Crossing history: First covered bridge on a public walking trail in region built in Kiski Township

It looks like something out of a fairy tale: A new rustic covered bridge nestled in the woods of Kiski Township on a walking trail.

It crosses the rollicking Roaring Run stream near its confluence with the Kiski River. It’s about 1.5 miles up the Roaring Run Trail from Canal Road at the Rock Furnace Trail intersection.

It might be the only covered bridge on a walking trail in the region, according to board members of the Roaring Run Watershed Association, which owns and manages the Roaring Run network of trails.

The wooden bridge is 35 feet long and made of rough-cut hemlock from Amish country and a green corrugated metal roof.

“The bridge adds more to the aesthetics of the trail,” longtime board member John Linkes said.

Kiski Township Supervisor Chuck Rodnicki said the bridge is bound to help tourism in the township, Apollo and elsewhere. “We just appreciate the work the association does for the area and their cleanup of the watershed. They are tremendous.”

The all-volunteer watershed association hatched the idea for the bridge late last year and did all of the work.

Materials for the span cost about $5,000, said Ken Kaminski of Allegheny Township, president of the watershed association’s board.

“It’s all nice, and it was built by donations,” he said.

Patrons donated $500 apiece for plaques lining the interior of the bridge. They honor local businesses, families, friends and even a resident’s dog.

About 20 volunteers came and went during the month. In a process reminiscent of an Amish barn-raising, volunteers gathered and worked on the structure full throttle for three days in mid-October.

“You couldn’t have paid for better help,” said Tim Troup, a watershed board member, builder and cabinetmaker from Kiski Township who designed the bridge. One of the volunteers even had experience in rebuilding covered bridges, he said.

Although technically it’s a walking bridge and motorized vehicles are prohibited on the trail, it’s wide enough, at 12 feet, to support trail maintenance trucks and mowers, Kaminski said.

That’s one of the reasons the bridge was rebuilt.

The bones already were there. Steel beams were laid for the bridge when it was used as a railroad corridor decades ago. But the bridge was barely wide enough to fit a truck hauling a mower, with only 3 inches of clearance on either side.

“I got tired of the green paint from the railing rubbing off on my fenders,” Troup said.

Although rebuilding the planking of the bridge wasn’t a hot topic, Troup spoke up during a watershed board meeting and asked, why not make it a covered bridge?

“Everybody perked up,” he said. “And it was accepted 100% quickly.”

To learn more about the Roaring Run Watershed Association and its covered bridge, visit its Facebook page.