Authored By: The Circuit Trails | January 13, 2017

Great news, trail-lovers—earlier this week, Governor Wolf and PennDot Secretary Leslie Richards announced federal funding for 51 projects to build and improve transportation alternatives in Pennsylvania, which includes a few trails on the Circuit! Have a look below to see how the funding will impact trails near you.

K&T Trail: The K&T Trail was awarded $1 million to construct 0.6 miles of trail between Magee Avenue and Princeton Avenue on the Delaware River. Ultimately, this trail will connect the Wissinoming and Tacony neighborhoods in Philadelphia. This project is also part of the East Coast Greenway.

Tookany Creek Trail: This Montgomery County trail was given $700,000 to create a 1-mile segment between Harrison Avenue and New Second Street in Cheltenham Township.  The project also includes a 135-foot-long pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Tookany Creek.

Neshaminy Greenway Trail: New Britain Township received $375,000 to help complete a missing link in the Neshaminy Greenway Trail between Lenape Lane and Upper State Road in Bucks County. This ADA-compliant, shared-use path will provide a connection to the 202 Parkway Trail.

In addition to these three new Circuit Trails projects, some of the other transportation alternative funds will create important connections that extend trails beyond the Circuit.

Coopersburg Borough: In Lehigh County, a connection between the Saucon Trail and Upper Bucks Rail Trail was funded as part of a $938,856 grant.  Trail users on the Upper Bucks Rail Trail, a Circuit Trail, will be able to continue on into Lehigh County thanks to this new connection!

Radnor Township: Radnor received $1 million for the construction of the Radnor TAP Trail, creating a 7.6-mile on-road and off-road bicycle route throughout most of the township. This new project appears to connect to the existing 2.4-mile Radnor Trail on the Circuit.

Schuylkill River Trail: Reading received $910,099 to create an easily accessible trail segment from Reading Area Community College to Buttonwood Street. While this segment is not on the Circuit, this project moves the Schuylkill River Trail, a trunk trail of the Circuit, closer to completion.

We recently took a look ahead to what’s in store for the Circuit in 2017, and what that means for the overall goal of building 500 miles by 2025. With steady and increased funding like this, we are on our way to meeting this goal and ensuring that everyone in our region can enjoy well-maintained trails with friends, family and pets alike. It’s only the middle of January, but we can’t help but be incredibly optimistic about the rest of the year on the Circuit!  

To read more about the 51 PennDOT Projects funded across the state, visit the Governor’s website.