The Delaware Bicycle Council approved a $35,000 grant Dec. 3, to Sussex County to help fund a feasibility study for a Route 9 tunnel crossing near Cool Spring Road to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians.

Council members present at the meeting voted 12-0 to give 2025 Cycling Infrastructure Innovation grants of $35,000 to Sussex County and $15,000 to Newark.

Sussex County would use its allocation toward a study of a potential tunnel for the Lewes to Georgetown Trail, County Administrator Todd Lawson said Dec. 4. 

“This is just for us to study whether the feasibility of putting a tunnel in that location works,” Lawson said. “We view this as a kick-start of an idea we are looking into.”

Sussex County Council will have to approve the balance of the study’s estimated $45,000 cost, he said.

The trail connects to Lewes, and the state is in the process of extending it the rest of the way to Georgetown.

“The biking community and users of the Georgetown to Lewes Trail have contacted Sussex County for an improved crossing at this location,” said John Fiori, the Delaware Department of Transportation bicycle coordinator who assists the council.

Currently, the only crossing of Route 9 for the trail is at the signalized intersection of Route 9/Fisher Road/Hudson Road, which was constructed by DelDOT, Fiori said.

But safety of the crossing is a growing concern as traffic on Route 9 has been increasing, with housing and commercial developments in the area and more planned.

A developer has proposed building 1,922 houses and 450,975 square feet of commercial space between Hudson and Cool Spring roads. Safety of the Route 9 crossing west of Lewes was discussed briefly at a Nov. 2 public hearing on that development project, which is located near the Route 9 trail crossing.

A Route 9 crossing project was championed for a couple of years by Walter Bryan, a bicycle council member who died in April.

Several alternatives for a crossing have been discussed over the years, including a bridge spanning Route 9.

The idea of a bridge was dropped for several reasons, including the angle of the crossing would require a very long span and there are high-voltage power lines running along the highway.

If the feasibility study supports the project, the county would have to convince the state and federal governments to fund and build a tunnel, Lawson said.

Sussex County Land Trust would also be involved in the project, he said. The group owns the Stephen P. Hudson Park near the potential Route 9 crossing site. It includes a trailhead parking lot.

The bicycle council’s five-member working group met with eight applicants as it worked to determine how to divide the $50,000 that is available, Fiori said.

Applications were ranked based on five categories: proximity to other bicycle routes or public facilities such as a community center, post office, library, school or park; creating a link between compatible facilities; eliminating hazards; inclusion in a master plan; and ability to complete the project.

Lawson said the Lewes-to-Georgetown Trail is exceeding all expectations, making an improved crossing an important project. The anticipated completion of the trail will bring many more users, but also increased need for a safe crossing, he said.

“People are going to be very attracted to that,” Lawson said. “It will exceed all expectations.”