By Lea Kahn
East Windsor, Mercer County, has been awarded a $135,000 grant from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission to pay for the planning and design of an extension of the Union Transportation Trail, according to Mayor Janice Mironov.
The extension of the Union Transportation Trail, which accommodates bicyclists and pedestrians, would begin at the point where the existing trail ends in the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area at the Mercer County/Monmouth County border, near the intersection of Old York and Sharon roads.
The proposed 3.5-mile trail extension would continue along an existing Jersey Central Power and Light right of way for most of the route. It would run for about a quarter-mile on Windsor-Perrineville Road, crossing over the New Jersey Turnpike on an existing shoulder and sidewalk, and connect with Airport Road, near Route 33.
Short connector spurs would connect the Union Transportation Trail to East Windsor’s existing Turnpike Park and the Woods Road Community Park.
Mironov thanked the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and the William Penn Foundation, which funded the grant.
She said the trail extension will “further an exciting regional recreational project linking Mercer County to Monmouth County, Burlington County and Ocean County.”
“The proposed trail will also create a valuable and fun interconnect within East Windsor. It will enable bicycling and walking across a significant land segment in the southeast quadrant of the township, and connect several existing public parks and trails,” Mironov said.
The Union Transportation Trail follows the roadbed of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Pemberton and Hightstown rail line, which was chartered by the Union Transportation Co. in 1864.
The Pemberton and Hightstown rail line, which opened in 1868, provided dairies and farms with access to larger rail junctions in Pemberton and Hightstown. Rail traffic began to dry up, beginning in 1950 with the construction of the New Jersey Turnpike.
Passenger service on the Pemberton and Hightstown rail line ended in 1931 and freight service on the short railroad ceased in 1977.