A 2.5-mile section of the Great Allegheny Passage in Fayette County will close Monday until mid-October for a gas line replacement project.
The closure runs from Dunbar Township’s Adelaide neighborhood to Dawson, between mile markers 92 and 94.5 on the 150-mile hiking and biking trail that runs from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md.
Texas Eastern Transmission, which directs natural gas from the Gulf Coast to the Eastern Seaboard, is performing the gas line replacement. It will offer a free shuttle service for trail users to navigate the closure.
A Trail Connect shuttle will pick up riders every 30 minutes between 7:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day from the Blue Canoe Campground store and the Dickerson Run trailhead.
Apart from waiting for the shuttle, Bryan Perry does not anticipate a major disruption to trail traffic during the closure.
“There are occasionally temporary closures along the GAP,” said Perry, executive director of the Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy. “We prefer that projects are short and sweet in duration, but sometimes there’s a need to close things down.”
Texas Eastern Transmission reached out months ago to the Regional Trail Corporation, which owns the section of the trail between Connellsville and West Homestead, to plan for the gas line replacement.
“This wasn’t a surprise,” Perry said. “It was thoughtfully planned.”
The trail is no stranger to maintenance projects, Perry said. A section between Ohiopyle State Park and Confluence was closed last year to replace an aging railroad culvert. A portion of the trail in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, was closed for nearly 10 days in 2018 because of a landslide.
“This one’s a bigger project because of the size and number of pieces of equipment they’ll need to bring in,” Perry said, referencing the vehicles, cranes and crews Texas Eastern will need to complete the gas line replacement.
The Great Allegheny Passage generated more than $121 million in regional tourism in 2021, according to a Fourth Economy study. Because there is no way to create a detour in that area, Perry said the shuttle is the only way to continue the flow of tourism along the trail.
“Business owners really benefit from trail travelers coming through,” Perry said. “For us, having a viable work around … is really critical and we’re glad it’s in place.”
