this is an aerial view created with Google Earth. the white line is 46' long (is that long enough?), shows roughly where a bridge across Nine Mile Run will go
New bridge over Nine Mile Run, 2010/5/25, with the houses of Summerset visible at top. It's a nice bridge, but it's too bad the approach to it on the west (Summerset) side is so steep.
Bridge over Nine Mile Run, looking upstream. The rocks on which people have forded the stream for the past few years are visible.
Bridge over Nine Mile Run, looking toward Swisshelm Park & Swissvale. The trail surface where we're standing is not yet completed, but it looks to me like there is likely to be a drainage problem around this end of the bridge if the slope we're on is not regraded some -- water will come down the slope and probably erode the gravel/crushed limestone, flowing left and right around this end of the bridge. You can already see some evidence of this.
Nine Mile Run trail under construction. We're looking upstream toward the new bridge. Nine Mile Run is on our right and Summerset is on our left.
A bump several feet high in the Nine Mile Run Trail caused by a washout coming down the side of the Summerset Slag Heap (houses visible in the distance). If this erosion is not dealt with (spread out, culverted, or slowed down somehow) it will probably continue to cause a lot of gravel and rocks to pile up on the trail in coming years.
Another view of the erosion above the trail.
