After several years of discussions, cost considerations and design concepts and both public support and criticism, the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors gave approval at their Oct. 4 meeting to the development of the Chandler Mill Greenway Project by JVI Group, Inc., a York, Pa.-based construction company, at a price of $2,774,385.

The township received another cost estimation for the project from Road-Con, Inc., who provided a bid in the amount of $3,906,178.

JVI Group, Inc. will construct two asphalt trails from Hillendale Road to Oriole Road, and from Round Hill Road to the parking lot across the road from the Brandywine Red Clay Alliance, which will include the construction of a scenic overlook.

The width of the paved trail will vary between six and eight feet, and its pathway will vary between being immediately adjacent to the Chandler Mill Road to four feet from the road. Paving of the trail will be completed before June 30, 2024, plantings will be installed in the fall of 2024 and the completed trail will be open to the public by the end of 2024. 

The township will also apply a $1.174 million grant to pay for the development of the trail.

Of the $2.7 million price tag, $1.3 million will be dedicated toward the cost of the repair and stabilization of the streambank at two locations along the western branch of the Red Clay Creek, which Public Works Director Ted Otteni said is a proactive solution that will preserve the long-term stability of the trail.

“It could be said that within the next flood or two, the road will be compromised, which is why we are recommending getting the streambank restoration done now,” Otteni said during his presentation to the board. “In addition to protecting the road, the streambank stabilization is going to do a lot toward minimizing the sediment loads that we find in our streams.”

From the time the first ideas for the Chandler Mill Greenway Project were introduced, it has absorbed the slings and arrows of many critics who contended – and continue to contend – that the township has spent too much money on a design of this kind. They have also taken the township to task for a project whose paved infrastructure will destroy the natural feel of a trail and require the need to remove several older trees along the road. 

One critic – Kennett Township resident Peter Doehring – addressed his continuing concerns to the board, most of which had to do with how the township will continue to provide accountability to its residents as the project moves forward. He called the trail “the single most significant discretionary project I believe this township has ever undertaken.”

Doehring said that township residents have no other choice but to support the project, “Otherwise, close to $1 million in design fees that we have already paid for this project will have been wasted. I can only support this if supervisors commit to an honest accounting of what will be delivered, and when,” he told the board. 

“After spending all of this money for 1,700 feet of trail, residents deserve to be given some approximate timeline, deliverables and state and local costs for the remaining sections – from Chandler Mill Bridge to the proposed railroad crossing.”

“We have had numerous discussions and debated about where to put the trail,” said supervisor Richard Leff. “Now, we’ve refined that through community input. All of that takes time and effort. We have listened to a lot of people, and this is a wonderful way forward to get us started. Yes, there have been barriers along the way, but this gets us started, and those barriers are starting to fall, and as this project continues, those barriers will continue to fall in the future.”

“It’s exciting to see that this project is coming together, and that a significant portion of the trail is not for the direct utilization of individuals but to stabilize the stream,” Supervisor Scudder Stevens said. “The stream bed has been badly eroded and continues to sweep along through there, both carrying and scouring. This is a very important project for the well-being of our landscape and the availability to the community, leading to the goal of providing multi-modal transportation.” 

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].