The D&L Blog

 Dear Friends,

The Mansion House Bridge dedication was awesome!  Thanks to all who came out from near and far to celebrate.  Special thanks to everyone who had even a tiny part in making this dream a reality.

Building the D&L Trail is like a huge, very complicated jigsaw puzzle.  Think about it for a moment… we are re-connecting a 190 year old transportation system that has been disturbed by railroads, highways, modern municipal services, multiple landowners and (sometimes) neglect.  The D&L organization and its staff who are working the bridge project have taken every opportunity to smooth the very complicated state and federal processes that are required when using public funds.  All this ‘I’ dotting and ‘T’ crossing takes time.  And when resources are either unavailable, inaccurate or require further review, more delays occur.

Yes, it’s a letdown but the Mansion House Bridge will remain closed until further notice because the trail connector on the east side of the Lehigh River is incomplete.  When we have an accurate timeline for its completion we’ll let folks know.  Until then we encourage visitors and trail users to sign up for updates.

Your understanding and patience is greatly appreciated.  The piece of the D&L Trail that involves connecting the east side of the bridge to the trail needs to be complete so we can maintain safety and preserve the historical installations we found along the way. We’re aiming to get it done as quickly as possible.

Looking forward,

Elissa Garofalo,
Executive Director
Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Inc.