RAIL TRAIL CONCEPTUAL PLAN UNVEILED; 15.6-MILE LINEAR PARK COMBINES HISTORY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DIVERSITY
TOMS RIVER - Over the last 20 years, abandoned railroad lines like the Barnegat Branch Division of the Central Railroad
of New Jersey that once ran through a portion of Ocean County have been transformed into trail parks in nearly every
state in the country.
"Under the leadership of Freeholder Jim Lacey, Ocean County is pleased today to unveil its conceptual plan for a 15.6
mile linear park that runs along the right-of-way of the Barnegat Branch," said Freeholder Director John P. Kelly.
"Under this plan, this abandoned rail line will be improved to link Barnegat Township to Toms River Township, and in the
process will offer residents and visitors a new type of recreational trail experience."
According to the conceptual plan, upon completion, the Barnegat Branch Trail will join the list of 43 existing and
proposed rail trail projects across New Jersey.
"The Barnegat Branch Trail will be a tremendous asset to Ocean County, providing residents and visitors with the
opportunity to enjoy the County's history, communities and culture," said Freeholder Deputy Director James F. Lacey
during a press conference today.
According to Lacey, in October 2002, Ocean County purchased 8.8 miles of the old railroad in three towns - Berkeley,
Ocean and Barnegat townships. This purchase was supplemented in 2004 when Lacey Township granted to Ocean County an
easement over its 4.8-mile trail segment. Coupled with the existing bike path in Beachwood and the incorporation of a
dedicated bike lane along Flint Road in South Toms River, the completed trail will span 15.6 miles from Barnegat
Township to Toms River Township.
"The design of the Barnegat Branch Trail will be sensitive to the changing landscape of central Ocean County," Lacey
noted. "Trail visitors will experience wooded areas in Barnegat and Waretown's southern reach before transitioning into
an active-use corridor that parallels Route 9 north of Waretown.
"Residential and commercial neighbors border much of the trail through Lacey Township before it returns to forest and
then sand mining in Berkeley Township," he said.
The conceptual plan, prepared by Strauss and Associates, Trenton, and Melillo and Bauer Associates, Manasquan, recognizes
that the Barnegat Branch Trail is a work in progress.
"Some segments of the trail will be open before the entire trail is complete and it's all connected into a linear park,"
Lacey said.
The trails southern terminus is at Burr Street in Barnegat Township and the northern terminus is near Water Street in
the vicinity of the bus station in Toms River Township.
Along the way, portions of the trail are bordered or bisected at-grade by local and arterial roadways. Some of these
roadways have light traffic while other roads such as Route 9 carry heavy traffic.
"Certainly, this plan is being developed with an eye toward safety," Lacey said. "We want to make sure those using the
trail can do so comfortably so we are making sure that the plan includes security and safety measures."
To the south of Beachwood, most of the railroad bridges are in satisfactory condition for conversion to trail use baring
two notable exceptions - the span over the Middle Branch of the Forked River and that of Cedar Creek.
Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr., who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Department of Parks and Recreation noted that
several Ocean County parks and county natural land areas are located within walking or bicycling distance of the
Barnegat Branch Trail including Lochiel Creek in Barnegat Township, Berkeley Island County Park, Wells Mills County Park
in Waretown and Enos Pond County Park in Lacey Township.
"This trail not only offers the user the opportunity to see nature at it's best in Ocean County, it offers access to
Ocean County's premiere park sites," Bartlett said. "It's a perfect combination."
In addition to the many ballfields, playgrounds and wooded parks located in proximity to the proposed trail, there are
also numerous public beaches, municipal piers and wharfs located nearby or within bicycling distance.
For planning purposes the trail is divided into three segments - from Burr Street in Barnegat Township to Country Lane,
Waretown, consisting of about 2.6 miles; from South Street in Lacey Township to the Berkeley-Beachwood boundary, which
totals about 4.4 miles and from Country Lane, Waretown to South Street in Lacey Township totaling about 6.6 miles.
The primary surface finish will be a stone dust surface finish.
The plan also calls for a number of trail facilities including community centers, comfort stations, trail signage and
historical exhibits.
Any facilities constructed by Ocean County would be built in a style reminiscent of passenger and freight stations that
once served Barnegat Township, the Forked River section of Lacey Township, the Pinewald section of Berkeley Township
and Toms River. The plan also proposes several comfort stations, either co-located with community centers or as
stand-alone facilities stationed along the trail.
The cost to implement the plan is about $9.4 million. The work on the trail is expected to begin shortly with the
awarding of a contract for the first segment on Sept. 5.
"The Barnegat Branch trail is readily accessible to the almost 170,000 residents of the seven host municipalities and
will be within a short drive of Ocean County's population of almost 600,000," Lacey said. "As the county's population
grows, the Barnegat Branch Trail will play an increasingly vital role in meeting recreational and alternative
transportation objectives.
"The trail is more than a park, it becomes part of the transportation network and is a valuable environmental resource,"
Lacey said.
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