A new footbridge for hikers is being built along New York’s Long Path in Mine Kill State Park.

State officials say they are building the new footbridge on the park’s southern border along a section crossing Pigeon Creek.

The bridge will make the crossing safer and easier under all conditions. Currently, hikers have to ford the stream, which is only possible at low water.

Nearly 5 miles of the 358-mile Long Path traverse New York Power Authority property and Mine Kill State Park, passing by Mine Kill Falls, the Mine Kill State Park pool complex, and the New York Power Authority’s Blenheim-Gilboa Visitors Center. Construction on the new footbridge is scheduled to begin in September.

Other recent improvements to the Long Path in Mine Kill State Park include stepping stones across the Mine Kill, new interpretive signs at Mine Kill Falls, and a footbridge across a tributary of the Mine Kill, built by volunteers from the Long Path North Club.