RK&K team members recently celebrated the official completion of the much-anticipated Chester Valley Trail Extension in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The Chester Valley Trail Extension is officially open!
Great to join with @MontCoPlanning, @ChescoGovt, @bcgp & @circuittrails this morning to cut the ribbon on this new 3.8 mile stretch of trail connecting the Chester Valley Trail to the Schuylkill River Trail in Norristown. pic.twitter.com/a7RmLFe7YA
— Montgomery County, PA (@MontcoPA) March 13, 2023
RK&K provided engineering design services for the final portion of the multi-use trail which involved the construction of two new bridges and modifications to two existing bridges.
The finished trail was designed with connection in mind, bringing together two of the area’s most heavily used trails, and will pass close to major residential and commercial centers, including the King of Prussia Mall and the Village at Valley Forge.
To accomplish this, RK&K completed both preliminary structural and geotechnical design engineering for the 104-ft long single-span bridge over South Gulph Road.
The geotechnical engineering for the bridge over Henderson Road included foundation investigations for the 130-foot long single-span bridge and the four adjoining wingwalls that extend up to 547-ft length. The structural design work included preliminary bridge plans and geotechnical engineering, including subsurface investigations and preparation of the foundation design guidance report for each bridge and wall.
Major steel trusses were installed in September 2022 to support the new 50-ton bridge.
In addition to improving connectivity as part of a planned 750-mile throughout greater Philadelphia, the Chester Valley Trail is already benefiting the region by increasing pedestrian and bicycle safety, improving public health, reducing air pollution emissions, and increasing nearby property values and consumer spending in nearby communities.
“We were proud to attend the ribbon cutting along with local officials and interested parties and excited to celebrate a project that has over 80 miles of trails and has been long awaited by the community,” said Executive Director Jeff Guzy, PE.
