The Slate Heritage Trail is currently closed between the Emerald bridge over Trout Creek and Center Street in Emerald due to the Pennsylvania Turnpike bridge construction project.

The closed portion of the trail will be reconstructed after the completion of the new turnpike bridge.The Slate Heritage Trail is a community project, locally initiated and planned by volunteers interested in the improvement of the Northern Lehigh area, and the preservation of the natural and historic resources.The trail opened up an area of the Northern Lehigh community, containing hidden natural beauty and historic significance. Strolling, hiking, jogging, bicycling, fishing and bird watching along scenic Trout Creek are just some of the activities that provide fun and recreation for area families and visitors to the Lehigh Valley.The 3.3-mile Rails to Trail project was initiated by a committee of the Northern Lehigh Historical Society in April 2001.The Slate Heritage Trail utilizes, as much as possible, the former Lehigh Valley Railroad right of way from a junction with the D&L Heritage Trail in lower Slatington, through Emerald to the Slatedale Fire Company's baseball fields.The former rail line, opened in 1870 by the Lehigh Valley Railroad and known as the Slatedale Branch, ran from a junction in Slatington with the Lehigh Valley mainline to a western terminus a short distance west of the point where County Bridge Road crosses Trout Creek.The primary commodities hauled on the line were finished slate products, from the burgeoning slate quarrying operations in the Northern Lehigh area.In 1874, the Reading Railroad extended their line through Northern Lehigh County and linked with the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Franklin (now Emerald) at a point denoted as Little Run Junction. The Reading obtained trackage rights from the Lehigh Valley over the Slatedale branch into Slatington. The Reading passenger trains operating into Slatington became known as the "Berksy" railroad.The Lehigh Valley Railroad abandoned the Slatedale Branch in 1949, causing the Reading to cut back their tracks to Best Station. A local slate quarry operator purchased the Lehigh Valley right of way, and kept the line open between the mainline junction and the National School Slate factory at Seventh Street.The Northern Lehigh Historical Society meets at 7 p.m. the last Wednesday of the month at Slatington Borough Hall.For more information about the NLHS,

nlhs101@hotmail.com, 610-760-9281,

www.nlhistoricalsociety.org or "Like" them on Facebook.