D&L Trail Connection Will Aid Access To Delaware Canal
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A major obstacle in the completion of the 165-mile Delaware & Lehigh Trail is a step closer to being eliminated, thanks to a recent award that will close gaps in the trail in Lower Bucks County and promote a regional network of multi-use trails within the Greater Philadelphia area.
A $471,000 grant from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Regional Trails Program – funded through the William Penn Foundation - paired with $1.69 million of Federal Transportation Enhancement funds secured by the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, will be used to connect two segments of the D&L Trail in Tullytown Borough, Bucks County, that are currently disconnected by U.S. Route 13.
The project is being administered by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The disconnected sections of the D&L Trail will be brought together by a tunnel constructed underneath the four-lane Route 13. The trail will follow the old towpath of the Delaware Canal, which was filled in at Route 13 during the 1950s.
The D&L Trail, which will run from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol when complete, has been identified as a “Regional Trunk Trail” connecting Lower Bucks County to Philadelphia and extending north into the Lehigh and Wyoming valleys.
DCNR has worked closely with the Heritage Corridor for nearly a decade to secure funding for the Route 13 project.
Once completed, the tunnel underneath Route 13 will allow trail users in Lower Bucks County greater access to Delaware Canal State Park, which parallels the Delaware River through Bucks and Northampton counties and ends in Easton.
(Reprinted from the November 23 issue of DCNR's Resource online newsletter.)
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11/28/2011 |
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