If all details pan out, in 2017 the D&L Trail will be 165 connected miles. The D&L Trail will then be the longest trail in Pennsylvania.

Denis DeMara, a representative of the D&L National Heritage Corridor, presented the members of the Parryville Borough Council with a colorful folder full of maps and fact sheets about the pending pedestrian bridge and path that will connect the trail gaps located at the end of the trail in East Penn to Route 895, Weissport to Lehighton and adding a bridge over the Lehigh River to connect Lehighton to Jim Thorpe.All five counties of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor will be connected when the bridge is completed. This project is projected to be completed by 2017.Even though the funding may be in place, there is still the big issue of maintenance. The bridge is expected to last over 30 years with the proper maintenance.That's where Parryville enters the equation. Parryville along with six other municipalities Lehighton, Jim Thorpe, Weissport, Franklin Township, Mahoning Township and East Penn Township make up what is called the Lehigh Canal Recreation Commission.Since D&L National Heritage Corridor cannot own real estate, Carbon County would have to be the official owner of the bridge, and LCRC would be responsible for maintaining the bridge.Parryville Mayor Dean Emrey voiced his concerns about what would happen to Parryville's small piece of the trail."All effort seems to be going to the far side of the river, what's going to happen to the little spot here?" he asked.DeMara pointed out the value of the added tourism to look forward to. With tourism comes added revenue for all municipalities involved."Originally there'd been talk of a pavilion and picnic spot in that area, and it seems to have dissipated," Emrey said."The Canal Corridor doesn't own anything. We are a partner in this endeavor, something like that would have to be initiated by Canal Commission," DeMara said.Emrey spoke about the current mess left by the turnpike additions. "When they did the turnpike, they didn't repair it to what it was; that area is hideous now," he said.DeMara tried to assure the board that it wouldn't be an issue, "We're trying to re-establish trail there," he said."I and Scott Everett (D&L Trail Manager), are going to canal commission members to work with you all. We are focused on maintenance. We will help with getting grants. I know the concern maybe money," he said."To us it's a real asset and needs to be taken care of. We are looking to have an established maintenance fund. But we need seed money from municipalities," he said.Emrey asked why the existing bridge isn't being repaired instead of building a new one. The short answer, according to DeMara, is cost efficiency.It is a state-owned bridge currently, and since it sits over 100 feet up, huge ramps would have to be built to connect it to thetrail.DeMara will be making his way to the other municipalities for the monthly township and borough meetings to get everyone on board with an agreement.He hopes the solicitors of each municipality can come up with an approved resolution byOctober.