Great Allegheny Passage Stays Shut Near Kennywood After Crews Find Unstable Rock

A section of the Great Allegheny Passage near Kennywood Park will stay closed indefinitely after workers found two unstable rock formations while repairing damage from a landslide.

The closed segment covers about five miles of the 150-mile trail. It runs past Kennywood Park, between the Whitaker flyover in Whitaker and the Port Perry flyover near Duquesne.

The Regional Trail Corporation, which manages the trail, came across the loose rock during a planned 28-day closure that began July 9. The closure was first extended, but the organization has since concluded that it cannot remove the rocks without outside assistance.

It is now seeking proposals from contractors approved by PennDOT to "perform a comprehensive risk assessment and develop a full remediation plan." The group expects that assessment and the resulting proposals to take at least four to six weeks. Construction is not expected to begin in earnest until late fall.

Mark Place, president of the corporation's board, described the decision to prolong the closure as "difficult" because of the effect on cyclists, hikers and local businesses. He said safety has to come first.

"However, as trail stewards, our primary responsibility is user safety," Place said. "Even if the trail surface appears clear, the potential risk of overhead rockfall requires us to rely on certified engineering assessments before moving forward. We will not compromise public safety."

The Great Allegheny Passage draws more than 1 million walkers and cyclists a year. It links Point State Park in Pittsburgh with Cumberland, a city in Western Maryland.

To help users get around the closure, the trail corporation will keep running a shuttle between mile markers 135.3 and 140.5 through at least Sept. 30. The shuttle operates daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and a one-way ride costs $20.

The agency encouraged trail users to rely on the shuttle rather than detour along State Route 837, citing high vehicle speeds and narrow shoulders on that road.