Grant approved to connect Point State Park to the Great Allegheny Passage

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by Forging Steel

Wow!!

This deserves its own thread, if in fact it's true. This project seems to be one of those that keeps teasing us, this must be the third time we have read something like this only for some unforeseen cost or design challenge to present itself later. But this surely sounds promising.

Third time the charm maybe?

from the linked article:

This is the third time the project has been redesigned to reduce costs. Ms. Li described it as a “complicated” site because of the its location in a flood plain near an interstate highway, a historic bridge and an Allegheny County Sanitary Authority trunk line.

[gg]

Well construction to start this spring, so that is pretty solid. Funding in place. This will be pretty huge to be honest. It will get bikes on safer spaces. Thought about starting a new thread, but this was going a long time ago and thought it was interesting to see how long it is taking. It is good news. As I age, I am jealous at what the young people will enjoy. I will be a fossil in a few years. lol

[WhoIsStanwix?]

So is this thing not at all elevated and instead at the same level as the parking lot? If that is the case, won't it be rendered useless for some parts of the year and dirty all spring due to flooding? I think something that is subject to semi-frequent closure shouldn't really be considered the main connection. I don't think this supplants the need for a lane on Ft. Pitt Blvd and there still really needs to be two or three North/South connections of the two river fronts.

[Forging Steel]

Honestly how often does it flood? I have not seen statistics but I had a friend who parked there for a few years and I only recall a handful of days each year where the Wharf is under water. They clean it after each flooding event, so at most you have a few weeks of the year where it is unusable due to flooding.

We have an entire riverfront trail syatem, of course flooding can be an issue in many locations but some of these comments make it sound like the rivers flood way more then they actually do.

And to clarify, there is already a bike path along the wharf. This project just connects it to the bridge. I would challenge anyone not familiar with this setup to walk from the jail to the point along the recommended route one day and imagine you have just done a week long journey from DC along the canal towpath and the Yough River and you are less than a mile from the iconic fountain at the Point. Let me know how it goes and how many times you are nearly run over and what your opinion of Pittsburgh would be. This is the perfect project for the perfect location and it': been WAY too long in the making. It will transform our trail system in a way that only the Hot Metal Bridge project and the Sandcastle Connection has done in recent memory.

And yes gg, the future generations are SO lucky. Imagine what it will look like in 5-10 years.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

I have ridden that stretch (I use the sidewalk on Ft. Pitt Blvd) many times. I totally agree it is needed, I suppose I just envision it ending up like the "trail" along the south shore of the Allegheny under the three sisters bridges. There are massive holes and the trail is covered in debris for most of March - May.