Remove Obstructions

In the 1950s (after commercial canal operations ceased in 1931), highways and railroads were constructed in a manner that sent the canal thru undersized culverts in the Morrisville / Falls Township area. This could not have happened today, because this national historic landmark is now protected against such encroachments by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA, passed in 1969).

Although some recent efforts have mitigated the effects on the trail, these two obstructions continue to restrict canal water flow and have resulted in multiple canal overspilling events into adjacent neighborhoods (two miles from the center of Morrisville).

• Railway Crossing (CSX) - [mile 7.7] - A trail-only culvert was constructed through the embankment by DCNR and partners in 2019, but the railroad embankment remains an obstruction to the water management system.

• Tyburn Road Interchange (with Old Bristol Pike) - [mile 8.7] – DCNR negotiated a towpath detour around this obstacle, but the functionally obsolete highway geometry above the canal needs to be redesigned to allow both the waterway and the trail to pass beneath it unobstructed.

These obstructions not only severely limit the capability of the State to safely operate the canal between Yardley and Bristol during a storm surge, but additionally require staff to routinely remove debris that chronically clogs these undersized culverts.

Since addressing only one of these obstructions will merely change where the overspilling and flooding occurs, they both need to be addressed with a single re-engineering effort.

This task is the second part of a more comprehensive hydraulic solution that Delaware Canal 21 is pursuing as its 2024 Demonstration Project. Click below to learn more about it: