Red Clay Valley Scenic Byway preserves environment and heritage

The winding, hilly streets along the banks of the Red Clay Creek are roads less traveled by bulldozers, backhoes and box trucks.

The Delaware Nature Society (DNS) would like to keep it that way, which is why they have worked so hard to preserve the roads through Delaware’s Scenic and Historic Highways program, said Jen Mihils, associate director for Natural Resources and Conservation.

Twenty-eight roads spanning 27 miles were named the Red Clay Valley Scenic Byway in 2005, and the DNS recently completed the last step in the process by submitting a byway conservation plan to the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT), said Mihils.

Unlike the Brandywine Scenic Byway on Route 52 and the Route 9 Coastal Heritage Scenic Byway, the Red Clay Valley Scenic Byway is unique because it involves more than one road -- it encompasses Route 82 in Hockessin and 27 secondary roads.

The rock outcroppings and hills that the roads traverse are unique to Delaware, and the native plants that grow alongside those roads, like tulip trees and azaleas, are vital to the local ecosystem, she said. Conservation of the Red Clay Creek and its watershed was the goal that led to the byway’s creation.

Historic preservation is also an important part of the byway, she said. Travelers can almost hear the whispers of century-old stage coaches as they drive past abandoned mills that once made the Red Clay Creek a thriving industrial center, said Mihils.

While historic and natural qualities are main criteria for byway designation, cultural, archeological, social and recreational aspects are also considered, said Maria Andaya, a DelDOT project planner.

“It does not have to be a drop dead gorgeous spot as long as the roads tell a story,” she said.

The State started the Scenic and Historic Highway program in 2001 to ensure roads in Delaware’s landscape are preserved. Overdevelopment can have a devastating effect on special roads, as pavement covers history and billboards block out scenery, said Andaya.

They program is a tool residents can use to receive federal funding for conservation efforts along the road, said Andaya. For instance, the Route 9 Scenic Byway recently received $146,000 to implement a corridor management plan that will preserve the road’s scenery, she said.

The Delaware Nature Society hopes to use the special designation to ensure road improvements do not compromise the Byway’s delicate environment, said Mihils. The group also wants to teach homeowners who live along it the importance of planting native species so they do not disrupt the habitat, she said.

Keeping excessive development away will be beneficial for the people who drive over the curvy, rural roads, under a canopy of trees that can make a person forget they are minutes away from the interstate, said Mihils. The byway could also help property owners along the Byway preserve their land so it remains as rural and scenic as it is today, letting travelers take the long way home for a long time to come.

“The byway gives people a sense of place,” Mihils said. “Rather than being anywhere U.S.A., people have a sense of community, a sense of pride about where they live and work.”