1-mile Leechburg trail finished, open to public; other sections to come

A new trail is short but eventually will connect Leechburg to hundreds of miles of trails along the Allegheny and Kiski rivers.

The Leechburg Area Community Development Corp. has officially kicked off its Tow Path Trail project, which has the potential to give Leechburg access to almost 600 miles of trails along the Allegheny and Kiski rivers.

The mile-long trail eventually will connect Leechburg to the existing 4 miles of Tow Path Trail up the Kiski River to Schenley, along the Allegheny River.

While that 4 miles exists, it isn’t finished or open for public use.

Lou Phillips, president of the community development corporation, said the construction in Leechburg went off without a hitch, and people began using the 1-mile stretch before the group had planned to open it.

“The official opening will be conducted in the spring once the Gilpin section to Schenley is completed,” Phillips said.

As of now, trail users can walk the mile through Leechburg, but they don’t have access to the 4 miles leading to Schenley. Phillips said Leechburg’s portion of the trail includes fencing in spots to keep users a safe distance from embankments.

Once word reached the community group that people were using the trails, Phillips said board members hustled to put up signage to help safely direct trail users.

“We weren’t going to put the signage up, but people were starting to use the trail,” Phillips said. “We go on the public roads for some of the trails, and we wanted signs to be able to direct people around those safely.”

The project’s funding came from a $100,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and a $25,000 grant from the Colcom Foundation.

Once the Schenley section opens, the Leechburg connection will give bikers and hikers access to a series of trails developed by Armstrong Trails that spans across Armstrong County from Westmoreland to Clarion counties.

It also will connect Leechburg to the Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg Main Line Canal Greenway, which is a 320-mile corridor that follows the historic path of the Main Line Canal System.

, According to the Armstrong Trails website, the organization currently has 52.5 miles of trail on the eastern bank of the Allegheny River and northern bank of the Kiski River open for use.

That recreational trail is along the former Allegheny Valley Railroad corridor in Armstrong, Clarion and Westmoreland counties. It’s on the main spine of the emerging 270-mile Erie-to-Pittsburgh Trail.

The community group will have a private meeting Dec. 12 to discuss more information about the grand opening and possible plans to extend the trail across the walking bridge and into Hyde Park this summer.