Progress On The Montour Trail Traditional Cache
Progress On The Montour Trail
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This cache serves as a fine example of how a local rails-to-trails project can make a location a safer and more useful place for the entire community.
The coordinates for this cache will bring you to a new bridge on The Montour Trail near Mile Marker 24. This bridge opened to Montour Trail traffic on October 15, 2005, ten days ahead of its planned schedule. The new bridge spans 190 feet and rises 48 feet over Muse-Bishop Road in Cecil Township.
Prior to the construction of this bridge, this was the location of a concrete arch tunnel which was built in 1913. The tunnel carried Muse-Bishop Road traffic through it while the Montour Railroad ran on top of it. In 2002, long after the tracks above stopped being used, a study performed by Carnegie-Mellon University's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering stated that the tunnel was unsafe due to two major design flaws. Those flaws were described as "an inadequate site distance while traveling North on Muse-Bishop Road due to the curvature of the road leading into the tunnel at the Montour Trail crossing. Drivers cannot see oncoming traffic from the South, and as the tunnel is just wide enough for two-lane traffic, drivers must reduce their speed considerably. The second design flaw is the narrow width of the tunnel. The constricted width has lead (sic) to an uncomfortable two-way traffic passing, because vehicles tend in towards the center of the road in order to avoid the sidewalls of the tunnel. Larger scale vehicles often pass through the tunnel while straddling the center-line, taking up the lane for oncoming traffic." Later in 2002, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission agreed and deemed the tunnel unsafe for vehicular traffic. Demolition of the tunnel and construction of the bridge was scheduled to begin in 2005.
The tunnel was known to be dangerous for years and numerous accidents occurred, even in favorable driving conditions, some resulting in fatalities. Looking at the pictures below, which are Google Earth images of the location from early-2005, it's easy to see how much safer Muse-Bishop Road is for drivers because of the increased sightlines they have. Compare these aerial images to what you see when visiting this cache.
From the North...
...and from the South
This community improvement was a result of the diligent efforts of The Montour Trail Council, who raised over $1.5 million in funding through grants and donations to cover the costs of removal of the tunnel, grading of the land, and construction of the bridge.
Okay, now some info about the cache. You're looking for a well-hidden camouflaged matchstick container just west of Muse-Bishop Road. This is a bit of a tricky hide, so you might have to search for a little while, but rest assured that you do not have to walk off the trail or outside of the fence to earn your smiley. Please rehide exactly as found to keep the hunt interesting for the next cacher.
Congratulations to DresselDragons for earning the FTF and to bearinggirl for the STF on this cache!!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
[Don't read unless you're ready to give up] Grgurerq gb gur onpx fvqr bs gur cbfg whfg gb gur yrsg bs gur oernx va gur srapr.
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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