Carbon County is officially moving forward on its D&L parking lot renovation project.

On Thursday, the board ratified awarding the contract for the project with J.D. Eckman Inc. of Atglen for the construction of the trail through the county parking lot as recommended by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

The amount of the contract is $321,718.50 and will be covered under the Transportation Alternatives Set Aside Grant.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner said the main purpose of this project is the safety of the people using the trail.

In August, the commissioner released artist renderings of the south end of the trail renovation project.

The project will take hikers and bikers out of the county parking lot in Jim Thorpe and onto a better constructed portion of the D&L Trail between the pedestrian bridge and the trail connector at the north end of the lot.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that some areas of the trail will still go through the parking lot where there is not enough space to move it on the other side of the guide rail, other areas will be separated by the guide rail and a picket fence on the outside of the river side of the lot.

The current trail leaves Lehigh Gorge State Park, travels up through the rail yard and through the county parking lot where it connects with the pedestrian bridge near Turkey Hill.

Approximately eight parking spots will be lost and other spots will be turned sideways to provide enough room in other areas.

There will also be a rest area, as well as a brief history of the trail and area at the exit off the pedestrian bridge.

The county hopes to begin the project in mid-March. It will take approximately three weeks to complete once construction begins.

Carbon County began looking at this move in April 2016 under the former board of commissioners, which consisted of Nothstein, William O’Gurek and Thomas J. Gerhard.

At that time, the county applied for a $10,000 Pocono Forest and Waters Conservation Landscape mini-grant to complete a study of the area net to the parking lot.

Commissioners hired Hanover Engineering Associates at a cost of $21,290 to do a master site plan, which was completed in July 2017.

In 2018, the commissioners hired Hanover Engineering Associates of Allentown for professional services relating to the design of the connector trail through the parking lot at a cost of $53,800 plus expenses.

The county also received a $403,986 Transportation Alternatives Set Aside grant from the state.

In November 2019, the former board of commissioners voted to execute the grant and move forward with the project.