Alliance

WORKING TO CONNECT PITTSBURGH TO WASHINGTON, D.C.—THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS, NOT OVER THEM

www.GAPtrail.org

PAGE 3

NEWSVolume 11, Number 1 Summer 2011

These are heady days for thesupporters, proponents, workers,volunteers, and visionaries striving over25 years to create the Great AlleghenyPassage.

With the opening of the newestthree-mile section connecting Duquesneand Homestead, the dream of connectingThe Point in Pittsburgh (the “Forks ofthe Ohio,” George Washington called it)and the nation’s capitol with oneuninterrupted, non-motorized trail is nowclose to becoming reality.

What began 25 years ago with theopening of 9.5 miles of trail in OhiopyleState Park is now just one mile awayfrom completion.

Three miraculous miles of trail in theMonongahela Valley opened to the pubicon June 17, connecting Duquesne to TheWaterfront in Homestead.

The new $6 million section providedmore challenges than any other in the141 continuous miles now completed,according to project manager JackPaulik.

“There are 13 properties in thissection, eight of them being railroadproperties and US Steel,” Paulik says.

Dubbed the “Pipeline Coaster” forpurposes of the ribbon-cutting ceremony,the newest section of the GAP includes

the specially-built Whittaker and Port Perry bridges crossing andrecrossing the active Norfolk Southern rail lines along the Mon River.

Following the old USS coke gas pipeline, and with the sprawlingEdgar Thompson Works (the only working steel mill in what wasonce famous worldwide as The Valley of Steel) directly across theriver, it has quickly become a favored ride.

“Traveling through an active industrial site is unique,” says Paulik.“It’s very enjoyable, but please always remember you are a guest,

and always stay within theconfines of the trailcorridor.

“This section is not atypical rails-TO-trailsproject,” Paulik says. “It isa rails WITH trails project.”

The bridges themselves,two miles apart, aresomething of a wonder.Fabricated in Minnesotaand delivered in ninesections, they werereassembled on rail cars andset in place simultaneouslylast year. The WhittakerBridge has already receivedtwo design awards.

one Mile To Go! With this key two-

million-dollars-per-milesection finished, all thatremains to complete theGAP is a one-mile sectionthrough Sandcastle andKeystone Metals. Phase onegrading has begun.

According to Paulik, final design, engineering and construction areexpected to be completed next spring.

“We are presently refining the easement agreement through theSandcastle site to provide the best possible trail alignment,” Pauliksays.

Estimated construction cost exceeds $3M. Funds are needed. The Great Allegheny Passage is a 150-mile, non-motorized trail

connecting Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD, mostly on abandoned raillines. Trail is complete from Homestead to Cumberland, a distance of141 miles. In Cumberland, it connects to the C&O Canal Towpath,offering off-road, nearly level hiking and biking experience for a totalof 335 miles.

ATA President Linda McKenna Boxx hasbeen named one of the nation’s top 25 Rail-Trail Champions by the Rails-to-TrailsConservancy in Washington, D.C.

The Doppelt Family Rail-Trail ChampionAward will be presented this fall as part ofthe RTC’s 25th Anniversary to “a selectgroup of individuals who have helped nurtureand advance the rail-trail movement.”

Other recipients include formerPittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy, RTC founderDavid Burwell, and U.S. Secretary ofTransportation Ray LaHood.

Linda formed the ATA in 1995.

The construction of approximately 1800’of new trail and the installation of a 16’ wide,65‘ long, concrete arch culvert underneathBerlin St (SR 2037) in Garrett, PA willeliminate an on-road detour and improvetrailhead parking on the eastern side of theroad.

Work began in April and is expected tobe completed by the end of October. Fundsfor the project were provided by federalTransportation Enhancements funding andthe PA DCNR. General contractor is CH&D,Inc. of New Stanton PA.

Brothers Ezra, 3, and Galen Hardy, 5, led the way June 17 at the official opening of the three-mile “Pipeline Coaster” section ofthe GAP in Whitaker, connecting Duquesne and Homestead. Looking on are former county council president Rich Fitzgerald (cen-ter) and Dennis Davin (far right), Director of Allegheny County Economic Development.

Work begins on the Final Mile–Preliminary work at Keystone Metals began this summer,removing the tangle of vegetation and establishing the approximate grade for the trail. Peter J.Caruso and Sons was the contractor. A 10 foot high wall will be constructed to separate the recy-cling operations from the trail and will begin once funding is in hand. Until the trail is finished,there is no access through this area.

