DelDOT receives $21 million in federal funding to complete a trail in Sussex County.
The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity or RAISE grant program will kickstart construction of the final phase of a trail about 17-miles in length that will connect Georgetown to Lewes.
The multi-use path has approximately 6 miles left to be completed on the project that started in 2016, and is slated to be finished by the end of 2025.
This project is an 80%-20% funding split with the federal government paying the larger portion, this last piece is 100% federally funded thanks to this grant.
"If we hadn't received the award then we probably would have been upwards of 10 years before we could have completed it given the amount of money that would require. So having the grant award is going to give us the opportunity to have this thing done within say two, two and a half years. It's a great tourism tool for the state. It's a great community connector,” said Jeff Niezgoda, assistant director for DelDOT’s Division of Planning.
The part that’s open is heavily traveled with 1,500 to 1,600 riders and walkers using the trail per day according to Niezgoda.
"Once completed you'll have connection from Cape Henlopen State Park all the way through Lewes all the points along the route all the way to Georgetown, and it'll be completely off-road with road crossings in between but other than that it's all off-road on the railroad corridor," said Niezgoda.
New Castle County also received RAISE grant funds of 23-million-dollars to connect the Markell trail to Newport.
