Montour Trail-Letter

Volume 13, Issue 2

March/April, 2002

This past December 17, the paving of the Trail surface was completed at Champion (US 22 & PA 980). The result was a continuous section of the Montour Trail nearly 18 miles long stretching from PA 51 in Moon Township in Allegheny County (Mile 0) to Noblestown Town Road in Washington County (Mile 17.5).

This event marked the finish of a two year effort of Trail construction covering 3 1/2 miles beginning at Boggs Station (Mile 11, Bugay Drive) to the junction of PA 980 and Quicksilver Road (Mile 14.5).

A brief history of what brought us to this marvelous achievement:

• Fall 1999 to March 2000 – Mackin Engineering Company produced construction drawings and specifications in the fall of 1999 for a bridge across PA 980 at Quicksilver. Field work started on the project with the surveying, layout and excavation for the bridge abutments in March, 2000.
• March/April 2000 – Findlay Township spread subgrade material provided be Allegheny County in placed a paved Trail surface from Bugay to the Findlay/North Fayette Township line in March and April.
• May to August 2000 – The bridge abutments were constructed by MT volunteers in the spring and summer. The bridge structure was installed in mid August, 2000.
• Spring and Summer 2001 – Beginning in 2001, Robinson Township (Washington County) graded the old railroad ballast the Quicksilver bridge north to the Champion Processing Co. property. Aloe Mining supplied and placed more subgrade material from the south side of the Champion property to the Allegheny/Washington County line. During late summer Robinson Township placed trail surface material from Quicksilver to the County line. During the same period, Champion Processing, using Recmix, constructed a base for the Trail across it's property . Then Anthony Coal and Construction assisted by spreading a portion of subgrade material.
• Fall 2001 – In the final phase, North Fayette finished the remaining subgrade and placed the trail surface from US 22 to the County line.

Thus it was that 3 1/2 miles of the Montour Trail were completed with the generous volunteered assistance of three Townships, Champion Processing and three other businesses and more than 40 Montour Trail Volunteers. Their achievement will be formally recognized at an opening ceremony scheduled for Friday, the 12th of April. Details to follow.

For more information on the ceremony marking the Boggs to Quicksilver segment of the trail, please go to our Web site at www.montourtrail.org.