A large crowd of cyclists gathered Tuesday to celebrate the opening of the new half mile trail connecting Delaware City to the Mike Castle Trail along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
Carol Ireland was among those to hit the trail immediately after the ribbon-cutting event.
It’s nice to have an alternative even for road bikers," Ireland said. "Because when you get on the trail you can actually carry on conversations with people, it can be very social.”
Delaware City Mayor Stanley Green says the trail will help Delaware City maintain its charm.
But the opening of the Delaware City Branch Canal Trail was no small feat.
New Castle Conservation District’s Kevin Donnelly says the process started in 2008 and the creation of the trail along the wetland preserve has required multiple layers of dirt to be added, months apart.
Only once the layers settled and compacted could the asphalt be added, which was completed over the weekend. Donnelly says conservation of the wetlands will continue into the fall, with the planting of wetland plants and other habitat.
“We now have a tide gate that prevents water from coming in and so we have fresh water runoff that’s coming into the wetland, being cleaned, filtered, then it goes out through a kind of one-way pipe into the Branch Canal," he said.
There’s also a historic aspect: the African Union Cemetery, accessible from the trail. Willis Phelps is the President of the African Union Church Cemetery.
“Delaware is the hub of American history," Phelps said. "It’s like the hub of a wagon wheel where the spokes go out North, South, East and West and then they reach out all over the world.”
The tombstones of five veterans of the American Civil War, United States Colored Troops have been preserved at the site. A new plaza is also being constructed along the trail, and the grand opening will take place September 17th.
It’s now connected to the full 15.2 mile continuous trail extending from Delaware City to Chesapeake City. That trail is expected to open later this summer.
Governor Jack Markell says another of the state’s bike trail projects will connect the Wilmington waterfront to Old New Castle by 2018.