Ground was brokenfor the new three-mile section on April 26, 2011.Helping in the ceremony were ATA president Linda McKenna Boxx, Tracy Stackfrom DCNR, Duquesne Mayor Phillip Krivacek, John Miller of American TextileCompany, project manager Jack Paulik, and Dan Sharek of RIDC. Murin &Murn of Glassport, PA, was the contractor.

Trees felled on Horn as a result of CSX tunnel work. The WM tunnel is visible.Julia Hills, 9, has reason to smile.

Wing walls are poured where the GAP will pass under Berlin Street in Garrett, eliminating a road crossing.

The Mason-Dixon Line was precisely located on the GAP this spring as part of Survey America. ToddBabcock, PLS (left) sets up as Dave Wright looks on. Right, German Public Radio correspondent JuliaHummelsiep poses with Pat Simon, Baltimore County Chief of Surveys, behind a marker placed in 1902. Amonument is being planned on the GAP to mark the 1767 achievement which settled a bitter dispute.

Completion of the GAP in Sight

Work Begins on Final Mile: Funding Needed

CSX Work Impacts Pinkerton Horn

Newest ‘Miracle’Section Connects to Waterfront

New UnderpassWill EliminateGarrett Detour

Volunteer Colin Deakins applies the finishingtouches to the long-awaited Big SavageTunnel monument at the Deal access area.“Deak” and his wife June stepped in to coordi-nate the project, built with local stone, whichfeatures donors to the $12M tunnel restorationcompleted in 2003.

BULLETIN: GAPtrail.org isnow available as a mobilewebsite! Key elements havebeen used in streamliningthe site for smart phones.

PAGE 4

PAGE 2

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #88

Greensburg PA

Allegheny Trail AllianceP.O. Box 501Latrobe, PA 15650

ATA Trail News Summer 2011

Everything YouNeed to Knowin New TrailBook

ATA President EarnsNational Recognition

Stamps Mark Your Visit

Covering all 335 miles of TheRide of Your Life, the 2011-12 edi-tion of TrailBook has the answersto your questions. Published by theATA, the official guide to the GAPand the C&O Canal Towpath alsoincludes the best map available ofthe Pittsburgh to D.C. experience.

Trip-planning information,FAQs, and expanded coverage ofthe towns along the way makesTrailBook essential for trail usersand trail businesses.

Demanded in all 50 states,TrailBook continues to grow withthe trail. You can get TrailBookthrough the ATA website atwww.GAPtrail.org.

There are two new National ParkPassport Cancellation Stamp loca-tions on the GAP (a segment of thePotomac Heritage National ScenicTrail). The Pump House access areain Munhall, PA and the Rivers ofSteel Bost Building in Homestead,PA now carry dated stamps that serveas a record of park visits. Officialpassport books are available at manyNPS sites, including the C&O Canalvisitor center in Cumberland. Otherlocations for the stamps along theGAP are the Fort Pitt Museum andthe visitor centers in West Newton,Ohiopyle and Meyersdale.

Many users have TrailBookstamped at the appropriate town.

OFFICIAL GUIDE TO THE C&O CANALAND THE GREAT ALLEGHENY PASSAGE

Covering an American Classic: 335 Miles from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh

NOW WITH TRIP-PLANNINGGUIDE AND ITINERARIES

OHIOPYLE: HEADQUARTERS FOR OUTDOOR ADVENTURE

$10

TrailB k2011-122011-12

TrailBook 2011- 12 GREAT ALLEGHENY PRESS

TrailB kWITH BIG

VINYL MAP

--

-

--

-

railB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB k

--

-

$$101010

--

-

--

-

--

-

railB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB k2011201120112011201120112011201120112011 121212122011201120112011

--

-

12121212121212

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

Trail News is published by the Allegheny TrailAlliance (ATA) and is funded by theCommonwealth of PA. The ATA is a coalition oftrail-building organizations whose purpose is toassure the construction, maintenance and use ofthe non-motorized trail from Pittsburgh, PA toCumberland, MD where it joins the C & O CanalTowpath to Washington, DC. To unsubscribe,contact ATA:

[email protected].

ATA Trail News © Summer 2011

Help Close THe lAsT GAp in THe GApAny amount welcome!

Copy and mail, or go to GAptrail.org and donate through PayPal.

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________

City: __________________________________ State: ______ Zip: _________

E-mail: ___________________________________________________________

Please make check payable to ATA/RTCand mail to: ATA, p.o. Box 501, latrobe, pA 15650 continued on page 3

continued from page 1

Find it at www.GAPtrail.org

Somerset County has enteredinto a property exchange agree-ment with CSX Transportation toswap the land above the WesternMaryland Pinkerton Tunnel forthe 190-acre Pinkerton Horn and1.5-mile by-pass trail (MP 52).

