Pymatuning State Park Trail Project

County: Crawford
Local Name: Pymatuning Spillway Trail
Project Type: Partner Improvement Project
Start Month: July 2021
End Month: Fall 2022
Cost: $2.2 million
Contractor: Horizon Construction Group Inc.
Last Updated: February 27, 2023

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) worked together on the project to rehabilitate and expand the multi-purpose trail near the spillway in Pymatuning State Park.

Work included resurfacing the existing Pymatuning Spillway Trail from Fries Road past the Spillway Overlook to Hartstown Road as well as adding a new section of trail constructed from Hartstown Road to South Chestnut Street in Linesville Borough. 

The overall project increased the length of the pathway from just over one mile long to more than three miles long, resulting in safe access to park visitor centers, schools, and a connection with Route 6 and Bicycle PA Route Y.

Work started in 2021, and was completed in the fall of 2022.

As part of the project, the historic Messerall Truss Bridge was relocated and repurposed. The bridge was removed and dismantled at its previous location in Oil Creek Township, Crawford County, rehabilitated at a workshop, and reassembled with a wooden deck at Pymatuning State Park.

The project is considered Phase 1 of the plan to expand the Pymatuning Spillway Trail. The next phase includes a new trail that runs from South Chesnut Street to Townline Road.

The metal bowstring through truss bridge, which once carried Messerall Road over Pine Creek, was constructed in 1876 and had been closed since 1987. In its new location, the bridge carries the multi-use trail over Linesville Creek.

The bridge originally carried pedestrians and horses to the oil fields of Crawford and Warren counties. It later served as a single-lane crossing for passenger vehicles. It became historically significant as one of the few surviving bowstring truss bridges in the state and the only one west of the Susquehanna River. 

In 2021, it was hoisted by crane and removed from its abutments in one piece. It was partially dismantled at a nearby landing area and then taken to a metal workshop, Lockhart Ironworks in Logan, Ohio, to be rehabilitated.

It was partially reassembled at the Ohio shop, using as many of the refurbished original parts as possible then moved to Pymatuning State Park in late August 2022.  After additional reassembly work was complete including hot riveting approximately 2,500 connections. The bridge was moved into final position over Linesville Creek in September and soon after was fitted with a wooden deck and opened for public use.

2-22-23

The Pymatuning State Park Trail Extension Project, including the preservation of the Messerall Truss Bridge, was named a project of the year by the Franklin chapter of the American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE). The project was recognized in the category for projects with a construction budget of $3 million or less.

Work was done through a partnership between the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

The project included the refurbishment and relocation of the 146-year-old bridge from above Pine Creek in Oil Creek Township to over Linesville Creek near Linesville Borough in Crawford County, where it is part of the expanded Pymatuning State Park trail system that now runs from Fries Road past the Spillway Overlook to Hartstown Road and continues to South Chestnut Street. The trail work increased the length of the pathway from just over one mile long to more than three miles long, resulting in safe access to park visitor centers, schools, and a connection with the Route 6 and Bicycle PA Route Y.

9-6-22

Reassembly work on the Messerall Truss Bridge continues on site at Pymatuning State Park. The bridge will evenutally be placed over Linesville Creek and carry trail users between Linesville Borough and the park's Spillway area. 

3-16-22

The two-year partner project by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to rehabilitate and expand the multi-purpose trail near the spillway in Pymatuning State Park will restart later this month.

Work in the second year of the project will include construction of the new multi-use trail from Hartstown Road to South Chestnut Street in Linesville Borough. Once complete, the trail will be increase from just over one mile long to more than three miles long.

Work this year will also include the reassembly of the historic Messerall Truss Bridge from Oil Creek Township, Crawford County.

8-10-21

The historic Messerall Truss Bridge in Oil Creek Township, Crawford County was moved by crane on Tuesday, August 10, so it can be refurbished and repurposed as part of the multi-purpose trail project in Pymatuning State Park.

Following Tuesday's relocation of the bridge, it will be dismantled at its current location, rehabilitated at a workshop, and reassembled with a wooden deck at Pymatuning State Park.

The metal bowstring through truss bridge, which once carried Messerall Road over Pine Creek, was constructed in 1876 and has been closed since 1987. In its new location, the bridge will carry the multi-use trail over Linesville Creek.