Work on the Jordan Creek Greenway, a nature trail that, when completed, will wind through Lehigh County from Allentown to the Trexler Nature Preserve, took a step forward Wednesday as the South Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners approved contracts that will keep the township’s part of the project moving.
Board members unanimously approved two contracts with the engineering firm Michael Baker International totaling more than $73,000 to continue work on a one-mile stretch of the trail from Covered Bridge Park to Parkland High School through 2027.
The money will be drawn from a fund of existing and anticipated grant money. Last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced a $500,000 grant for the project. Earlier this year, the township received a $1.5 million award through PennDot’s Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside program.
Christopher Strohler, South Whitehall’s long-range planning director, told board members the contracts would allow engineers to tackle unforeseen stormwater issues. The trail crosses a working farm, and the farmer needed to build up part of his land to accommodate farm equipment.
Strohler said engineers are building a structure to protect both the trail and the farm from excessive storm runoff.
“Now that structure is being designed large enough and stable enough and strong enough to support the weight of a tractor,” he told the board.
The trail segment that is being worked on will begin at the Lapp Road parking lot and continue to the intersection of Cedar Crest Boulevard and the entrance to the high school. The project will also include a crosswalk at Ritter Road to improve pedestrian safety.
The first section of the Greenway in South Whitehall was completed in 2019, starting at Wehr Mill Road along the creek and going through wetlands and farm fields to Route 309.
In 2024, another mile was completed, from Wehr Mill Road to Lapp Road through Covered Bridge Park.
The Jordan Creek Greenway is part of a larger regional THE LINK system of 14 linked trails spanning more than 200 miles across the Lehigh Valley.