Course Update: Lower Trail Bridge Closure

Friends and participants –

We’ve got an important course update for you. On the Lower Trail, the Dilling Bridge (mile 11.4 of the Ironstone 100K course) is officially closed by the Central Pennsylvania Rails-to-Trails Association. This bridge, which spans the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River between Aid Station 2 (Williamsburg) and Aid Station 3 (Mount Etna Furnace), has been deemed unsafe for travel. Engineers found that the abutments are undermined and the steel supports corroded.

When will the bridge reopen?

Not anytime soon. With funding, grant applications, and permitting ahead, full reconstruction could take years. The good news? The Lower Trail is part of both the 9/11 National Memorial Trail and the Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg Main Line Canal Greenway—which means plenty of strong partners at the local, regional, state, and national levels are committed to getting this bridge open again ASAP.

What does this mean for Ironstone 100K? Is the race cancelled?

Nope! Not a chance.

We’re working on three possible solutions:

1. A reroute from Williamsburg – heading down Fox Run Road to Overlook Road, and rejoining the trail at the Covedale Station Trailhead (yep, the spot with the roosters and chickens ). This is a 3.8-mile detour and just 0.45 extra miles overall.

2. Private land access – we’re in conversations with local landowners who may allow us a one-day passage to bypass the closure.

3. A water crossing – a straight-up fording of the river. And if you’ve run Eastern States at Tomb Flats, you know how much we love a good water crossing!

What we won’t do:

We will not cut the Lower Trail section from the race. This rail-trail has become legendary, and it’s an essential part of what makes Ironstone 100K, well, Ironstone.

Thank you for supporting local, grassroots, not-for-profit trail racing in Pennsylvania. You are the reason this race exists—and the reason it thrives.