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Bridge to beauty, and adventure: Restoration of Steyer Bridge will spur completion of trail

By Ben Moyer for The Herald-Standard 4 min read
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Ben Moyer

Mountain Watershed Association staff, board members, and volunteers prepare to cut the ribbon declaring the reconstructed Steyer Bridge on the Indian Creek Valley Trail open to public use. Pictured are (from left) Mary Lou Kuhns, Virgil Shaffer, Taylor Robbins, Ashley Funk, and Kelly Kruper.

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Ben Moyer

Trail enthusiasts enjoy the views of Indian Creek from the newly restored Steyer Bridge.

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Ben Moyer

Indian Creek viewed upstream along Indian Creek Valley Trail near restored Steyer Bridge.

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Ben Moyer

Attendees at the Oct. 17 ribbon-cutting for the restored Steyer Bridge in Springfield Township hike the half-mile of newly completed trail to the bridge.

A bridge is a powerful symbol. Allowed to crumble, a bridge symbolizes decline, decay, and hopelessness. But a bridge restored points to progress and, most of all, possibility.

The now-restored Steyer Bridge across Indian Creek near Mill Run in Springfield Township opens bright possibilities for Fayette County, its mountain community, and the Laurel Highlands region.

On Tuesday, Oct. 17, the Mountain Watershed Association held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to declare the bridge open. The bridge represents a key new link in the Indian Creek Valley Trail, the largely completed bike, hike, and ski path that will ultimately span 19 miles of stunning mountain scenery from the foot of Laurel Ridge west to the Youghiogheny River.

“When you look back on the full scope of this project, how long we’ve envisioned this, it’s satisfying to see this bridge rebuilt and open,” said Mary Lou Kuhns, a Mountain Watershed Association board member and part of the Association’s Trail Committee. “It was a $360,000 project, and we thank all our granting organizations and agencies. But it was our strong local support from people here in this community, donating their own dollars, that convinced the grantors to support our vision.”

Names of individual donors to the project, emblazoned on plaques, adorn the siderails of the new bridge.

The Indian Creek Valley Trail, spearheaded by Mountain Watershed Association, follows the corridor of the former Indian Creek Valley Railroad, laid along Indian Creek in the early 1900s to haul timber and coal out of the mountains.

After the rail line was abandoned, Saltlick Township acquired the right-of-way within its borders and maintains the trail there. Mountain Watershed and the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County acquired other sections at Jones Mills and within the Indian Creek Gorge between Rte. 381 and the Youghiogheny.

Today, 14 miles of the trail are complete and open to public use. Five miles, in two separate spans, remain undeveloped. Positioned at the end of a completed trail section, the restored Steyer Bridge will now spur completion of one of the unfinished sections.

“With the bridge reconstruction complete, PennDot has encouraged us to apply for a grant for $1.5 million to surface the next section of the old rail grade, just upstream on Indian Creek from Steyer Bridge,” said Ashley Funk, Mountain Watershed Association executive director.

Anyone who saw the old, replaced Steyer Bridge before Mountain Watershed’s restoration knows it was an unsightly hazard. Rusted, narrow I-beams festooned with fraying steel cables teetered over the creek, inviting thrill-seekers to tempt a crossing on foot, or as some tried, by driving vehicles along the beams.

“It was dangerous and not much that was good or wholesome went on here,” said Pennsylvania Game Commission game warden Shawn Greevy, who patrols the remote area. “Now, there will be positive and legitimate use of this exceptional place.”

The restored bridge is 142 feet long, wood construction, with a central corridor for bikes and divided lanes for hikers. The upstream and downstream views of Indian Creek from the bridge are inspiring. “It’s just beautiful here. We know people will enjoy this,” Kuhns said.

Trail users can now pedal, walk, or ski from Steyer Bridge, just east of Rte. 381 at the Indian Creek Reservoir, downstream along Indian Creek for five miles through the uniquely wild and scenic Indian Creek Gorge to the Youghiogheny River. Two small parking areas serve users–one near Steyer Bridge and another just downstream near Camp Christian.

Other completed and open sections of the Indian Creek Trail are accessible from Rte. 653 near Normalville, and from Rte. 381 at Indian Head or Jones Mills.

“The bridge reconstruction is a huge step toward the trail’s completion,” said Kelly Kruper, of Donegal, a Mountain Watershed volunteer. “When it’s all connected people will come from all over for this awesome mountain experience.”

Recreational trail development is a proven economic stimulator, especially important for rural communities where traditional industries have declined. A 2019 study of the economic impact of the Great Allegheny Passage conducted by consulting firm Fourth Economy, found that tourism along that trail generates $800,000 of economic impact per mile, per year along its path across southwestern Pennsylvania.

In addition to individual donors, financial supporters of the Steyer Bridge reconstruction include Fayette County, Redevelopment Authority of Fayette County, Go Laurel Highlands, The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Alleghany Foundation, The Richard King Mellon Foundation, and Springfield Township.

Mountain Watershed Association also administers the Youghiogheny Riverkeeper program and operates mine pollution treatment systems throughout the Indian Creek basin.

For more information on Mountain Watershed Association and its many projects to protect and improve the ecological and recreational assets of the Laurel Highlands, visit www.mtwatershed.com.

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