Gorge trail project seeks support

Funds needed for 4.3-mile section

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Indian Creek Gorge is a steep, remote, wooded and wild gash in FayetteCounty’s hills that few nonlocalsknow about or have visited.

But knowledge of that hidden green gem could be carried far and wide by cyclists and hikers if the Mountain Watershed Association can raise $125,000 to finish the 4.3- mile section of the Indian Creek Valley Trail through the gorge.

Beverly Braverman, MWA executive director, said the organization has spent about $175,000 over the last two years for installation of 28 culvert pipes to stop water running off the steep hillside from further eroding the abandoned railroad bed, and for regrading the trail section, end to end.

That phase of the project was completed five weeks ago, and the trail through the gorge is open for public use. But it’s like a cake without the icing.

“We’ve got 4.3 miles of the trail through the gorge smooth and well draining, but if we don’t get a top on it soon we’ll end up with more erosion,” Ms. Braverman said. “We’re stalled until we raise the rest of the moneyor a significant part of it.”

Ms. Braverman said the additional funding is needed to spread a layer of gravel and a finer, 4-inchthick layer of “blue dust” limestone to seal the 15- to 18-foot-wide pathway.

The organization’s funding campaign has raised about $22,000 over the past six weeks, she said, but