Carbon County officials are moving forward with their plans to see if the D&L Trail section that travels through the county parking lot can be shifted closer to the Lehigh River.

On Thursday, the county commissioners awarded a contract for consulting services for a master site plan for the D&L Trail connection and trail head through the county lot in Jim Thorpe to Simone Collins of Hanover Engineering Associates. The cost for the contract shall not exceed $21,290.David Bodnar, director for the Carbon County Office of Planning and Development, said that the master site plan goals will help determine if the county will be able to move the trail away from the parking lot area to provide a safer path for hikers and bikers using the trail.The current trail leaves Lehigh Gorge State Park, travels up through the rail yard and through the county parking lot. It will eventually connect with the remainder of the trail via a pedestrian foot bridge that will be constructed over the Lehigh River near Turkey Hill at a later time.He said that in addition to looking how to delineate the trail, Collins will look at future locations for a county maintenance garage, incorporating an observation deck and gathering area along the river, additional improvements in the access to the river and more."It's going to give us the opportunity to take advantage of our natural resources," Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said. "A lot of the people who come in don't even know the river is there. We're talking about taking away a lot of the trees, making a picnic area and easier access to river for fishing."Bodnar said that there is no projected start date, but said that the steering committee for the project is expected to meet in mid-September to begin the process and once started, two public meetings will be held to provide the public with an opportunity to give input.Bodnar and the commissioners commended Jim Thorpe architect Ben Walbert, who approached the county with this idea earlier this year."We're excited about this and what's going to come out of it," Bodnar said.Carbon County officials first began working on this project in April when they applied for a $10,000 Pocono Forest and Waters Conservation Landscape mini-grant from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for the study of that portion of the trail. The grant was awarded in June and Carbon County will provide a $10,000 match.