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Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Michael Carroll speaks during a ceremony marking the completion of a portion of the North Pocono Trail in Roaring Brook Twp. Thursday, October 29, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\nIn Northeast Pennsylvania\u2019s mining days, trains hauling coal out of the Lackawanna valley crossed Roaring Brook via a rail trestle nestled between mountains near Dunmore.<\/p>\n
Coal eventually died out and the old railroad truss bridge of the former Erie & Wyoming Railroad over the Roaring Brook waterway last had a train roll over it in the late 1970s.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Michael Carroll speaks during a ceremony marking the completion of a portion of the North Pocono Trail in Roaring Brook Twp. Thursday, October 29, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n
On Thursday, state and county officials celebrated a recent $3.5 million project that restored the 400-feet-long truss bridge segment for new life as a rail-to-trail segment of the 3.2-mile-long North Pocono Trail between Elmhurst and Dunmore and through Roaring Brook Township.<\/p>\n
The new truss-bridge trail segment sits underneath the massive Twin Bridges of Interstates 84\/380 and not too far from the highway\u2019s new \u201cflyover\u201d exit for Elmhurst. The state Department of Transportation completed the flyover in October of 2024 and completed the Twin Bridges this past winter.<\/p>\n
Calling the Twin Bridges and flyover projects \u201ca very big deal\u201d and \u201ctruly a significant transportation project\u201d for the region, PennDOT Secretary Michael Carroll noted it folded in the rehabilitation of the old rail truss bridge for new life as a trail segment.<\/p>\n
\u201cPennsylvania\u2019s transportation network provides recreation opportunities like we have here in North Pocono,\u201d Carroll said. \u201cIt provides connectivity and enhances the quality of life for all of our residents \u2026 we have lots to be proud of in this region when it comes to transportation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, outdoor recreation and trail use got a big boost from the COVID-19 pandemic. It resulted in increased recognition and promotion of outdoor recreation and trails for improving health and wellness, mental health and recovery, as well as economic development and tourism opportunities, said Cindy Adams Dunn, secretary of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.<\/p>\n
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A section of the North Pocono Trail is complete in Roaring Brook Twp. Thursday, October 29, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout Pennsylvania, we\u2019re looking at outdoor recreation as one of those things that really lifts up our communities,\u201d Dunn told a crowd of about 70 people at a ceremonial ribbon cutting of the extension of the North Pocono Trail to now include the truss bridge. \u201cWe do know that Pennsylvania residents want more outdoor recreation and we\u2019re beginning to understand how important it is \u2026 It\u2019s gone from a \u2018nice-to-have\u2019 column to the \u2018essential\u2019 column for every community, and it is one of those things that really helps grow Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n
The administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro said the project involved $1.5 million in DCNR grant funding for property acquisition, trail design and development, and PennDOT\u2019s $2 million investment to rehabilitate the former Erie and Wyoming Railroad bridge.<\/p>\n
The truss bridge rehabilitation got completed some time ago, for construction access and use during the demolition and rebuilding of the Twin Bridges, PennDOT Engineering District 4 Executive Jonathan A. Eboli said after the ribbon cutting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used it for construction access. We had trains staged here, we had equipment, we were able to drive construction vehicles over\u201d the rebuilt truss bridge, Eboli said. \u201cIt got rehabilitated before the (twin) bridges were actually completed.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan speaks during a ceremony marking the completion of a portion of the North Pocono Trail in Roaring Brook Twp. Thursday, October 29, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n
Lackawanna County acquired the abandoned Erie line in 1981. Lackawanna County Commissioners Bill Gaughan and Chris Chermak also each spoke during the event of the trail project being a long-term, monumental undertaking that has now resulted in a major community asset.<\/p>\n
The immediate area, once known as the village of Nay Aug, used to host vacation\/retreat cabins and a brick works operation, said Owen Worozbyt of Dunmore, who is a project manager with the Lackawanna Valley Heritage Authority that oversees the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail. He attended the ribbon cutting and spoke to a Times-Tribune reporter afterward, noting his family used to own a cabin nearby many years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a whole big history of this area. A lot of it\u2019s gone,\u201d Worozbyt said.<\/p>\n
Plans also remain afoot to extend the North Pocono Trail from the current dead-end under the Twin Bridges over to Dunmore.<\/p>\n
The features of Roaring Brook and an adjacent active rail line winding through the mountains, and with the truss bridge and interstate highway above, make for a picturesque landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn DCNR\u2019s lens, this is truly a special area as part of our Poconos forest and water. We view this area as one of the most significant conservation areas in the state,\u201d Dunn told the crowd. \u201cDon\u2019t ever take this landscape for granted, you folks who live up here. It is just beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Pennsylvania Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources Cindy Dunn speaks during a ceremony marking the completion of a portion of the North Pocono Trail in Roaring Brook Twp. Thursday, October 29, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
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Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak speaks during a ceremony marking the completion of a portion of the North Pocono Trail in Roaring Brook Twp. Thursday, October 29, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
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A section of the North Pocono Trail that includes a trestle bridge spans a railroad and runs underneath the Twin Bridges of Interstates 84 and 380 in th North Pocono area of Roaring Brook Twp. and Dunmore Thursday, October 29, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
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Pennsylvania Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources Cindy Dunn speaks during a ceremony marking the completion of a portion of the North Pocono Trail in Roaring Brook Twp. Thursday, October 29, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n