A heavily wooded patch of land in the borough, an area that plays a pivotal role in the plans to link Nor-Bath Trail to the proposed Delaware & Lehigh Heritage Corridor Trail along the Lehigh River has been cleared.

Borough Manager LeRoy Brobst said Feb. 24 that Jaflo Inc., of Allentown, completed the task several weeks before the anticipated project was set to be finished. The area involved is 1-1/2 miles long and 16 to 20 feet wide.

The borough paid an upfront cost of $94,220 to have the work completed. It will be reimbursed from a grant D&L has for the ambitious project, which extends the trail into North Catasauqua. Funding also will come from Northampton County Open Space grant funds.

Brobst said a planned pedestrian bridge over Dry Run Creek has yet to be built.

The trail from the borough grounds, where Northampton Athletic Association plays football games, goes across Northampton Borough Municipal Authority property and behind Newhard Pharmacy onto 10th Street, across Main Street and onto the existing D&L Trail.

Easements for the land needed for the trail’s extension have been completed. Borough crews also have been engaged in clearing brush from areas where easements have been granted. Signage will be erected later.

Just how much more needs to be done to link the two boroughs with the trail will be outlined at upcoming meetings between the borough and D&L representatives.