def #244 09/24/08

COUNTY TO AWARD CONTRACT FOR SECOND PHASE OF RAIL TRAIL

TOMS RIVER – The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders is ready to award a contract to begin construction of the second phase of the Barnegat Branch Rail Trail.

“The first portion of this linear park is already a big hit with our residents and visitors,” said Freeholder James F. Lacey, who serves as the liaison to the project. “The action being taken by the board will result in constructing the second phase of the project which will include an additional 6,000 feet of the trail.”

The freeholders are scheduled to award a contract to Highway Safety Systems Inc., of Hammonton, in the amount of $498,162. The contractor also performed the work on the first phase of the trail.

The new section will travel from Pancoast Road to Wells Mills Road in Waretown. The trail begins in Barnegat Township. Work is expected to begin in early October and is scheduled for completion in late fall.

Meanwhile, Ocean County also has been notified that it will receive a grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection in the amount of about $10,000 to install interpretive signage along the trail.

“This trail is providing a place for leisure activities for our residents and visitors but it will also be a learning experience as we show the history of this former rail line through interpretive signs,” Lacey said. “We appreciate the state’s support of such an important project.”

The length of the second phase of the 15.6-mile linear park is 6,000 feet and the path will be a 10-foot wide stone dust surface with a four-inch think gravel base.

“In addition to providing an outstanding scenic path for bikers, walkers, runners, it is also designed to support emergency vehicles should a need ever arise,” Lacey said.

As part of the second phase, a trail crossing at Country Lane will incorporate the construction of a trail head/comfort station, which also will include 24 parking spaces. The vehicular surface will be crushed shells. The trailhead also includes a picnic area and site grading to accommodate the future construction of a historical display facility and restrooms.

The park follows the route of the Barnegat Branch Division of the Central Railroad of New Jersey.

“The park is already providing a unique recreational trail experience to residents and visitors,” said Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari. “It provides our residents and visitors with an area to exercise and the ability to experience some of the county’s natural areas up close.”

The trail begins in Barnegat Township and will run through Waretown, Lacey Township, Berkeley Township, and proceed north into Toms River Township.

The first section of the trail, which begins at Burr Street and Railroad Avenue, in Barnegat Township, was completed late last year.

As noted, 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.

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 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, and the Pinewald section of Berkeley Township. The plan also proposes several comfort stations, either co-located with community centers or as stand-alone facilities stationed along the trail.

“This is turning into a tremendous addition to the Ocean County Parks Department,” said Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr., who serves as liaison to the Parks Department. “It has such a tremendous value because of its proximity to many of our other parks and recreational facilities.”

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.

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 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.”

Upon completion, the Barnegat Branch Trail will join the list of 43 existing and proposed rail trail projects across New Jersey.

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