New year, new riverfront spot for boating, fishing, and chasing sunsets — the dock at Allegheny Landing is open.
Originally slated for completion later this month, the construction of the dock at Allegheny Landing has been completed ahead of schedule and is now open for public use.
Rendered unusable by an ice floe in 2018, the dock at Allegheny Landing has been sorely missed by boaters, kayakers, fishers, and people who love a good photographic backdrop.
In 2022, Riverlife worked with public and private funders via the Pennsylvania Waterfront Development Tax Credit to rebuild the boat dock with resiliency at the forefront of its design. Riverlife is Pittsburgh’s only designated Waterfront Development organization.
Building With Resiliency
This past October, Riverlife contracted marine construction company Marion Hill Associates, Zottola Construction, and a host of specialty engineers and contractors to bring the well-loved dock back to life. Donning wetsuits and protective gear to dip into the cold waters of the Allegheny, divers from Marion Hill Associates were able to tear down and reconstruct the public dock with resiliency at the forefront of its design.
“We’d be lying if we said we didn’t get a bit anxious when the ice started to build up on the river in December,” joked Riverlife President and CEO Matt Galluzzo. “But the brand new dock held strong through the freeze.”
The Past, Present, and Future of Allegheny Landing
Allegheny Landing Park, dedicated in 1984, is one of the first urban riverfront sculpture parks in the nation and has been a prominent fixture in the sightline of Pittsburgh’s riverfront.
This restoration effort will improve Allegheny Landing’s public waterfront with a usable dock for the recreational and transient boating community, kayakers and paddle boarders, and everyone who enjoys the riverfronts. Secure and elegant fencing along the park’s waterfront will be installed, as well as advanced landscape management adjacent to the proposed installations.
Riverlife’s big-picture plan for the upper plaza of Allegheny Landing Park is in progress. The restoration of the dock is one part of a seismic project that will create an immersive destination between Allegheny Landing Park and Allegheny Riverfront Park on Ft. Duquesne Boulevard, connected by the iconic Sister Bridges.
“We envision the historic Sister Bridges bridges, illuminated by a permanent light installation, and the water between them as the glue that will pull together the Warhol’s POP District and the Cultural District,” said Galluzzo. “We want to create a seamless and unforgettable experience that you cannot find anywhere else.”
Stay tuned for exciting things coming up with Riverlife.
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