Cecil's Stretch of the Montour Trail Is Two Trails Until the National Tunnel Reopens

Inside the National Tunnel, beneath Klinger Road, shoring now props up a section of concrete ceiling that has shifted. Temporary roof bolts will hold the concrete overhead once construction starts. The tunnel opened in 1913 with a wooden liner. A concrete liner came several years later, and because it went in without steel reinforcement, cracked ceiling sections are more likely to fall.

The tunnel has been closed since November 11, 2025. Next month marks one full year. The Montour Trail Council's homepage still lists the crossing at mile marker 25 as "closed indefinitely." In Cecil Township, that means the trail no longer runs through. Two separate trails meet at a closed tunnel, and each has its own parking lots, its own turnaround and its own way of working this winter.

The split sits at the trail's exact middle

The Montour Trail's main line runs about 47 miles from Coraopolis to Clairton, and branch routes bring the total past 60 miles. The National Tunnel sits almost exactly at its midpoint. Council Board President Julian Wolfe told the Observer-Reporter that the tunnel "is smack dab in the middle of the main line," and added, "So you couldn't have placed it in a worse position as far as disrupting traffic."

There is also no way around it by road. The council does not recommend any on-road detour, citing narrow lanes and limited sight lines. Instead, it tells westbound trail users to start at the McConnell Road trailhead and eastbound users to start at Kurnick. That advice amounts to a map of two trails. Here is how the Cecil section breaks down, using the council's trailhead listings:

The council's detour notice on its homepage places McConnell Road at MP 24.7. Either way, it is the last stop before the closure.

The west half ends at McConnell Road

On the west side, Cecil Park is the anchor. It has the only paved lot in the Cecil section and the only full restrooms listed. From there, the trail runs past Ridgewood and the Muse Bishop stop to the Muse Branch junction, then on to McConnell Road and the closed tunnel just beyond it.

Because the main line now dead-ends past McConnell Road, the Muse Branch carries more of the west side's variety. The council describes it as running between McConnell Trails, a new community, and the older neighborhoods of the Cecil-Muse area. The branch is also home to the council's first reforestation project, planted with honey locust, ginkgo, Kentucky coffee and tulip poplar from Tree Pennsylvania's bare-root tree program. The council's crew resurfaced six-tenths of a mile of the Muse branch and improved its drainage in 2025.

The east half starts at Kurnick

East of the tunnel, Kurnick at MM 25.6 is the first access point. It is also where the volunteer side of this section gathers. The Cecil Friends of the Trail, who cover MM 22.0 to 28.5, meet on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the Kurnick access area off Cecil Henderson Road. Work parties are scheduled as needed. After the October 28 meeting, the next one falls on Wednesday, November 25. In early October, the council dedicated its Kurnick maintenance garage to former crew chief Frank Ludwin.

Two miles farther east, the Hendersonville trailhead has the largest lot on this side. Tandem Connection sits nearby on Georgetown Road. The shop serves ice cream and does bike repairs, and in the Observer-Reporter's September coverage, owner David Poe said the closure has meant fewer riders coming through from the far side of the tunnel. He also pointed out that the big Hendersonville lot and the shop's location in the middle of the trail still make it a good starting point, with traffic heading both ways.

The closure has made that midpoint more useful. Because the eastern half can't be reached from the west by trail, Kurnick and Hendersonville are now where most trips on this side begin.

A temporary fix was considered, then dropped

Last winter it looked like the split might be short. The council's January to February 2026 newsletter said stabilization work was complete and that its Engineering & Construction committee was weighing plans for restricted access through the tunnel before summer. That did not happen. The council had hoped temporary repairs and safeguards would let the tunnel reopen fairly quickly, but it decided to keep the tunnel closed until a full renovation is done, according to the Observer-Reporter.

That decision is why the tunnel is still closed nearly a year later, and why the reopening date now depends on money.

What reopening depends on

The engineering plan is settled. Working with consultant WEC Engineers, the council plans to award one construction contract for steel liners through the two deteriorated sections. A second contract, which depends on funding, would rebuild one or both portals. The goal is to finish both under a single closure. The council's homepage describes lining the western 295 feet plus a shorter section on the eastern end. The method copies the Greer Tunnel rehabilitation in Peters Township. Project lead Paul McKeown told the Observer-Reporter that the work is a long-term solution in exchange for a short disruption, and that "this is something that will last long after we're gone."

The council has already ordered the steel liner components, which take a long time to make, so the materials will be ready when construction begins. What's still missing is the rest of the $3.2 million. Here is where the money stands:

• $500,000 from the Pittsburgh-based Richard King Mellon Foundation
• $500,000 contributed by the Montour Trail Council itself
• $214,000 from members, trail users and friends of the trail, as of the September to October newsletter
• $1,218,997.93 raised from 298 donors, or roughly 38% of the goal, on the council's campaign meter as of October 25, 2026
• $533,200 from the state, listed on the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' 2026 Community Conservation Partnerships Program grants list dated October 7, 2026, for rehabilitating about 630 feet of the National Tunnel in Cecil Township

The state grant is the newest piece and the largest single award so far. The council also said one major application would go in before a key November deadline. Each funder has its own matching rules, which is why trail-user donations help bring in grant money. No construction contractor or start date has been announced yet.

Fall 2027, or later

The council's own target is fall 2027, "if all components come together as planned." Poe is more cautious. He told the Observer-Reporter he doesn't expect the tunnel to be ready before spring 2028. He still called it "a minor inconvenience for a long-term gain."

Either way, the split trail will last through at least one more winter. Last January, fresh snow turned the trail near Tandem Connection at MM 27 into a cross-country skiing route, which the council featured in its newsletter. Wolfe described the trail's role to the Observer-Reporter this way: "People use the trail as a Main Street where they walk their dogs, meet their friends, push their baby strollers."

The council posts updates on the rehabilitation plan at nationaltunnel.org, and its National Tunnel capital campaign page tracks fundraising. Its annual member meeting and dinner is November 8 at the Airport Marriott.

We follow stories like this one because they shape everyday life in the places our clients call home, from which lot you park in to which side of the tunnel your Saturday ride starts on. If you'd like to talk about Cecil Township, or just compare notes on the trail, Coulter & Castillo is always glad to hear from you. Contact Us.