Greenway expansion bolstered by $11.3 million in new Congressional support

Nine different East Coast Greenway and trail-adjacent projects will be supported by $11.3 million in Congressionally-directed spending in 2022, according to recent announcements. 

As part of the omnibus spending bill, four Greenway projects across three states will receive $6.4 million in federal funding, while five additional projects that are adjacent to the 3,000-mile Maine-to-Florida route are slated for $4.9 million in support. 

“This funding is a testament to the hard work of our field staff and volunteers, who inspired nine members of Congress to fund Greenway progress,” said Alliance Executive Director Dennis Markatos-Soriano. “Building on $550 million in public investment in East Coast Greenway projects in 2021, we again have tremendous momentum in the first quarter of this year.”

For the first time in over a decade, members of Congress were able to directly fund projects in their districts through what are commonly referred to as earmarks. 

In Pennsylvania, $2.5 million “will support design and construction of the 1.8 mile bicycle and pedestrian trail from Princeton Avenue to the Tacony-Holmesburg Trail in Northeast Philadelphia.” According to a press release from Congressman Brendan Boyle, “this funding will relieve congestion, improve bicycle and pedestrian safety, and provide renewed access to the riverfront.” 

In Virginia, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine advocated for $2 million “for construction of the southern portion of the new Fall Line Trail in Petersburg and through Virginia State University in Ettrick,” according to the Richmond TImes-Dispatch. When complete, the proposed 43-mile Fall Line Trail will complete the East Coast Greenway in Metro Richmond, from Petersburg to Ashland. 

New England received nearly $2 million for two East Coast Greenway projects. In Maine, $700,000 will fund 11 miles of final design for the Eastern Trail from Kennebunk to North Berwick, according to Rep. Chellie Pingree via the Portland Press-Herald. 

Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, “$1.2 million will be directed towards the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s engineering, design and development of unfinished sections of the Border to Boston Trail in Peabody, Boxford, Georgetown, Newbury, Marblehead and Swampscott,” according to Rep. Seth Moulton via The Daily Item.

The five East Coast Greenway-adjacent projects are highlighted by “$3 million to begin work on the next phase of Savannah’s Truman Linear Park Trail, part of the Tide to Town trail network,” according to a press release from Sen. Reverend Raphael Warnock. 

Others include:

• $500,000 for Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania’s Bristol Waterfront Park and Maple Beach Road Bridge Improvements

• $500,000 for Trenton, New Jersey’s Artwalk Project

• $500,000 for Restoration of the Benjamin Cooper Tavern in Camden County, New Jersey

• $424,000 for the Avon, Connecticut, sidewalks project

In addition, funding allocated to the Maine Department of Transportation for two projects will improve the East Coast Greenway interim route along U.S. Route 1 in Camden and Bangor Street in Augusta. 

“This funding is a great kickoff to the historic infrastructure moment we are in. Together, we can build on the momentum and complete the East Coast Greenway,” Markatos-Soriano says.