Today
Today, the Abandoned Turnpike, as it is commonly known, has become a popular tourist attraction. The PTC sold most of the property to the Southern Alleghenies Conservancy (SAC) for $1 in 2001. The property is managed by Friends of the Pike 2 Bike, a coalition of non-profit groups (including the SAC) to eventually convert the stretch into a bike trail. The property is officially closed to the public, and no motor vehicles are allowed on the property, but riders are free to use it at their own risk. The trail requires helmets and lights. Because this stretch sits on parts of the former right-of-way of the South Pennsylvania Railroad that was never completed but later formed the basis of the mainline turnpike, this makes the Pike2Bike unofficially a rail trail. The PTC still owns a stretch of about 0.25 miles (0.40 km) on the west and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) on the east for maintenance purposes.
The entranceways to the tunnels were in respectable shape through the early 1980s, when vandalism and time began to take their toll; thieves stole even the lettering of the signs of the tunnels sometime between 1981 and 1999. The tunnels themselves are still standing and, despite not having been maintained for decades, are still structurally sound.
A business plan and feasibility study was completed by Gannett Flemming in 2005. It proposed various ideas to make the trail as accessible as possible for cyclists, hikers, roller bladers, and equestrians.
As of November 2007, the trail is in the process of changing ownership to Bedford County. This is in response to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' need for a governmental body to own the trail before it can give out grants. The Friends of the Pike 2 Bike will continue to run and oversee the trail.
Read more about this topic: Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
Famous quotes containing the word today:
“The 19-year-old Diana ... decided to make her career that of wife. Today that can be a very, very iffy line of work.... And what sometimes happens to the women who pursue it is the best argument imaginable for teaching girls that they should always be able to take care of themselves.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.”
—Mother Teresa (b. 1910)
“Somewhere between a third and a quarter of all people living in America today were born between 1946 and 1965 and if you think you’re tired of hearing about us, you should try being one of us.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)