Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes (second from right) and other supporters celebrate the opening of another link to the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail in October 2013.
Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes announced that three recreational trail projects in the county have been awarded federal grants totaling $72,000.
The funds come from the Federal Highway Administration’s 2013 Recreational Trails Program and are administered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres Program. A total of $755,054 was approved for 39 recreational trail projects statewide.
The projects in Mercer County being awarded $24,000 apiece are the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail’s Pennington Connector in Hopewell Township and Signalized Crossing at Province Line Road in Lawrence Township, and Vocational Science Training Center’s Delaware and Raritan Canal Trenton Maintenance Project.
“These projects are a great benefit to Mercer County and we thank the DEP and Commissioner Bob Martin for their continued support,” said Hughes. “The Lawrence-Hopewell Trail has been 10 years in the making and this funding gets that effort closer to the finish line.”
Hughes said the Lawrence Hopewell Trail is 10 years in the making and this funding brings it closer to finishing. A new section of the trail passing through Rosedale Park in the county’s Mercer Meadows is scheduled to open in May
The goal of the Recreational Trails Program is to improve access to open space, enhance environmental resources, created urban and suburban corridors, and provide additional hiking, biking and horseback riding opportunities in all areas of the state, to be enjoyed by people of all abilities, ages and means.
The grants are awarded, through a competitive process, to groups that maintain, develop and operate trails. Recipients are required to provide a 20 percent matching share for each project.
