New, improved final segment of the GAP trail to the Point due to open in fall 2023
Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced that the Monongahela Wharf Connector along the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) and Three Rivers Heritage Trail will be temporarily closing to pedestrian and bicycle traffic to complete the trail improvement project at Point State Park.
“The completed Monongahela Wharf Connector will improve the link between Point State Park, the western terminus of the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage, to the Monongahela Wharf and the Smithfield Street Switchback. This project is designed to improve trail safety, align the trail along the Monongahela River, widen the existing trail, and improve the trail surface, grade, lighting, and line of sight.”
In short, the ramp between the Point and the Mon Wharf will be improved, and the trail will be relocated closer to the Monongahela River, meaning trail users will no longer have to navigate the narrow section of sidewalk between the bridge pillars.
The closure is scheduled to begin on February 1 and will reopen at the conclusion of the project in the fall of 2023.
Detour in effect Feb 1
Trail users will not be able to use the trail from the Mon Wharf to Point State Park during construction. Fortunately, there is a series of on-street bike lanes, mostly protected, that connect between the Smithfield St Bridge and the Point, also known as the “Gap to the Point” project.
To the Point: From the Smithfield St Bridge, people on bikes can take Smithfield St, make a left onto 3rd Ave, a right onto the Stanwix St protected bike lanes, then a left onto the Liberty Ave protected bike lanes. Alternately, riders can use the Bus-Bike Lane on Ft Pitt Blvd and Wood St.
From the Point: Take the Liberty Ave protected bike lanes, make a right onto Stanwix, a left onto the 3rd Ave bike lanes, then a right into the Smithfield St Bus/Bike lanes. VIDEO: How to use the Smithfield St Bus/Bike Lane
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Nice video! When you’re cycling eastbound on Third Ave, there are no signs labeling the cross streets Wood St or Smithfield St. Apparently signs were put up for westbound cars, before the bidirectional bike lane was installed. Please push the city to erect signs for those cross streets. This is extra-important between now and August, because of the Mon-Wharf Connector closure, which is causing higher bike traffic on Third Ave than in past years.