Jim Thorpe trail connection completed
The D&L Trail is one of the gems of the Pennsylvania cycling network. It follows the route that anthracite traveled during the heyday of coal mining. Currently the D&L runs 140 miles, from Bristol in the south to Mountaintop in the north.
Until this summer, there was a virtually impassable point at Jim Thorpe where the trail jumps from the east to the west side of the Lehigh River. There was no bridge and the only possible road route to bypass the gap was along the steep, busy, narrow-shouldered US-209.
In mid-August, a multi-year, multi-million dollar project was completed and the Mansion House Bridge was finally opened to the connect the trail across the river.