Allegheny County has hired a consultant that will complete the development plan for a 32-mile trail along the Allegheny River between Millvale and Harrison.

The selection of McTish Kunkel & Associates will allow the county to begin the mapping process for the proposed Allegheny Valley Trail, which will connect 18 municipalities.

"We've established a coalition of boroughs, townships, trail groups and greenway advocates to build a continuous riverfront trail that will expand recreational and economic development opportunities," said Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, who created the Allegheny Valley Community Trail Initiative last year to start work on the project.

The consultant will help plot the actual course by determining land ownership, identifying challenging terrain, studying potential usage, and evaluating trail linkages, said Mr. Onorato.

The Allegheny Valley Community Trail Initiative, a coalition of municipal leaders, trail groups, greenway advocates, and elected officials from the 18 communities.

They include Aspinwall, Blawnox, Brackenridge, Cheswick, East Deer, Etna, Fox Chapel, Frazer, Harmar, Harrison, Millvale, O'Hara, Pittsburgh, Shaler, Sharpsburg, Springdale Borough, Springdale Township and Tarentum.

Other partners include the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Allegheny River Towns Enterprise Zone, Friends of the Riverfront, and Fox Chapel District Association.

Once completed, the Allegheny Valley Trail will tie into the Erie-to-Pittsburgh Greenway and the Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg Mainline Canal Greenway, which follows the 320-mile path of the historic Pennsylvania Mainline Canal.