A 250-foot pedestrian bridge in Jim Thorpe could be complete by 2016, according to Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor officials.

The $3.1 million project would connect 40 miles of completed D&L trail to the north to 90 miles of completed trail to the south.Around 10 members of the public attended a meeting Thursday night at Memorial Hall in Jim Thorpe to hear details of the continuous span, truss bridge planned between the south end of the Carbon County parking lot and just north of the Jim Thorpe water treatment plant."This public meeting is the last step in our environmental clearing process," said Mark Wilson, of Wilson Consulting Group."After this, we can move into right of way acquisition and final design. I think it will be around a year from the point of right of way acquisition until we can put the project out to bid."D&L Trail Manager H. Scott Everett said his group is partnering with Carbon County, which would own the bridge, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on the project.Around $1.1 million of PennDOT funds are in place and $2.1 million in PennDOT Transportation Alternatives Program funds are pending approval.Two bridge abutments and Americans With Disabilities Act compatible bridge approaches will be constructed. No piers will be in the Lehigh River."Around 85 percent of the entire trail is completed and we're down to some of the most challenging sections," said Elissa M. Garofalo, president and executive director of the D&L National Heritage Corridor. "Completing this project would connect all five counties of the corridor for the first time."Not everyone in attendance Thursday favored the bridge."I'm on the Jim Thorpe School Board and we're constantly cutting programs for students because there is no money in the state budget," said Gerald Strubinger."Maybe we should cut this $3.1 million out as well."Garofalo said the money actually comes from the Federal Highway Administration and is only dispersed through PennDOT."It seemed to me it would have made more sense to follow the river from the sewage treatment plant all the way up to the Glen and stay away from the other side of the river," Strubinger said."It seems like we always get the cart ahead of the horse in Jim Thorpe. What we should have done is solved the traffic problem in town, not worried about a pedestrian bridge."The tightness of the mountain and railroad in the area kept that from being an option, Garofalo said."We looked at it and there are just not enough sightlines," she said.D&L updated two other projects Thursday night, including the installation of a 625-foot section of trail from the end of the proposed pedestrian bridge to the Lehigh Canal towpath. The $500,000 project would be funded by state gaming funds and a state Department of Conservation and Natural Resourcesgrant."The section of trail will be through the use of a retaining wall and paved to minimize impact to trail usage from Lehigh River high water events," Everett said.It is scheduled to be complete in 2016 in conjunction with the pedestrian bridge.A $208,000 "Carbon County Connectivity" project consists of four components:• A Weissport to Lehighton "share the road" portion of the trail,• A trail connection from Bridge Street to Lehigh Drive in Lehighton,• A trail connection and pedestrian cross of Route 895 in East Penn Township, and• A Riverview Drive to East Penn boat launch "share the road" portion of the trial."This will eliminate all the trail gaps in lower Carbon County," Everett said."It also connects Lehighton, Weissport, Bowmanstown and East Penn Township. As has been seen in other parts of the county, users will have a direct economic impact in these towns," Everett said.Also funded through a DCNR grant, the project is on track for a 2015 completion.