The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced funding this week to support improvements in South Whitehall Township and Bethlehem.
$500,000 will go toward extending the Jordan Creek Greenway Trail in South Whitehall, connecting Covered Bridge Park to Parkland High School. According to State Representative Mike Schlossberg, the new section will run from the Lapp Road parking lot to the entrance road at Parkland High School near Cedar Crest Boulevard.
The funding follows a separate announcement in June, when the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation awarded $1.5 million to advance the construction of the same segment of trail.
South Whitehall Township completed another mile of the greenway in 2024 connecting Wehr Mill Road to Lapp Road through Covered Bridge Park.
Meanwhile, another $160,200 grant will support restoration work along Monocacy Creek in Bethlehem. State Representative Steve Samuelson says the project will focus on a stretch from just north of Burnside Plantation to Johnston Park.
The work, led by Wildlands Conservancy, will include stabilizing streambanks, planting trees and other vegetation, creating aquatic habitats, and installing a fish passage to help fish move along the waterway.
Samuelson says improving the creek’s health will also benefit areas downstream toward central Bethlehem.
Both grants were awarded through the state’s Community Conservation Partnerships Program, which supports outdoor recreation, natural resource conservation, and community revitalization projects statewide.
