Construction begins on Rotary Walk extension in Uniontown
An informal groundbreaking marked the beginning of construction of the Rotary Walk extension in Uniontown.
Local officials gathered near the Uniontown Firemen’s Memorial at the intersection of North Mount Vernon Avenue and Pittsburgh Street, where the trail extension will end, to kick off the start of the project on Friday.
The 9-feet-wide, 1,500-foot-long extension from Five Corners to the memorial will make the trail a little more than a mile long when it is completed in about two months. The existing trail stretches three quarters of a mile from Lebanon Avenue to Five Corners.
“This is a very big addition to the Rotary Walk,” said state Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Township.
He said the project will make good use of a Fayette County tourism grant from the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau.
“A project like this is what the grant program is designed for,” Mahoney said.
Fayette County Commissioner Vincent Zapotosky said county residents love trails and he hopes the Sheepskin Trail eventually connects to the Rotary Walk.
“This extension to the Rotary Walk is another added feature to the quality of life in Fayette County,” Zapotosky said.
Donna Holdrof, executive director of the National Road Heritage Corridor, obtained the $12,500 grant for the projects. She said the project is affordable because the city street department is performing the work and Shallenberger Construction of Connellsville donated the stone that will make up the trail. Lighting will be installed along the trail.
City workers already cleared part of path for the trail between Redstone Creek and the rear of Fastenal, the St. Vincent DePaul Store and the Salvation Army.
“We’re happy the city is providing the labor and Terry Shallenberger donated the stone,” Holdrof said.
Fay-Penn Economic Development Council Inc. donated the property to the city for the extension. When the extension is finished, the city will transfer ownership to the Rotary Walk Authority, she said.
Rod Berger of the Uniontown Area Y said the Chestnut Ridge Rotary Club donated two benches that will be placed along the trail.
The Y was involved in an effort to extend the trail in 2009, he said.
Laura Patterson-Santore of Origin 4 Design of Pittsburgh, which assisted in the project, said the trail provides a place for healthy exercise in a green corridor through the city and the extension will add to it.
“We were able to enhance that and make it healthy and safe,” she said.