During a visit to the Lehigh Valley late last week, Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis stopped in Easton to announce a state investment of $500,000 in the development of the Easton Highline. The ambitious project will transform an abandoned elevated railroad trestle into a trail for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
“Many Pennsylvania communities have paid a price for our industrial past. We were left with shuttered steel mills and abandoned railways. That’s changing now. We’re redeveloping former industrial sites and revitalizing communities like Easton.”
The Easton Highline is intended to connect to the existing Two Rivers Trailway and the D&L Trail, currently spanning 165 miles. The project will include development of just over a mile of new trail in Easton and West Easton Borough.
A federal grant was previously provided for the project, but has since been rescinded. The Shapiro-Davis Administration stepped in to fill that gap.
Easton Highline will be the only highline trail in the country to span two states, stretching from Easton to Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Northampton County Executive Tara Zrinski emphasized these improvements’ contribution to the local economy, with outdoor recreation pulling in more than $236 million in the County annually, as well as contributing to quality of life.
“And these investments create more trails and parks, they create alternative transportation routes, support healthy living, and strengthen our local economy and tourism sector.”
The grant is part of $82 million awarded to 295 outdoor access projects across Pennsylvania. Since the grant program began, 440,000 acres have been permanently protected, 40% of local parks statewide have received funding, and 90% of Pennsylvanians live in a community that has benefitted from a grant.
