Slatington Awarded Grant for Slate Heritage Trail, Mako and Browne Say
HARRISBURG – Rep. Zach Mako (R-Lehigh/Northampton) and Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh) today announced a $105,488 grant has been awarded to Slatington Borough for repair of Slate Heritage Trail.
Mako and Browne advocated for the funding through the Commonwealth Financing Authority’s Greenway, Trails and Recreation Program, which funds projects for planning, acquisition, development, rehabilitation and repair of greenways, recreational trails, open spaces and parks.
“One of Slatington’s treasures is its trail and access to the Lehigh River,” Mako said. “By rehabilitating the trail, this will encourage more recreational opportunities which improve the health and wellness of both residents and visitors. With more people staying close to home in the past couple of years, the areas that need improvement became more apparent. I look forward to taking my dog, Winston, for a walk on the trail once the project is complete.”
“Our region’s extensive trail network continues to provide residents with tremendous outdoor recreational opportunities, improving the quality of life in our region,” Browne said. “I am pleased to have worked with Rep. Mako to help ensure that Slatington has the funds necessary to maintain and restore its portion of this incredible network.”
The grant will be used to rehabilitate and restore the trail that connects to the Slatington Trailhead, which is part of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and links to the Walnutport Canal towpath, the Appalachian Trail and the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. More specifically, the project will repair the trail surface, make improvements to drainage, re-deck the trestle bridge, extend the safety fence and repair the covered bridge parking area.
The 183rd District includes South Whitehall (part), Washington and Whitehall (part) townships and Slatington Borough in Lehigh County. It also consists of Allen, Lehigh and Moore (part) townships, and North Catasauqua, Northampton and Walnutport boroughs in Northampton County.
The 16th Senatorial District includes Heidelberg, Lower Macungie, Lower Milford, Lowhill, Lynn, North Whitehall, South Whitehall, Upper Macungie, Upper Milford, Upper Saucon, Washington and Weisenberg townships; Alburtis, Coopersburg, Macungie and Slatington boroughs; and the city of Allentown in Lehigh County.