LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — The Lackawanna County commissioners awarded more than $2 million in grant money to create a three-and-a-half mile walking trail along Roaring Brook, connecting Elmhurst Township and Dunmore.
"There's going to be some clearance of some trees, and then they are going to start their work in Elmhurst, working back toward Dunmore so that they don't get in the way of the work that PennDOT is doing as far as the Twin Bridges," said Sandra Opshinsky, from the county planning and economic development department.
Tony Acquaviva lives across the street from where the trail is expected to start in Elmhurst Township and is excited for people to appreciate what he sees out his front window every day.
"Hike or walk or bike ride—Roaring Brook is a beautiful resource, a very pretty trail. And I think people will really come to love it," Acquaviva said.
The county has owned this property for more than 40 years, but it will only take about one year for this three-and-a-half-mile trail to become a reality.
It looks as if within the next nine months, people are going to be able to use a new recreational asset in Lackawanna County," Opshinsky said.
Acquaviva says the best part about this trail will be the lack of noise from ATVs and UTVs that go up and down his street to get to trails on the property illegally.
"We have double-wides and two-deep Jeeps up and down that road constantly, and our life has been very difficult for the past 20 to 25 years."
County officials expect work on the walking trail to begin in the next couple of weeks.