Spring has arrived, and so have significant upgrades to the Strip District portion of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail.

The Buncher Company reopened the riverfront trail today between 11th Street near the David L. Lawrence Convention Center upriver to 15th Street [map], where a new brick plaza connects Waterfront Place to the riverfront. A detour at 15th Street takes trail users across that plaza to Waterfront Place’s road and sidewalks; the riverfront Heritage Trail remains closed between 15th and 21st Streets until further notice. RELATED: Get the latest Three Rivers Heritage Trail updates via Friends of the Riverfront’s website.

Improvements include a wider trail with a strip of Belgian block pavers, new light posts, railings, and landscaping. Updates to this portion of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail were recommended in the Strip District Riverfront Park Vision Plan, which was released in 2015 as a guiding vision for future public open space development along the Strip’s portion of the Allegheny River.

The Strip District portion of the trail has been closed since last year for the construction of the $450 million Riverfront Landing residential development on 37 acres of Buncher property. 365 residential rental housing units are expected to be built as part of the first phase of the residential development.

As with all trail closures and detours, users should exercise caution.