Point State Park Connector

To be completed CURRENTLY IN PLANNING & DESIGN

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Creating a seamless entry into Point State Park along the Mon River

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  The Point State Park Connector will create new riverfront access into the Park along the Monongahela River. Rendering by Pressley Associates.

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  Current view looking east from Point State Park.

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  Current view from Mon Wharf Landing looking west toward the Point.

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  When complete, the Connector will allow cyclists, pedestrians and other trail users to access the Park seamlessly along along the Mon River.

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Overview

The Point State Park Connector is a traffic-free, non-motorized ramp that will connect Point State Park to the western side of the Mon Wharf Landing.  Currently, the only access in this area is via a 4 foot wide path adjacent to Interstate 376, separated from traffic by a jersey barrier and from the Monongahela River by a chain link fence. The current link requires passage through a service parking lot of Point State Park.

This improved connection, along with the Mon Wharf Switchback, will allow commuters, bikers, downtown residents and the users of Great Allegheny Passage to continue all the way into Point State Park via a traffic-free, non-motorized route.

Project Partners

Partners include but are not limited to:
Riverlife
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Allegheny Conference on Community Development
PennDOT

Process

Point State Park is a 36-acre state park and National Historic Landmark located at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh and Three Rivers Park.

The Point State Park vision in 1954 was to create a green oasis for those who live and work in downtown Pittsburgh.  When completed in 1974, this massive urban project created a place for events and recreation downtown.  Over the next 30 years, the Park experienced considerable deterioration from constant use and needed reinvestment to serve the needs of a growing modern audience.

A community-initiated master plan for the renovation of Point State Park was launched in 2001, resulting in the raising of philanthropic funds and state funds for a five-phase, $40 million renovation to expand access, streamline Park maintenance and highlight the historical importance of the site.

The final planned phase of the renovation includes construction of the Point State Park Connector. Preliminary design of the Connector is complete, and environmental clearance has been obtained, involving extensive archeological clearance efforts which were conducted as part of the restoration of the park in 2007. The Connector alignment follows under an existing PennDOT right-of-way, previously cleared environmentally for the construction of flyover ramps to the I-376 Interstate and the Fort Pitt Tunnels.