Next Step For The Ocean County Rail Trail

TOMS RIVER, NJ - The Ocean County Board of Freeholders are expected to okay advertising the next extension of the Ocean County Rail Trail from Lacey Township into Berkeley at the June 20 meeting.

The next phase will include a nearly half mile section, from South Street at Hebrew Park in Lacey to the Cedar Creek.

“This will provide a connection to the existing 2.75 mile trail from Dudley Park at the Cedar Creek to Hickory Lane in Berkeley Township,” Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. said in a recent release. “This will connect Lacey and Berkeley townships along the trail.”

The aging trestle over Cedar Creek will also be affected by the project. The county plans to use some of its wood for "interpretive displays" that will the rail lines history.

Some pilings and abutments from the trestle - a local landmark - will remain in place to keep the historical look. But the work will also include constructing a 150-foot span prefabricated bridge over Cedar Creek.

“When this is done, bikers and walkers and trail users will be able to safely cross Cedar Creek,” Bartlett said. “And we will still have kept the appearance of the original trestle that is there.”

There will also be 12 parking spaces constructed in a paved parking lot near South Street. A separate lane with a crossing over the trail will be provided for the existing canoe drop off and pick up on the Lacey Township side of Cedar Creek, Bartlett said.

Construction of this portion of the trail will begin in the fall, so there is no disruption to canoe businesses. This section is expected to be completed in early 2019, Bartlett said.

Ocean County purchased 8.8 miles of the old railroad property in three towns – Berkeley, Ocean and Barnegat townships –back in October 2002. Lacey Township granted an easement over its 4.8-mile trail segment back in 2004.

The completed trail will eventually span 16 miles from Barnegat to Toms River, coupled with the existing bike path in Beachwood and the planned trail along the historic railroad property parallel to Route 166 in South Toms River.

The Barnegat Branch trail follows the existing right of way of the former Barnegat Branch division of the Central Railroad of New Jersey.

“It was always the County’s intent to complete the trail in segments as we received clearance and funding to move ahead,” Bartlett said. “The County has already received four grants for the trail totaling $1,253,000."

“Residential and commercial neighbors border much of the trail through Lacey Township before it returns to forest and then borders an old sand mine in a portion of Berkeley Township,” he said.

The trail will also feature comfort stations, trail signage and historical exhibits. They will be built in a style similar to 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.

Photo: Patch archive photo