community trail network,” says Betsy Aiken, chair of the Murrysville
Trail Alliance, which works to advance opportunities for recreational
trail use in Murrysville. “We’re thrilled about the progress being
made.”
Richards says there is also a fifth phase of the project, which will
connect the eastern portion of the trail to its western counterpart;
however, engineers must first overcome what he calls the “Route 66
hurdle.”
“Right now, you can’t take an uninterrupted hike because we
have the four-lane Route 66 running across the middle of the trail,”
he explains. “We’re skipping that part for now, because we figured
that more progress could be made with the land that’s already in
development.”
In Saltsburg, the limestone-dust Heritage Trail connects with the
West Penn Trail, which continues east past the Conemaugh Dam and
toward Blairsville. Once completed, the Westmoreland Heritage Trail
will run approximately 22 miles and connect Saltsburg to Trafford.
Eventually, Richards says, he would like to see another four miles
added to the Heritage Trail and connect it to the Great Allegheny
Passage, a 150-mile trail that winds through western Pennsylvania
and Maryland, via Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. n
Monroeville | Fall 2016 | icmags.com 43