Fall normally brings a slowdown in trail traffic and Montour Trail Council activities. However, the MTC has had one of the busiest falls ever. The MTC's Engineering & Construction Committee has been working diligently with Mackin Engineering and PENNDOT on various MTC projects. This hard work has produced another project ready for construction. The federally funded new Muse-Bishop Road Bridge has now gone out for bids. The new bridge will be a 190 ft steel girder structure over Muse-Bishop Road near trail mile 24. This new bridge will replace a 1913 concrete arch structure at the same location. The concrete arch was deemed unsafe by the PUC (Public Utility Commission) due to vehicle sight distances and the narrowness of the structure. The target date for construction start is 2/9/2005 with a completion of 8/10/2005.

Thanks to our MTC volunteer and project manger Ed Taylor, P.E. for leading our efforts. Also thanks to Ned Williams and the MTC E&C committee for helping with the process.

Significant progress also continues on repairing the trail from mile 0 to 9 in the aftermath of hurricane Ivan. Volunteer support has been tremendous. Volunteers have been working every weekend since the 9/17/04 event. All of the flood debris has been removed and the trails sub-base has been restored in all but six locations. Thanks to an Allegheny County Regional Asset District (ARAD) grant of $25,000 we were able to hire contractor (BKG) to fix three of the sites. We are in the process of requesting additional ARAD funds to fix a fourth site. A big thanks to the ARAD board for their support of this treasured Allegheny County asset.

Robinson Township Municipal Authority has tentatively agreed to fix the mile "0" area as part of a water line installation. (The flood probably saved them some excavation costs.) The remaining site is at mile 3.1 adjacent to Old Beaver Grade Road. The sub-base at this site had the most damage and the cost will be significant. We have applied for a DNCR grant to repair this site.

Allegheny County has donated 3,000 tons of milled asphalt for repairing the base. We are currently evaluating funding sources for purchasing the limestone surface material. Finally, we have requested help from Moon, Robinson and Findlay Township in placing this material. The Townships have been great partners and have helped previously when their respective road crews are not busy with road maintenance. So pray for a mild winter. A big thanks to our Director of Development Dave Wright, P.E. who is heading the flood repair efforts.

Monetary support from individuals and organizations has also been a tremendous boost to the repair efforts. One hundred seventeen (117) individuals or organizations have contributed over $17,000. In addition on Friday December 10, Ms. Betty Tata of the Laurel Foundation gave us some wonderful news. The Laurel Foundation Board has awarded the MTC $25,000 for trail repair. This donation was very timely and greatly appreciated. Thank you Laurel Foundation! We are overwhelmed with everyone's generosity and we vow to do everything possible to restore "your" beloved trail as soon as possible.

Have a mild winter. (Sorry skiers).

Dennis Pfeiffer