Western Sussex Byway Earns Federal Grant

Georgetown, DE: The Western Sussex Byway is moving forward on the road from concept to reality, thanks to a recent federal grant.

The Delaware Department of Transportation announced this month that the Federal Highway Administration  has approved a $78,000 grant to byway organizers  to develop a corridor management plan. That plan will identify ways to draw attention to the historical and cultural landmarks along the path, a 35-mile route in the area of U.S. 13, snaking its way on existing back roads from Seaford to Bethel and Laurel.

The federal grant was the only one of its kind awarded to a Delaware applicant in 2011.

“The committee and I are thrilled that this project has earned this endorsement and this critical funding,” said C. Daniel Parsons, Sussex County’s Historic Preservation Planner and a member of the Western Sussex Byway Citizens committee. “This will go a long way to ensuring that the history and character of this very special area is highlighted and preserved for coming generations.”

The committee, with support from Sussex County government, can  now move forward in hiring a consultant to help draft the corridor management plan. It will identify strategies for maintaining, enhancing and marketing the byway, such as limits on the placement of billboards, and using signage, brochures, and interpretive tours to boost tourism.

The byway effort  has been moving forward in earnest since 2009, when Sussex County government agreed to sponsor the initiative to showcase the area’s rich history and promote rural tourism. Since then, DelDOT in March 2010 officially designated the route a Delaware byway, making it one of only six such routes in the First State.

The path, once complete, will link  well-known and some not-so-well-known landmarks in Western Sussex County, including sites such sites as the Cannon-Maston House, Old Christ Church, Trap Pond State Park and others.