Construction on a Silk Mill Run dam removal and restoration project in Jim Thorpe Borough won’t begin until 2026, officials said last week.

Five dams along the nearly 2-mile Silk Mill Run creek, designated as a Class A brown trout cold-water fishery, will be demolished and removed.

Officials from the Wildlands Conservancy, the nonprofit agency partnering with the borough on the project, said the dams have become barriers, hindering fish migration and disrupting the natural ecosystem. The ponds formed behind these dams have accumulated sediment, smothering habitats essential for macroinvertebrates that rely on cobble and rocky stream beds.

“The estimated total cost for construction is $315,000, with funding secured through grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Department of Environmental Protection,” Borough Secretary Brooke Klotz said during a workshop session Thursday night. “We expect to start the bidding process this summer. The construction itself is expected to begin in the spring of 2026, with completion targeted by the end of that summer and before hunting season begins.”

All necessary permits from DEP have been secured for the dam removal. The borough must close out grant funding for the planning phase by April 6 for DEP and by Dec. 31 for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

During the meeting, concerns were raised about whether contractors would be willing to bid on a project that would not begin for over a year after contracts are awarded.

“I don’t know that contractors will bid on something that doesn’t start until the summer of 2026,” Borough President Greg Strubinger said.

Klotz, however, said that according to Wildlands Conservancy officials, they are following a normal bidding and construction timeline for this type of project.

The borough was recently informed it will receive $150,000 from a DEP Growing Greener grant for the construction phase.

Council said the project will have minimal impact on the surrounding area. The plan is to reuse existing materials from the site to limit the need for additional stone and equipment transport.

“When they are done, it should almost be like they weren’t even there,” Councilman Mike Yeastedt said.