Thanks to generous year-end contributions from our members, the Friends have been able to contract with T&T Tree Service for the removal of some of the most problematic trees along the Canal.

Three projects that have been on the books or in progress throughout 2018 will be complete before the first daffodils start to bloom this spring: a pedestrian passageway south of Morrisville, a new bridge over the Canal at Phillips’ Mill and the Centre Bridge Pump.

The summer of 2018 will be remembered for its seemingly unrelenting heat and its abundant rainfall that came down in torrents or tropical showers. The rain both helped and hurt the Canal.

The Delaware Canal can be “challenging”, and, for the most part, 2018 has been a good illustration. Some projects, like the complicated Phillips’ Mill Bridge replacement, are making headway, yet the Canal is plagued by issues created by the season’s heavy storms.

The red argillite stone surface of the Canal towpath is showing its age, deteriorating to dust leaving behind an earthen surface punctuated with holes, ruts, and humps. On a sunny day, walking and bicycling require watchfulness. On a rainy day, be prepared for mud and deep puddles.

Thanks to help from our Friends, four interpretive sign projects will move forward this year. Two involve replacement of sign panels that are the worse for wear after more than 20 years. The other two will create new signs so visitors can better understand what took place at special sites.

One can never say that dealing with the Delaware Canal is dull – especially this summer. As always, the Friends carry on – planning, implementing and helping, as friends do.

All of the sinkholes in the northern section of the park were plugged and repaired. We began re-watering the upper section of the Canal at the end of April, and by mid-May the Canal was watered from Easton to New Hope. This is the first time in years that this section has been completely watered.