WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman John Murtha and U.S. Senator Arlen Specter announced today that the National Park Service has teamed with the Derry Area Recreation Board and the Derry Area Revitalization Corporation to begin development of nine acres of park lands within Derry Borough and 20 miles of new rails-with-trails.

As part of this agreement, the National Park Service will assist the community with feasibility and concept planning, public outreach, partnership development, and identifying both public and private funds for development of the park and the Derry Station Heritage Trail project.   

“The Derry Station Heritage Trail will be a great addition to the already rich network of trails that we possess in southwestern Pennsylvania,” said Murtha.  “These trails have a significant impact on our local economy and I applaud the hard work of Derry Borough officials and volunteers in moving this important project forward.”

“Twenty miles of new, publicly accessible trails is great news for Westmoreland County,” Specter said. “The trails and park will make wonderful additions to the Derry, Blairsville and Latrobe communities and will serve to encourage recreation throughout the region.”

The first phase of the project will develop a nine acre park in Derry Borough on land that is currently owned by Norfolk Southern Railroad.  Borough officials have negotiated a lease-back of the property and the Derry Area Revitalization Corporation recently sponsored a clean-up in which volunteers removed approximately 177,600 pounds of trash and debris from the site.

The project will then develop a trail network to connect Derry to other local municipalities and trails, including a trail in Blairsville, the eventual extension of the Hoodlebug Trail in Indiana County, and trails being planned to link the City of Latrobe with New Alexandria. 

Murtha and Specter wrote to the National Park Service in July of this year in support of the Derry Area Recreation Board and the Derry Area Revitalization Corporation’s application for funding through the National Park Service’s Rail, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program.  

For additional information, contract Colleen HolNaider, Executive Director of the Derry Area Recreation Board, at 724-694-1416 or Susan Bortz, Mayor of Derry Borough, at 724-516-6415.

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