Community and corporate leaders, government officials and members of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail Board of Directors gathered together on Sept. 29 to celebrate the opening of the King’s Highway Segment segment of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail.
The 3,760-foot segment runs along Province Line Road from Route 206 to Bannister Drive, where it crosses into the Foxcroft neighborhood. It is a critical link between Carson Road Woods and Bristol-Myers Squibb Lawrenceville to the north and the Foxcroft neighborhood to the southeast. The trail then crosses Princeton Pike, taking walkers and riders into Maidenhead Meadows.
“The completion of the King’s Highway segment is a celebration of the strong partnerships that have made the LHT possible, Eleanor V. Horne, co-president of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, said at Friday’s ceremony. “We must always acknowledge our first three partners — Bristol-Myers Squibb, Educational Testing Services and Mercer County.”
Nineteen miles of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail’s planned 22-plus mile bicycle and pedestrian trail and transportation corridor through Lawrence and Hopewell Townships in Mercer County — or 88 percent of the trail — are now complete with the opening of the King’s Highway segment.
Federal highway funding totaling $500,000 for this segment of the trail, administered through the N.J. Department of Transportation, funded the new segment. Lawrence Township served as the grant applicant on behalf of the LHT and the residents and users of the trail from Lawrence and Hopewell Townships and beyond.
“The Lawrence Hopewell Trail is a county jewel—a true asset valued by residents far beyond Lawrence and Hopewell Townships,” Brian M. Hughes, county executive, said.
Christopher Linn, manager of the office of environmental planning for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, added that the King’s Highway segment is an important addition to Circuit Trails, a regional network of 750 miles of interconnected, multipurpose trails connecting Mercer County to south of Philadelphia.
