Karl Baker

The News Journal

Construction of a new trail near downtown Wilmington is scheduled to start in November.

The project includes the arched crossing just east of I-95.

It creates a nearly uninterrupted pathway between Wilmington and New Castle.

For a decade, Delaware planners have focused on expanding the state's network of bike paths, arguing those trails can reduce both congestion and pollution.

The culmination of those efforts to date – a 345-foot wooden bridge across the Christina River – is set to break ground next month and when complete will be the "crown jewel" of Delaware's non-motorized trails, unleashing a flood of bicycle commuters into Wilmington, say transportation officials.

"There could be times when congestion on I-95 is so bad that someone could get from New Castle to the Wilmington Riverfront faster on a bike," said Jeff Niezgoda, a planning supervisor for the state Department of Transportation.

The $18.5 million project includes the arched crossing just east of I-95, a smaller bridge across Little Mill Creek leading to the Wilmington Riverfront and 2,300-foot boardwalk across marshland to link the two. To the south, it will connect with a 1.4-mile path opened in 2014, which leads to another trail system that stretches to Old New Castle.

The bridge is the last link of a system that has been built gradually and creates a nearly uninterrupted pathway between Wilmington and New Castle.

Because the pathway will give commuters a new artery into Delaware's largest city, federal dollars designed to reduced traffic congestion and improve air quality will cover 80 percent of the cost of construction of the bridge and boardwalk. State dollars will pay the remainder.

The opening of the span planned for late 2018 will trigger crews to take down barricades on pedestrian tunnels under I-295 and U.S. 13.

The tunnel under I-295, which is walled-off with cinder blocks, has kept the 1.4-mile paved path between I-295 and the Christina River mostly void of people since it was built in 2014.

The unused stretch of pathway is dotted with bike racks and kiosks describing area bird species. To its south, additional 10-foot-wide trails extend through residential areas as far south as Del. 273 and Battery Park in New Castle.

Crews from contractor JJID Inc. are scheduled to begin construction on the bridge – which will have a 15-foot clearance above the average water level – and the raised boardwalk along the wetlands to the north in the Russell W. Peterson Wildlife Refuge.

“When everything’s done, we see it as a major commuter link to Wilmington,” said Jon Husband, engineering and environmental services manager for New Castle County, who oversaw the county-led construction of the existing trails that stretch from Old New Castle to Minquadale.

The trails will also become part of the East Coast Greenway, a roughly 2,500-mile path connecting East Coast cities.

“It’s like an Appalachian Trail for bicycles,” Husband said.

When opened, New Castle County will be responsible for routine maintenance of the trail, including picking up trash and moving the grassy strips that line it, while DelDOT will be responsible for major repairs, and maintenance on the bridge across the Christina River.

Amber Dineen, a Manor Park resident, who lives near the path’s now closed off tunnel under I-295, said many people don’t have cars in her working-class neighborhood of modest, one-story homes. The trail, when connected to Wilmington in 2018, will be a nice addition to the area, she said.

“They need quicker access and sometimes they don’t have bus money,” she said. “Plus it’s good to get out and get healthy.”

James Wilson, executive director of Bike Delaware, said he is "giddy" about the prospect of the trail because current cycling options between Wilmington and New Castle – alongside high-speed vehicles on U.S. 13 or Del. 9 – are dangerous.

"There are a small number of heroic people [currently] biking between Wilmington and New Castle," Wilson said.

The trail will also give visitors to the Riverfront the option to arrive along a route that showcases its unique natural setting, he said.

"If you drive, you might as well be going to the Christiana Mall," Wilson said.

DelDOT officials in 2015 said they wanted to link the streets of New Castle County's suburban communities to nearby neighborhoods with bike and pedestrian lanes. Niezgoda said the Industrial Track trail is consistent with that goal.

Gov. Jack Markell said the bridge and larger Industrial Track trail is part of a statewide effort to expand biking options, called First State Trails and Pathways Initiative. Delaware has approximately 506 miles of public pedestrian and cycling trails.

"Dozens of miles of new trails and pathways have been constructed to more fully integrate our hundreds of miles of existing routes into a world-class regional trail network," said Markell in a statement. "I’m thrilled that we’re breaking ground on the Christina River crossing for the New Castle Industrial Track Trail, which establishes a critical new link within our state’s trail network and the East Coast greenway."

DelDOT spokesman Geoff Sundstom said the Christina River bridge and the Industrial Track Trail are the "centerpiece" of Markell's initiative.

“It is the crown jewel,” he said.

While there is a push for new trails in the state, including linking suburban cul-de-sacs with non-motorized pathways, some neighbors in various Delaware communities have expressed worries about what a new non-motorized pipeline will bring.

Kim, another Manor Park resident, who declined to provide her last name, said the area already suffers from the encroachment of drug users and prostitution onto their streets from nearby U.S. 13. A pathway will only encourage more, she said.

“We chase prostitutes out of here all of the time,” she said.

Niezgoda argues the opposite happens when the trail opens. Regular cyclists, joggers, and walkers will drive out unsavory activity, he said.

“Once you start getting the trail users on there, [criminals] start moving on,” he said.

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New Castle County police spokesman JP Piser could not comment on future police patrols along the trail because he wasn't certain whether they would have jurisdiction on the path.

“I can tell you that we have a bike patrol unit and our mounted police routinely patrol areas [both on horse and on ATVs] that are difficult for patrol vehicles to access,” Piser said. “Speaking from experience, our patrol officers routinely conduct foot patrol through walking paths [both constructed and improvised] in our communities.”

Dineen, the other Minquadale resident, who grew up in the neighborhood, said the area will be better off with a path, and when it opens her dog will be one of its beneficiaries.

"I have to take this little demon out," Dineen said.

Next up for transportation officials, she said, is to consider a bike share system in the New Castle area, similar to those used in Philadelphia, New York City and Washington, D.C.

“Maybe we could get some city bikes too,” Dineen said. “Not everybody has bikes.”

Contact Karl Baker at (302) 324-2329 or kbaker@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @kbaker6.

By the numbers

345

Feet of new pedestrian bridge over Christina River near downtown Wilmington

2,300

Feet of boardwalk across marsh as part of project

18.5 million

Construction cost, in dollars

80

Percentage of project covered by federal funds

2018

Year when project is scheduled to open