Installation of the pedestrian bridge at Jim Thorpe is tentatively scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, marking a major step toward completing the 250-foot footbridge connecting downtown Jim Thorpe to the Weissport section of the D&L Trail.

This project is sponsored by the Carbon County commissioners.

At a cost of $4 million, the bridge is the D&L’s largest project to date and will close one of Pennsylvania’s top 10 trail gaps.

During this phase of construction, six bridge segments will be assembled into two halves, with each segment weighing about 60 tons. The segments are held together with over 400 bolts and will be lifted into place.

Two 500-ton cranes will each lift one half of the bridge. The center of the bridge will first be connected by workers on three different lifts, stationed at both abutments.

The bridge, as a whole, will then be lifted and turned so that it can be set onto abutment 1, located on the west side of the Lehigh River.

Abutment 2 will be the final location to be set and connected.

The setting and connection of the abutments will be followed by an extensive amount of testing and retightening of all connections before the crane straps are removed.

It is advised that anyone wanting to view the move should use the whitewater rafting boat launch, located at the extreme north end of the county parking lot behind the train station for safety reasons.

A bridge dedication is planned for Monday, June 11, 2018, and will coincide with the Rails-to-Trails Pennsylvania Sojourn.