Cyclists hoping to use the long-awaited Mansion House Bridge will have to wait at least another month because of construction delays caused by heavy rain and high water levels along the Lehigh.

Construction on a separate project to connect the bridge and the Delaware and Lehigh Trail on the east side of Jim Thorpe has been delayed by a month due to weather conditions. Instead of being finished by June 30, the completion date is July 31.

“The big problem for them is it’s not just the weather. The river (was) over the site, so they couldn’t do any work at all,” Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said Thursday night.

The D & L Retaining Wall and Trail Project, which is being overseen by Jim Thorpe borough with grant assistance from the state and D & L National Heritage Corridor, is estimated to cost $1,079,267.

When it is completed, it will create a 57-mile continuous stretch from Glen Summit in Luzerne County to Cementon in Lehigh County.

Jim Thorpe Borough Council voted unanimously Thursday night to grant contractor Don E. Bower another month to complete the work on the trail.

Bower has been contracted to complete a ramp and retaining wall which will carry the D & L trail around Jim Thorpe’s wastewater treatment plant. The project also includes widening the trail along the east shore of the Lehigh between the bridge and the Jim Thorpe-Franklin Township line.

Sterner said frequent heavy rain during the spring months caused the river to rise in that area. The water didn’t affect the trail itself, but it prevented the contractor from completing the retaining wall under the original construction schedule.

Sterner said workers are putting in 10 hour days in order to make up for the time lost. However the delay should not cause any increase in the cost of the project.

Elissa Garofalo, executive director of the D & L Trail, said the project schedule was compromised due to the water levels. But she said the retaining wall portion is now complete and the trail surface is being installed.

“A date has not been set for the opening. However, when it is Carbon County will be the first county to have a fully connected section of the D & L Trail,” Garofalo said.

Also on Thursday night, Jim Thorpe Borough Council voted to release $349,363.88 in project funds to the contractor, Don E. Bower, for the first phase of the project.

The D & L Retaining Wall and Trail Project is overseen by the borough, but it is paid for entirely with grant funds.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources contributed $865,000. The Department of Community and Economic Development chipped in $223,671.

The Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor provided $30,000 and the County Commissioners allocated $65,286 in hotel tax proceeds from the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau.