The September 11 National Memorial Trail is an evolving
network of off-road multi-use trails, greenways and
scenic roads and byways that link the three National
Memorials dedicated to the memory of those who died in
the tragic events of September 11, 2001; the World
Trade Center Memorial in New York City, the Pentagon
Memorial in Washington D.C., and the United Airlines
Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Conceptually, they form a roughly triangular
pilgrimage route that eventually will not only link
the national memorials, but will link to cities, towns
and communities along the way that are home to local
memorials and significant sites that reflect that
spirit of American patriotism, resilience and
perseverance that brought the nation back from the
tragic events of the day and forged a great nation.
As a “pilgrimage trail”, the vision for the September
11th National Memorial Trail is a bit more modern than
the historic image of sincere devotees on an arduous
journey to a religious shrine. The vision focuses on
the nature of and significance of the sites linked
with a goal of encouraging and facilitating use by as
much of the population as possible so that they may
all share in the experience.
CTC and it associates, Laird LA, PLLC and TPW Design
Studios, were retained by the Alliance as the
trail/greenway planning consultants to assist the
Steering Committee in developing the feasibility study
for the northerly section of the triangular route,
through Pennsylvania. The route starts as the network
comes into PA, from the Pentagon Memorial, at the
Great Allegheny Passage trailhead in Garrett; will
link to the Flight 93 National Memorial near
Shanksville; then proceed generally east across the
state to the vicinity of the Delaware Water Gap where
in will link with the trail route through NJ to the
World Trade Center Memorial. The CTC consultant team’s
tasks included mapping, field review, soliciting
public and stakeholder input, developing the analysis,
making recommendations and preparing a final report.
The consultant team’s work also included developing
the preliminary design for the first section of the
trail to be officially opened in Pennsylvania, the
link from the Great Allegheny Passage to the Flight 93
Memorial. The goal is to have this section open by
September 11th 2016, the 15th anniversary of the
tragic event and the year of the 100th anniversary of
the National Park Service.
