Skip to main content

Twin Rivers Scenic Road - A Mon Valley Mystery

Image
By

It's been a curiosity of mine for as long as I can remember.  What is, and where did the Twin Rivers Scenic Road southeast of Pittsburgh go?  And believe it or not, I am not alone on this.

About 35 years ago, these blue and green signs that read "Twin Rivers Scenic Road" started popping up everywhere I went around my childhood home.  I couldn't drive yet, but I wanted to know the route and where it went.  I saw them on Route 48 and McKeesport Road in Elizabeth.  

As I grew older and began driving, I forgot about this "scenic road" since I was more interested in exploring roads I had never traveled before.  Around 1999, I became curious about this road again.  And in transportation forums, a handful of Pittsburghers tried to hypothesize where the driving tour went and what and why it existed.

Fast forward to 2021, and a post in a Facebook group asking about the now completely faded signs; and what the road was for rekindled my interest in solving this mystery.

So what is this "Twin Rivers Scenic Road", where did it go, and where and why did it come about?

A McKeesport-located Twin Rivers Scenic Road sign in better days (2000). Photo by Bruce Cridlebaugh.

What:

My best guess is that this was a touring route created by the now-defunct Twin Rivers Council of Governments (TRCOG.)  The driving tour most likely promoted local tourism and/or recreation activities in and along the Monongahela and Youghiogheny Rivers in Southeastern Allegheny County.  The Twin Rivers Scenic Road (TRSR) had a spur to the Boston Riverfront Park off of PA 48, the Elizabeth Waterfront Park, and Allegheny County's Round Hill Park.  A few Google and Newspaper Archive searches came up with next to nothing.  E-mails seem to agree with the TRCOG theory or possibly the Mon-Yough Riverfront Entertainment Council - which is also defunct.

The TRCOG theory seems to me to be the best because of the name "Twin Rivers."

Recreating the Route:

Here is where the fun begins.  In the map below, I try to figure out the route of the TRSR. Green pinpoints are where Twin River Scenic Road signs that still exist.  Blue pinpoints are where signs were known to exist (either verified via streetview or prior discussions).  Purple pinpoints were known "destinations" of the TRSR as they had larger signs in the same style as the road markers and named that park.  The Blue driving lines are what I know of as confirmed routes (by existing signs or prior discussions).  Pink lines are what I theorize the route to be. Purple is another possible route based theorizing White Oak Park was part of the destinations.  This is based on past discussions on the route.

Discussions 20 years ago mention signs were located on Lincoln Way east of White Oak - which makes me believe that White Oak Park was involved.  All of the communities the route goes through - Elizabeth Borough, Elizabeth Township, Forward Township, Glassport, McKeesport, White Oak, Versailles, etc. were all members of the TRCOG.  Since the nearby community of West Newton was also a member, the Twin Rivers Scenic Road could possibly have been routed there.  However, the remaining signs do not support that possibility.

It's basically hard to recognize the remaining TRSR signs today. (Mike Natale - October 2021.)

What is known is that there are at least four remaining signs of the route, all in poor condition - faded nearly beyond recognition.  Signs at the Boston Bridge were still up in 2012 but were gone by 2016.

Why:

The economic/recreational tourism promotion is probably the best theory.  The Yellow and Orange Belts of the Allegheny County Belt System intersect and travel along the TRSR, so a basic navigational wayfinding system was already in place.  In the late 1980s, the wayfinding you find in many towns - a result of many Main Street programs - was 20+ years away.  The earliest known reference of the Twin Rivers Scenic Road is a Carnegie Mellon University post in 1991 about bike riding in the Mon Valley.  It describes the Monogahela River section of the route.

I don't recall any brochures about the route or any local promotion.  It appears the signs went up and if you wanted to figure it out - by all means, go for it.  I am sure the TRCOG or whoever created the route did some publicity about it, but as of this writing, nothing has been found.

One of four known remaining TRSR signs - (Mike Natale - November 2021.)

So this mystery of the route isn't completely solved.  But with the help of technology we didn't have 20 years ago (social media and Google Streetview), we've been able to piece together some pieces of the puzzle.  Yet a few questions remain.  When did the route get signed, who or what organization was behind the scenic road, and what was its purpose?  

If you have any information, photos of any other remaining signage, or otherwise about the route - feel free to leave a comment or drop me an e-mail.

Site Navigation:

Sources & Links:


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Bayshore Freeway (US Route 101)

By
The Bayshore Freeway is a 56.4-mile component of US Route 101 located in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The Bayshore Freeway connects the southern extent of San Jose to the Central Freeway in the city of San Francisco.  The corridor was originally developed as the Bayshore Highway between 1923 and 1937.  The Bayshore Highway would serve briefly as mainline US Route 101 before being reassigned as US Route 101 Bypass in 1938.  Conceptually the designs for the Bayshore Freeway originated in 1940 but construction would be delayed until 1947.  The Bayshore Freeway was completed by 1962 and became mainline US Route 101 during June 1963.   Part 1; the history of the Bayshore Freeway Prior the creation of the Bayshore Highway corridor the most commonly used highway between San Jose and San Francisco was El Camino Real (alternatively known as Peninsula Highway).  The  American El Camino Real  began as an early example of a signed as an Auto Trail starting in 1906.  The era of State Highway Mainte
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 in Paso Robles Paso Robles ("Pass of the
Post a Comment
Read more

Paper Highways; US Route 20 Alternate over Teton Pass

By
The 8,431 foot high Teton Pass lies in the Teton Range of the Rocky Mountains within Teton County, Wyoming.  Presently Teton Pass is crossed by Wyoming Highway 22 and Idaho State Highway 33.  At one point the highway over Teton Pass was signed as US Route 20 Alternate.  US Route 20 Alternate was over Teton Pass never formally approved by the American Association of State Highway Officials nor has the corridor ever been officially part of a US Route.  The image above was taken from the 1949 Rand McNally Map of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana which shows US Route 20 Alternate branching from US Route 20/US Route 191 near Sugar City, Idaho and crossing Teton Pass towards Jackson, Wyoming.   The history of US Route 20 Alternate over Teton Pass No major Auto Trail was ever assigned to Teton Pass as evidenced by the 1925 Rand McNally Map of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming .  On the Wyoming side Teton Pass can be seen as part of Wyoming Highway 25 ("WY 25") whereas no State Highway is shown to
Post a Comment
Read more