Yeah…that’s what we said too…

By Ngani Ndimbie
Although we regularly meet with city officials and representatives from Friends of the Riverfront, we, too, are sometimes left in the dark. And it’s really frustrating.

Last night we found out that a stretch of the Eliza Furnace Trail (part of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail) would be closed overnight, from 9:00pm to 7:00am, starting that very night. We immediately raced to find out more information about the closure so that we could bring it to you.
 

Here’s What We Know

The closure is temporary. A Duquesne Light maintenance project will be in operation overnight and closing the trail for a 1.4-mile stretch from Brady Street to Swinburne Street. Yesterday was the first day of the project’s construction phase which will last until late November or early December.

After reaching out to Duquesne Light we were informed that they probably will not be closing that whole 1.4-mile stretch and will often just be closing half of that length (Brady to Bates Street or Swinburne to Bates Street). And, although the sign says the trail will be closed until 7am, it should often be open by 6am. “This is the same as any city street as far as we’re concerned,” explained Jim Boyle at Duqesne Light. “They try to get out of the way by 6am.”

Next Phases
After the construction phase has finished, evenings of closures will resume for two days to pull cables through using extremely large equipment. Duquesne Light is estimating that this will happen in January 2016.

Finally, around February 2016, the trail will be partially blocked off but open to bikes and pedestrian traffic during “splicing”. Construction vehicles will be parked over manholes on the trail for two weeks around the clock.

The trail will be repaved, regraveled, and returned to its original condition.
 

What We Still Don’t Know

We’re not sure what the detour will be.
 

Stay Tuned

We’re sorry that we weren’t able to inform you sooner. Stay tuned to our blog, Facebook and Twitter for further updates.

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