Great Allegheny Passage Reaches Completion, Opening the Trail From Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.

The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail has finally reached completion, with the final stretch reaching downtown Pittsburgh, according to USA Today. The project took 30 years and cost about $80 million.

The last segment of the path opened the section between Sandcastle and Point State Park. It opened with a celebration on Saturday, completing the 150-mile route linking the C&O Canal Towpath in Cumberland, Maryland. The towpath then continues an additional 185 miles into Washington, D.C.

The GAP was created from an abandoned railroad line. The last train rode through in 1975. The Allegheny Trail Alliance, a coalition of local groups in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland, is largely responsible for the trail.

"To look out at all of you here today, if we had known that it would take 35 years and $80 million, I don't know if we'd have had the heart to do this," Linda McKenna Boxx, the president of the board of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

McKenna Boxx acknowledged a dozen people who were instrumental in completing the project.

"This is the human chain of the Great Allegheny passage," she said as they all linked arms. After the ceremony ended, the crowd rode single-file for 6.5 miles to the Point to continue the celebration.

"We will ride slowly, to savor the moment," Seth Gernot said. He led the procession with an American flag given by U.S. Senator Bob Casey.

There are companies that offer organized tours of the trail, such as the Adventure Cycling Association and Wilderness Voyageurs. However, the GAP is a relatively easy trail because it's almost entirely flat, with the exception of a 22-mile section out of Cumberland, making it possible to ride the trail on your own, without a tour guide. It offers amazing views and winds through small towns along the way.

The trail has many access points along it, making it simple to navigate yourself. The trail, from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. is 328.5 miles long.