⁴ᴷ⁶⁰ Walking the Middlesex Greenway from Metuchen, NJ to Edison, NJ

May 22, 2021 - 12:15 PM
92°F / 33°C

From Wikipedia:
The Middlesex Greenway is a 3.5 miles (5.6 km) rail trail in New Jersey Metuchen, Edison and Woodbridge. It makes up a portion of the East Coast Greenway. The trail's roadbed originates from the Easton & Amboy Railroad created by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1875 to transport anthracite coal to a transfer dock in Perth Amboy for subsequent delivery to New York City. The line was consolidated into Conrail with other bankrupt railroads in 1976, and abandoned in 1991.

Using open space funds, Middlesex County purchased the roadbed from Conrail in December 2002 for approximately $50,000. In 2004 Edison elected officials challenged NJDOT's plan to replace an original railroad trestle with a 140-foot-long tunnel-like structure to carry the trail under US Route 1. The proposed culvert would have reduced the trail's capacity to a 14-foot-wide by 10-foot-high passageway, potentially preventing mounted police from traversing the highway. NJDOT eventually agreed to construct a pedestrian bridge in lieu of the culvert.

In 2005 Middlesex County acquired 2.68 acres of land adjacent to the trail to build a park along a portion of the abandoned roadbed at a cost of $1.25 million Middlesex County and $100,000 from Metuchen.

Highlights:
23:39 - Footbridge over US Routes 1/9
41:20 - Underneath the New Jersey Turnpike
49:39 - Shri Krishna Vrundavana Temple

[amRendezvous]

Hope Middlesex and State Nj update this place to connect to R&D Canal State Park few towns over. Also the path should be widen to have dedicated lanes for Waling and Biking.