VIEW OF NEW BIKE TRAIL CONNECTOR FROM POINT STATE PARK | PHOTOS BY VIRGINIA LINN

A vital pathway along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail for cyclists and pedestrians that connects Point State Park with the Mon Wharf has reopened. 

The section — part of the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage, which connects Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland — has been rerouted closer to the Monongahela River, widened, regraded so it’s not as steep and is safer to navigate. Closed since Feb. 1, it reopened on Friday, Oct. 13.

VIEW FROM MONONGAHELA PARKING WHARF

The $4.2 million project was directed by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and required coordination among the state Department of Transportation, City of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Parking Authority and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to an update from the Greater Allegheny Passage Conservancy. It also had the support of Friends of the Riverfront, a nonprofit that works to develop and steward the trails along the rivers.

The new connector, which is well lighted, erases a bottleneck close to Interstate 376 that was dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists. The work was done by Mosites Construction Co.

 A ribbon-cutting for the project will be held at a later date.