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Groups unite to save trail
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The Montour Run Watershed Association and the Montour Trail Council have teamed up to stabilize stream banks where erosion threatens the Montour Trail.
However, the work will close portions of the trail for a few weeks.
About 1,500 feet of stream bank along 12 sections of Montour Run in Moon and Findlay townships will be blocked off to ensure trail users' safety during the construction period, officials said.
Stan Sattinger, president of the watershed association, said the work must be done to save the trail.
"At the present rates of erosion, if nothing is done the entire trail will be put at risk in those areas. The trail will be undercut," Sattinger said.
Stream banks along the trail are literally being eaten away by flood waters, which in turn leaves no support for the trail.
The closed-off sections will begin near the Enlow Tunnel and progress downstream to include areas near Schmidt's Tavern, Beaver Grade Road, Hassam Road and Route 51 in Coraopolis.
Sattinger said the association was awarded a $62,800 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to pay for the project.
Also, carbonate rock will be installed to help raise the pH level of the stream. The pH level, a measure of the acidity of water in the stream, has been increasing over time due to drainage from abandoned mines, Sattinger said.
Whenever there are high rains, there will always be some kind of erosion, Sattinger said.
Much of the storm water from Moon and Findlay townships, both areas experiencing a burst of growth and development, goes into the stream.
Flash flooding occurs in Moon Run because of the additional development, explained Sattinger.
BKG Construction of Imperial is doing the excavation and stone replacement. Engineering services for the project are being provided by civil engineer David Wright.
The stabilization work is expected to last through June. Construction is being done on weekdays to minimize the inconvenience on trail users.
Treshea Wade can be reached at twade@tribweb.com or (412) 306-4531.
However, the work will close portions of the trail for a few weeks.
About 1,500 feet of stream bank along 12 sections of Montour Run in Moon and Findlay townships will be blocked off to ensure trail users' safety during the construction period, officials said.
Stan Sattinger, president of the watershed association, said the work must be done to save the trail.
"At the present rates of erosion, if nothing is done the entire trail will be put at risk in those areas. The trail will be undercut," Sattinger said.
Stream banks along the trail are literally being eaten away by flood waters, which in turn leaves no support for the trail.
The closed-off sections will begin near the Enlow Tunnel and progress downstream to include areas near Schmidt's Tavern, Beaver Grade Road, Hassam Road and Route 51 in Coraopolis.
Sattinger said the association was awarded a $62,800 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to pay for the project.
Also, carbonate rock will be installed to help raise the pH level of the stream. The pH level, a measure of the acidity of water in the stream, has been increasing over time due to drainage from abandoned mines, Sattinger said.
Whenever there are high rains, there will always be some kind of erosion, Sattinger said.
Much of the storm water from Moon and Findlay townships, both areas experiencing a burst of growth and development, goes into the stream.
Flash flooding occurs in Moon Run because of the additional development, explained Sattinger.
BKG Construction of Imperial is doing the excavation and stone replacement. Engineering services for the project are being provided by civil engineer David Wright.
The stabilization work is expected to last through June. Construction is being done on weekdays to minimize the inconvenience on trail users.
Treshea Wade can be reached at twade@tribweb.com or (412) 306-4531.
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