Cape Henlopen State Park’s Navy Crossing gets facelift

The third and final phase of Cape Henlopen State Park’s campground improvements is expected to open in June, and when it does, there will be new electric hookups and walk-in sites, an improved camp store and improved pedestrian access.

There will also be, as a result of the construction, a new look for the park’s Navy Crossing, one of three access points for vehicles driving on the beach to fish in the park. The crossing is located off Dune Road, near the Biden Environmental Training Center.

According to Michael Globetti, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control spokesman, material excavated from the campground improvement project has been used to raise the elevation of the crossing, to construct a “T” where the crossing meets the beach and to add material to the toe of the dunes adjacent to the crossing. He said the Navy Crossing sustained damage in the January 2015 nor’easter storm.

Globetti said the Shoreline & Waterway Management Division’s beach crew section has been working with park manager Paul Faircloth to find a beneficial reuse of the material within the park. He said the “T” and the adjacent dunes will be planted with beach grass during the annual DNREC Beach Grass Planting event March 18.

Globetti said the cost for the final phase of the project is $3.5 million, with half paid by a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant. The remainder comes from 2017 state bond bill funds, he said.