Bernheisel Bridge Road I-81 Crossing Closure To Affect A.T.
May 2008

Repair work on the PA I-81 overpass will start in early July. The bridge is located 9 miles north of the town of Boiling Springs, carrying both the A.T. and Bernhisel Road (also called Bernhisel Bridge Rd.) over Interstate 81. Beginning on or about July 7, the bridge will be closed to vehicle traffic to allow for a repair/rehab project lasting about two months.

During most of this project, the contractor will provide a safe, marked path for A.T. hikers to cross the bridge 24 hours a day. However, there will be a roughly 10 day period when the bridge will be barricaded, and no pedestrian traffic will be permitted to cross over I-81 on the Trail at any time, day or night. During this closure period, the contractor will provide a free shuttle around the bridge between the hours of 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM, and signs will be posted to direct night hikers around a 3.1 mile road walk detour. Click here for the sign.

I-81 is a busy, high speed corridor -- under no circumstances should hikers attempt to walk across the I-81 travel lanes. As it becomes available, more information about the closure will be posted on ATC's trail updates page http://www.appalachiantrail.org/updates and at shelters and road crossings north and south of the bridge.

If you have any questions, contact Bob Sickley at ATC's mid-Atlantic office in Boiling Springs, PA at (717) 258-5771 or bsickley@appalachiantrail.org.

CVATC Member Thru-Hikes the A.T.
January 2008

Jim Foster, CVATC's First Vice President, "thru-hiked" the entire Appalachian Trail in 2007. Click here to read his story!

Life on the Edge... Corridor Monitoring
October 2007

Our unique Cumberland Valley is an edge habitat in more ways than one. Keeping tabs and ensuring the preservation of our hard-bought corridor of National Park Service land calls for much of our volunteer effort. CVATC was pleased by our recent Trail-wide recognition in the A.T.'s maintainer e-newsletter.

All you ever wanted to know about Boiling Springs,
and perhaps a little more!
October 2007

The Cumberland Valley's own Trail town welcomes many hikers, some for an afternoon stroll, and some on a four-to-six month thru-hike between Georgia and Maine. Want to know what's here for the hiker? Click here

Cumberland Valley A.T. To Get a Safer Road Crossing
April 2007

Due to the hard work of Karen Lutz, Mid-Atlantic Regional Director of Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the solution to the dangerous Appalachian Trail crossing at Rt. 944 (Wertzville Road) has been approved through PENNDOT’s Transportation Enhancement program. See rendering above.

The Bernheisel Bridge walkway and Route 11 pedestrian bridge in the Cumberland Valley, and Route 225 Bridge in Dauphin County were other T.E. projects which have added to the safety of our many hikers. The competition for these funds was particularly keen this round and we also owe a great deal of gratitude to our PENNDOT partners and advocates, Kris Feldmeyer and Dan Acurti.

It will be a year or so before the $1,148,250 project will be completed. Karen’s oversight will continue all the way up to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. It will happen, so keep buying calendars until we get a date for the event.

White Rocks Development Denied!
August 2007

The Monroe Township Supervisors are congratulated for their wisdom and nerve for denying further consideration at this time of a proposed development plan for many homes on small lots abutting the Appalachian Trail and the White Rocks side trail. See the fall 2007 CVATC newsletter for more details. It is very likely this proposal will resurface in some form so we need to keep paying attention. Click HERE for a fact sheet on the earlier proposal.

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