The D&L Blog

As many of you know, construction of the new turnpike bridge over the Lehigh River at Parryville has been ongoing for a couple of years now.  In 2008, Jim Deebil of the Lehighton Sewer Authority contacted the D&L’s trail manager, Scott Everett, to express his interest in including construction of the trail, which runs along the western bank of the river, as part of the bridge project.  The contractor had to build an access road along the former rail corridor to get equipment to the construction site, so they agreed to grade and resurface the road as a trail at the project completion. (How’s that for an innovative way to get a trail built!)

The new trail section is being completed as part of a PA Turnpike bridge construction project.

The 1.2-mile section north of the bridge project to the Lehighton treatment plant access road is now complete.  The 1.3-mile section south of the project to East Penn Township’s Marvin Gardens cul-de-sac will be completed after the old turnpike bridge is demolished later in 2012.  This will give us a 2.5-mile section of new trail that links Lehighton to East Penn Township!

For now, the entire section remains an active construction zone, and we ask that you observe all no trespassing signs and other regulations. Check back for more updates about the completion of the newest section of the D&L Trail!

Looking north toward Lehighton.