Work Part of New Brandywine Creek State Park Trail Plan
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced that a section of the Brandywine Trail will be closed until early May for improvements. This is the first project to be implemented from the recently approved Brandywine Creek State Park Trail Plan.
The trail will be closed from Rockland Road to Rocky Run Bridge, which is along the trail. The small parking lot at the Rockland Road trail head will be closed for construction equipment. Closures will be marked with signage and updates will be posted to the Brandywine Creek State Park Facebook page.
The DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation will pave and complete drainage repairs to the trail, which lies over an old roadbed that was once paved with macadam. The volume of water that flows off neighboring developments and downward over the Brandywine Trail causes stone debris to wash into the Brandywine Creek. This project is approximately $475,000 from Statewide Trails and Pathways funding. The trail plan also calls for resurfacing the Brandywine Trail from Thompson’s Bridge Road to the state park’s boundary line with First State National Historical Park in the near future.
“This work will minimize material that washes from the trail into Brandywine Creek during flooding events and allows greater access to people with disabilities,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “Hardening a trail surface is never our first choice, but this is the best option for a sustainable riverside trail that can withstand heavy storm events and high usage.”
Nearly 90,000 walks, hikes, runs and bike rides are taken along the Brandywine Creek State Park’s portion of the Brandywine Trail annually. This shared-use trail is a segment of the Northern Delaware Greenway, which traverses several state and county parks in northern New Castle County. Trail-related activities are the No. 1 outdoor recreation activities in Delaware to fulfill public needs and trends, according to the 2018-2023 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan.
The Brandywine Creek State Park Trail Plan was created to guide trail investments and improvement for the next 10 years. Public engagement began in October 2015 with an open house, followed by input from a stakeholder working group and a survey for members of the public. After COVID-19 delayed plan progress, the final draft was presented at public meetings to the Delaware Parks and Recreation Council’s in February 2022 and the Council on Greenways and Trails in May before final approval by the division June 1, 2022.
The plan includes surface improvements to achieve a higher level of sustainability for 8.4 miles, or 50%, Brandywine Creek State Park’s trails. The division also aims to increase accessible trails in the park by 2.2 miles. Other goals in the plan are to ensure the trail system is safe, minimize impact to high quality habitats, and reduce erosion and associated issues.
The division will also commence work on a separate project at the park later this year to replace the existing Thompson Bridge composting pit toilet facility with a new concrete building. Once complete, the bathroom will be ADA-accessible and have flushless vault toilets, engineered ventilation, comfortable lighting, a modern interior and an exterior that fits the setting. Closures in that area will be minimal, limited to weekdays and announced via Facebook.
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~ DNREC
