Ohiopyle Officials Say 'Temporary Inconvenience' Of Construction Project Will Result In 'Permanent Improvement'

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OHIOPYLE (KDKA) -- Business owners in Ohiopyle are getting ready for the season and looking forward to the end of a major construction project in the area.

Ohiopyle Mayor Mark McCarty says the sights of trucks scooping dirt in the center of the borough could be a deterrent to visitors.

"It looks like a construction zone, there's no doubt about it," he said.

The McCarty family also owns Laurel Highlands Outdoor Center, a river outfitter on Negley Street.

"The layman, the average person walking through town might not have anticipated how much dirt," McCarty said.

McCarty says by Memorial Day, the trucks will move out and the future is looking more beautiful.

"This is a 20,000-acre park. This is only affecting one acre of that," he said. "Temporary inconvenience, permanent improvement."

Directly across Route 381, the picturesque falls sit close to the $12 million PennDOT/Department of Conservation and Natural Resources project geared toward outdoor enthusiasts.

"Families with kids and strollers, you've got bicyclists, you've got people with boats on their shoulders walking across busy Route 381," Ken Bisbee, Ohiopyle Park Operations manager, said. "[The project will] actually make it easier for people to get from town to the park to the launch area and back to their cars."

The large project will also include an underpass leading to the river launch and more.

"We're going to be moving the bike trail off of the highway as well, so it will be a better experience for the bicyclists coming off the Great Allegheny Passage," Bisbee said.

With 80 miles of trails and more than a million visitors, improvements will include more parking and sidewalks for the Laurel Highlands' largest tourist destination.