Montour Trail Opens Airport Connector

Allegheny County officials gathered Tuesday morning to usher in the opening of the new 6.3-mile Montour Trail Connector at the Pittsburgh International Airport. 

Cyclists, runners and hikers now will be able to access the via the airport's new connecting trail. 

Nearly $60,000 in grant money for traffic signals and signs has funded the trail connector. It begins in the airport's extended parking lot in Findlay Township and extends along existing roadways to the Montour Trail.  

Officials at the event said the Montour Trail's new link to Pittsburgh International will help in making the Pittsburgh region a "bicycling touring hub." 

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and members of the Pittsburgh Major Taylor Bicycle Club attended the grand opening of the connector. 

Spanning nearly 60 miles, the multi-use Montour Trail, which runs through portions of Bethel Park Peters, Cecil, McDonald, North Fayette, Findlay, Robinson and Moon, is the largest suburban former train rail area converted to a trail in the country. It is a part of the 400-mile Great Allegheny Passage, which extends from the Pittsburgh area to Washington, D.C. 

Click through the photo gallery and video above to see more from the event. 

This story originally appeared on Moon Patch