PLUMSTED – Ocean County and Plumsted Township have received a $400,000 grant from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) to fully improve a 1-mile section of the Union Transportation Trail (UTT).
The portion of the trail to be improved runs from Route 537 south to approximately the Plumsted Township School District property which lies between the UTT and Evergreen Road, according to a press release from the township.
A connector trail between Evergreen Road and the UTT using the school district’s cross country trail is included in the work to be completed, according to the press release.
Monmouth County received a grant of $700,000 from the NJTPA to construct an underpass (pedestrian tunnel) at Route 537 which will connect Plumsted’s portion of the UTT to 9 miles of the transportation trail Monmouth County has already finished.
According to Plumsted officials, these two projects are expected to be completed in late 2017 or early 2018.
The UTT will also support the ongoing revitalization of downtown New Egypt. Future plans are to continue the improvement of the UTT in Plumsted south over the Crosswicks Creek into Burlington County (Pemberton) and to the north into Mercer County (Hightstown), according to municipal officials.
As plans for the UTT develop, a public information meeting will be scheduled with Plumsted residents to present a consultant’s findings.
Maser Consulting, which completed the original pedestrian and bicycle summary report in 2011, which is the basis for the work contemplated, has been retained by Plumsted to undertake the permitting and final design and engineering work for the UTT improvements, according to the township.
Mayor Jack Trotta said the UTT is an example of government entities working together to benefit residents. He said Plumsted has forged a partnership with Ocean and Monmouth counties and the state to make this project possible.
He said the eventual goal is to expand the partnership to include Burlington and Mercer counties to connect this phase of the project to all of the UTT.
The trail is presently open from Volunteer Park on Evergreen Road to Route 537. Much of the trail is currently unimproved, but presently usable for hiking.
The grant will expand the UTT uses to biking and other passive, non-motorized uses and connect the UTT to other trails in the statewide system, according to the press release.
The UTT is on the former bed of the Pemberton and Hightstown Railroad now owned by and on the right of way of Jersey Central Power and Light. Plumsted has a 25-year license agreement with JCPL that allows the UTT to be open and accessible to the public for hiking and biking, according to the press release.
