Bridge will close gap on trail
Funds come together for memorial

by Lori Humphreys
Freelance Reporter

When J. R. Taylor was growing up in Bethel Park he used to ride his bicycle on the Montour Railroad tracks along Clifton Road much to the dismay of his parents Pat and Don Taylor.

He grew up to be a field superintendent for the family business, Century Steel Erectors Company, and worked on many Pittsburgh projects like Heinz Field, the Convention Center and Hot Metal Street Bridge. Though his life ended prematurely in 2004 when he was only 43, his adventurous spirit will be remembered each time a walker or bike rider crosses the J.R. Taylor Memorial Bridge on the Montour Trail that has replaced the tracks he used to bike.

The proposed tied arch bridge across Clifton Road, the mutual dream of the Taylor family and the Friends of the Montour Trail in Bethel Park (FMTBP), was realized at the July 10 meeting of Bethel Park Council when Pennsylvania State Representative John Maher presented Bethel Park Municipal Council with a $750,000 grant to construct the bridge.

The Municipality of Bethel Park is the designated sponsor of the project which will be coordinated and funded through District 11 of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

When completed, the proposed 200-ft long, 10-ft wide bridge across Clifton Road will connect two portions of the Montour Trail in Bethel Park and complete the trail from the Irishtown Road trailhead to Route 19 in Washington County. Though the bridge will be used by pedestrians and bicycle riders it will be designed to meet PennDOT standards. It will have a concrete walkway, a 17.5-ft vertical clearance over Clifton Road, and be limited to five-ton loads. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2008.

Representative Maher remarked that the fund-raising efforts of Taylor’s five sisters, parents and the FMTBP made a dramatic statement and attracted the attention of the grant officials.

“My daughters came to me when J.R. died and said that the bridge would be a wonderful memorial,” Pat Taylor said.

Not only did the family request that memorial contributions would go to the “Bridge the Gap” Fund, the nickname for the project, but they donated their considerable energy to raising approximately $230,000 sponsoring two motorcycle runs, raffles and an antique car show. They will be sponsoring another motorcycle run Sept. 10.

The Bethel Park Friends of the Montour Trail also organized fund-raisers, recently raising $7,000 at their June 3, Party on the Trail.

“When the Friends of the Montour Trail in Bethel Park (FMTBP) began the effort to raise money for the bridge and I put the ‘Bridge the Gap’ sign at Clifton Road in 2004, I thought it would take forever. Then the Taylor family called a month later and asked, ‘Would you like help with the bridge?’ Led by Pat Taylor, a dynamic force, they took the fund-raising lead,” FMTBP president Peter Kohnke said.

Additional help came from Century Steel Erectors Company construction manager Rubbie Greenewald, who wrote the grant proposal working with the Bethel Park Municipal Council and staff. Bethel Park resident Jim Dembowski created a Web site, www.jrtaylormemorial.com.

The J.R. Memorial Bridge not only honors the memory of a beloved son, brother and father. It also serves as a metaphor for the bridges individuals working together can construct.

Article appear in The Almanac - July 19, 2006 issue Vol. 40, No. 29