A jarring ride: county applies for grant to replace Casselman River Bridge
Biked the wooden bridge across the Casselman River in Confluence lately? Yeah, so have we. Pretty bumpy. Teeth rattling, maybe, depending on your speed. Most of the boards on the bridge surface have warped badly and many show signs of rot. There’s no risk of falling into the river, but the deteriorating condition makes for…
Biked the wooden bridge across the Casselman River in Confluence lately?
Yeah, so have we. Pretty bumpy. Teeth rattling, maybe, depending on your speed.
Most of the boards on the bridge surface have warped badly and many show signs of rot. There’s no risk of falling into the river, but the deteriorating condition makes for a rough ride.
The Somerset County Commissioners want to do something about that.
The commissioners recently agreed to request a state Multimodal Transportation Fund Grant of $2.8 million from the Commonwealth Financial Authority for improvements to the Great Allegheny Passage trail, including the bumpy Casselman Bridge. The county expects to hear by the first quarter of 2027 whether the full amount requested has been approved for the work, according to Cathie Beal, director of parks and trails for the county.
The Casselman Bridge work is at the top of the list for GAP fixes, which also include trail bridge work in Larimer and Greenville townships. Culvert work is also planned in Black Township, Beal said.
“We’ve applied for other grants this year,” she said. “We have so many structures that need rehabbing because nothing has been done to them since they were put into place 25, 30 years ago.”
Three options for the bridge surface are being considered for the Casselman Bridge: new wood decking; a concrete surface, which has been done at other GAP bridges including Harnedsville; or Trex-like composite decking.
In the meantime, the county is trying to find money to repair a landslide around mile marker 56 that happened last year, where part of the trail slipped down an embankment toward the Casselman River. The trail is still open to travelers, but barricades have been installed to shift bikers away from the danger.
The GAP trail generates $43.7 million in annual economic impact in Somerset, Fayette and Westmoreland counties, according to a 2019 study commissioned by the Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy. Visitor spending in Somerset County in 2024 totaled $474.5 million, trailing Westmoreland County at $903.2 million and Fayette County, $776.2 million, according to a study by Tourism Economics, an economic forecasting company with offices in Philadelphia.