[3] The ORTC is an Internal Revenue Service registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization which relies on corporate, foundation, government, and private grants and donations to achieve its stated mission of creating a multi-use trail along the Ohio River and its tributaries.

The Ohio River Trail Project was conceptualized on January 2, 2009, in coordination with Beaver County Planning Commission's Shared Greenways & Environmental Planner Doniele Andrus; the Borough of Monaca Manager Mario Leone Jr;[4] and Dr. Vincent Troia.

[7] The project includes the reallocation of abandoned rail corridors, bridges, interurban or trolley lines, and canal towpaths as public multi-use trails.

In addition, the Ohio River North Shore Extension includes the eight communities of Ambridge, Baden, Edgeworth, Freedom, Glen Osborne, Harmony Township, Leetsdale, and Sewickley.

The ORTC supports the design, construction and the installation of a kayak and canoe launch site in these areas with amenities including signage and a canoe/kayak storage rack.

The project is expected to bring economic boons to Western Pennsylvania through the growth of the construction and maintenance industries, in addition to tourism-related opportunities such as rafting tours, bicycle sales and rentals, restaurants, and lodging.

The campaign to build the rail trail that will eventually link Lake Erie with Washington, D.C., via Beaver County[8] has progressed to the point that the organizers, Vincent Troia and Mario Leone, are prepared to display their work.

Leone and Troia stated that the not-for-profit organization has already put together sufficient money for the match required for a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

[11] On January 6, 2010, the Ohio River Trail South Shore feasibility study began with a project steering committee meeting.

[16] On July 28, 2010, the Council was awarded a $10,000 grant by the Port of Pittsburgh Commission[17] on the understanding that it will be used to develop blueways and build bike and canoe racks at points in Rochester, Monaca, Bridgewater, and Ohioville.

[21] On October 15, 2010 the Ohio River Trail Council (ORTC) and its partner the Borough of Monaca, PA along with three of its partner municipalities, Aliquippa, Coraopolis and Midland has received a grant for a $150,000 United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Program Grant and Assistance to advance our ongoing regional brownfields revitalization.

Over the next year, the NPS Rivers & Trails staff will assist the ORTC with the completion of a Feasibility Study and to expand public involvement in the project.

[27][28][29][30][31][32] "In September of 2010, a planning grant was awarded to the Friends of the Riverfront to begin an effort to connect the Three Rivers Heritage Trail from the City of Pittsburgh to Coraopolis.

In addition, the RTCA supported the ORTC in a multi-state effort, which included eighteen counties in three states to link a system of trails in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

On April 6, 2011 the ORTC received a second grant from the Port of Pittsburgh Commission to establish a small watercraft launch in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.