BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

This is a day I have been waiting for. The spans are in place and all the hardest work is over. now the people at sandcastle need to spot being idiots.

_________________________________________________

Quote via the GAP yahoo group:

On Wednesday, two bridges over railroad tracks were erected along the banks of the Monongahela River upstream of Pittsburgh. One was at Whitaker, just upstream of the Rankin Bridge, and the other was in the area known as Port Perry, between Kennywood and Duquesne.

Here are videos, stories, and pictures:

news story from the Post-Gazette:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10189/1071217-455.stm

news video and story from KDKA:

http://kdka.com/Link.ashx?R=http%3a%2f%2fkdka.com%2flocal%2fbridges.bicyclists.project.2.1792408.html

time lapse video of the Whitaker bridge - fun!

(watch in 1080p mode, full screen, for best resolution. has audio)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv8B8aZx_RE

still photos of Whitaker and Port Perry bridges:

http://picasaweb.google.com/pheckbert/WhitakerAndPortPerryFlyoversSteelValleyTrail#

synopsis:

These bridges are critical links in the Steel Valley Trail along the Monongahela River, which forms part of the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail from Pittsburgh toward Washington DC.

As of July 2010, this section of trail is not open (it will take months to build the ramps up to these bridges) but at least the hardest part of the construction -- installing these bridges over active railroad tracks -- is done. For now the contiguous portion of the GAP starts in Duquesne at Grant Ave. When the ramps and surface work is done, the trail will be extended from Duquesne, past Kennywood, to the Waterfront in Homestead. Then these bridges will be opened. That is expected in late 2010 or early 2011. At that point, the need for an agreement with Sandcastle, and closure of that short gap, will become even clearer than it is already!

Steel Valley Trail Council relies on volunteers. If you'd like to help maintain, publicize, and build these trails, see steelvalleytrail.org .