Hikers and bikers who use the Westmoreland Heritage Trail can see preliminary expansion plans from Murrysville to Export next month.

A meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Italian American Club on Kennedy Avenue, Export. Mackin Engineering Co. of Findlay Township will present plans for the project, which are about 60 percent complete, said Jeff Richards, parks planning coordinator for Westmoreland County.

The next phase of the trail will extend eastward from the Roberts trail access point off the eastbound side of Route 22 in Murrysville to Lincoln Avenue in Export, according to Vicki Rudge, a trail group spokeswoman. This section will be similar to the 5.9-mile section that was built between Trafford and Murrysville last year, Rudge said.

The county intends to advertise for bids for the project in late summer and possibly award a contract for the trail construction in October, Richards said. Depending on the decision by PennDOT, which controls the federal money for the Transportation Alternatives Program through which trail construction is funded, the work may begin late this year or in 2019, Richards said.

The cost of building the 3.3-mile trail between Murrysville and Export has not been estimated, Richards said. The county received $1 million in 2016 for TAP funding for the trail development, he said.

The county intends to create a 22-mile trail connecting Trafford with Saltsburg, through Delmont, Export and Murrysville. A 9-mile section of the trail is open from Saltsburg to Delmont, as well as the leg of the trail from Duff Park in Murrysville to the B-Y Park in Trafford.

Part of the trail runs along a 9.2-mile segment of the former Turtle Creek Industrial Railroad corridor from Export to Trafford, which the county acquired in November 2015.

Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com.

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