Volunteers build bridge along trail in Armstrong
ARMSTRONG COUNTY — About 15 outdoor enthusiasts from three groups, the Baker Trail, the North Country Trail and Butler Outdoor Club, volunteered more than 500 hours on five occasions to build a new suspension bridge for the Baker Trail near Crooked Creek State Park.
"I had them doing everything," said Keith Klos, the president of the Allegheny National Forest Chapter of the North Country National Scenic Trail.
From digging holes, pouring concrete, stringing cables and bolting decking down, Klos said the group helped with many tasks in the construction of the Cherry Run Bridge.
"They were a very versatile group that did whatever was needed," he said.
Klos, who designed, engineered and constructed the bridge, began designing it in January.
In April, he started building pieces of the structure at his home.
On-site bridge construction started June 14 with the installation of upright posts and continued on four more dates until the span was completed.
"I could never have done it all myself," Klos said. "And it gives the volunteers a sense of belonging because they built it as part of their trail that they can use for years to come."
Funded by the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy, the 72-foot-long bridge across Cherry Run covers an area of the trail that previously had gone through the creek into water up to 1 foot deep.
Built on land owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the bridge was erected in the same place where two previous bridges had stood. Both were washed out by flooding from the remnants of hurricanes.
To avoid the same problem, Klos said the new bridge was built 6 feet higher and with the flexibility to "give a little" and withstand some water pressure.
"We're definitely keeping our fingers crossed that this one will last for the next 100 years," Klos said.
