New Jackson Township bridge connects communities
JACKSON TWP — Visiting for the first time Monday, Oct. 9, Cranberry Township residents Jane and Ron Del Greco said Jackson Township’s Sippel Reservoir Park was shaping up “to be incredible.”
“We’re always searching for new places to go,” Ron said. “I’ve seen depictions of this, but I’ve never seen what they’re building down here.”
Of its many improvements over the years, Ron and Jane were most taken by the park’s latest addition: the Scholars Run Pedestrian Bridge.
“I’m loving this. I didn’t realize it went on like this,” Ron said. “The bridge, all of this — this is really nice.”
Installed this summer, the precast steel bridge is more than just a regional attraction helping connect a network of trails spanning the township as well as Harmony and Zelienople boroughs.
“That bridge is actually a key connection between the boroughs, the park system and the adjoining neighborhoods,” said Chris Rearick, township manager.
Located at the northern tip of the park, the 40-foot bridge closes the loop of the Connoquenessing Valley Heritage Trail, connecting to Harmony borough’s Harmony trail over Scholars Run creek.
And Rearick said the bridge offers a “permanent solution” to the creek’s sometimes impassable waters.
“And then it provides a connection to the overall regional network, which includes the Commodore Perry Regional Trail,” he said.
The new bridge was developed in conjunction with the township’s ongoing infrastructure project near Northgate Plaza on Route 19, according to Rearick.
In addition to adding turning lanes and a traffic light at the shopping plaza, Rearick said the project helped improve access to the park and provide a regional connection to the township’s commercial center.
“This larger project shaped up and the opportunity became available to link the park to Route 19 for both vehicular and pedestrian means,” he said. “In a way that will facilitate safety on that corridor.”
Rearick said the $4.8 million project has been funded by nearly $2 million in public grants and private donations. The remaining $2.8 million was financed through the Butler County Infrastructure bank over a 10 year period.
“Two years of which have already been paid back,” he said.
Work on the park has been ongoing since early 2017, according to Rearick, and has been “uniquely” funded by community efforts.
“What’s become a neat story is just the overall complexity of the project,” he said, “and the fact that we were able to pool funding from multiple resources — both public and private — without relying heavily on the local funding of local tax dollars.”
The former reservoir property in Zelienople was donated by the borough in April 2017 as part of an intergovernmental cooperation agreement.
“In exchange the township committed a certain level of funding to be appropriated to Zelienople’s park over a series of years,” Rearick said.
The agreement also helped commit the two municipalities — and eventually Harmony borough — to a joint parks, recreation and open space plan.
“It looked at the needs and the populations of all three municipalities versus the available recreational amenities,” Rearick said. “So the decision, in part, to focus on soccer fields as active recreation in Sippel Reservoir Park was based on this joint study.”
Work began the following year on the first phase at the park, filling two of the former reservoirs with a total 50,000 cubic yards of soil to form the sports fields, according to Rearick.
He said the project cost approximately $810,000 with $542,000 being provided by grants and recreation impact fees and approximately $380,000 being donated by local entities.
“The Buncher Company donated and loaded an estimated $250,000 worth of soil from their site in Jackson Township,” Rearick said, “and our neighbors in Cranberry Township provided the balance of needed fill to complete construction of the existing reservoir as a storm water feature and fishing pond.”
The park’s sponsor, Sippel Development, also credited nearly $130,000 worth of work toward the project.
“We’ve been fortunate to involve participants and contributors from the nonprofit, private and public sectors in one project,” Rearick said.
With the addition of the Scholars Run Pedestrian Bridge, the park now boasts a connected trail system, the Gary Cousins Pavilion, a new playground and a series of sports fields.
But as crews completed paving last week on a new access road from Northgate Plaza, Rearick said there was more to come.
"There’s also the front basis which is being developed into a two-acre fishing pond,“ he said. ”That pond should be completed this year, hopefully stocked for the spring.“
Additionally, Rearick said the township also expects phase two — the parking lot area — to be completed before spring.
The next phase will be the construction of a concession building — complete with restrooms and an outdoor pavilion.
“We anticipate having that out to bid late this year,” he said, “with a hopeful spring construction.”
And Rearick said the township would continue to look at improvements to the growing park space.
“There’s certainly opportunities with the balance of the park for additional development of pavilion space, gathering space,” he said. “We’re looking at the possibility of constructing a handicap fishing pier with access to the pond.”
He said the township is also considering expanded parking and hoping to develop space for more community events in the region.
“I think that the park is not only a gathering space for community activities — athletic and passive recreational activities as well as community functions — but it also acts as a key connector between the communities,” Rearick said.
And with the addition of the Scholars Run Pedestrian Bridge, those communities just got a little bit closer.
“It provides an attractive opportunity and amenity to both the township and the adjoining boroughs of Harmony and Zelienople,” Rearick said, “at a location that’s convenient and also, now, safely accessible.”
Following a private ribbon-cutting for the Scholars Run Pedestrian Bridge this month, Jackson Township will hold its second Annual Touch-A-Truck-Event on Saturday, Oct. 21.
The event runs from 1 to 5 p.m. at Sippel Reservoir Park — 400 Reservoir Park Drive — featuring a variety of local “big trucks and vehicles” for families to explore.
Vendors for the event include Union Brothers Brewery, Kona Ice, Eulinger’s Meats and Little Nicky’s.
For more information or to register, visit jackson-township.com.