This allows CSX to open-cuttheir current tunnel (which runsnearly parallel to the WM tunnel)to allow for double-stacked carsas part of their National Gateway

Initiative Project.More than a million cubic

yards of overburden will bedeposited by CSX on thePinkerton Horn peninsula.

Upon completion of the workand satisfaction of environmentalpermitting, CSX will transferownership of the horn toSomerset County. The countywill continue to own the WMtunnel.



www.GAPtrail.org

PAGE 3

NEWSVolume 11, Number 1Summer 2011



























Work begins on the Final Mile – Preliminary work at Keystone Metals began this summer,removing the tangle of vegetation and establishing the approximate grade for the trail. Peter J.Caruso and Sons was the contractor. A 10 foot high wall will be constructed to separate the recy-cling operations from the trail and will begin once funding is in hand. Until the trail is finished,there is no access through this area.

Ground was broken for the new three-mile section on April 26, 2011.Helping in the ceremony were ATA president Linda McKenna Boxx, Tracy Stackfrom DCNR, Duquesne Mayor Phillip Krivacek, John Miller of American TextileCompany, project manager Jack Paulik, and Dan Sharek of RIDC. Murin &Murn of Glassport, PA, was the contractor.

Trees felled on Horn as a result of CSX tunnel work. The WM tunnel is visible. Julia Hills, 9, has reason to smile.









BULLETIN: GAPtrail.orgisnow available as a mobilewebsite! Key elements havebeen used in streamliningthe site for smart phones.

PAGE 4

PAGE 2


PAIDPermit #88

GreensburgPA


ATA Trail NewsSummer 2011













$10

TrailB k 2011-12 2011-12

Trai

lBoo

k 20

11-1

2

G

REAT

ALL

EGH

ENY

PRE

SS

TrailB kWITH BIG

VINYL MAP

--

-

--

-

railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k

--

-

$$101010

--

-

--

-

--

-

railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k railB k 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011121212 12 2011 2011 2011 2011

--

-

12 121212 1212 12

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-


[email protected].


HelpCloseTHe lAsT GApinTHeGApAny amount welcome!

Copy and mail, or go to GAptrail.organd donate through PayPal.

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________

City: __________________________________ State: ______ Zip: _________

E-mail: ___________________________________________________________

Please make check payable to ATA/RTCand mail to: ATA, p.o. Box 501, latrobe, pA 15650continued on page 3


Find it atwww.GAPtrail.org








www.GAPtrail.org

PAGE 3

NEWSVolume 11, Number 1 Summer 2011



























Work begins on the Final Mile–Preliminary work at Keystone Metals began this summer,removing the tangle of vegetation and establishing the approximate grade for the trail. Peter J.Caruso and Sons was the contractor. A 10 foot high wall will be constructed to separate the recy-cling operations from the trail and will begin once funding is in hand. Until the trail is finished,there is no access through this area.

Ground was brokenfor the new three-mile section on April 26, 2011.Helping in the ceremony were ATA president Linda McKenna Boxx, Tracy Stackfrom DCNR, Duquesne Mayor Phillip Krivacek, John Miller of American TextileCompany, project manager Jack Paulik, and Dan Sharek of RIDC. Murin &Murn of Glassport, PA, was the contractor.

Trees felled on Horn as a result of CSX tunnel work. The WM tunnel is visible.Julia Hills, 9, has reason to smile.









BULLETIN: GAPtrail.org isnow available as a mobilewebsite! Key elements havebeen used in streamliningthe site for smart phones.

PAGE 4

PAGE 2


PAIDPermit #88

Greensburg PA


ATA Trail News Summer 2011













$10

TrailB k2011-122011-12

TrailBook 2011- 12 GREAT ALLEGHENY PRESS

TrailB kWITH BIG

VINYL MAP

--

-

--

-

railB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB k

--

-

$$101010

--

-

--

-

--

-

railB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB krailB k2011201120112011201120112011201120112011 121212122011201120112011

--

-

12121212121212

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-

--

-


[email protected].


Help Close THe lAsT GAp in THe GApAny amount welcome!

Copy and mail, or go to GAptrail.org and donate through PayPal.

Name: ____________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________

City: __________________________________ State: ______ Zip: _________

E-mail: ___________________________________________________________

Please make check payable to ATA/RTCand mail to: ATA, p.o. Box 501, latrobe, pA 15650 continued on page 3


Find it at www.GAPtrail.org






non-profit org. news...op en ig f 9.5 m l s f ltrai in oh opy e st at ep rk i sn ow ju t n im le aw...

Documents