Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Officials Announce Federal Grant for South Orange River Greenway Project


South Orange, New Jersey: Local leaders gathered at New Waterlands Park in the Village this morning to make the official announcement that South Orange will receive a $1,000,000 federal Transportation Alternatives Program Grant. The grant money will be used to assist with the construction of part of the River Greenway Project. 

The new part of the greenway will be constructed along the East Branch of the Rahway River, and when completed, bicyclists and pedestrians will be able to travel along a paved path from West Parker Avenue in Maplewood to New Waterlands Park in South Orange.

Part of the grant money will be used to construct a new bridge over the river near the South Orange Department of Public Works (DPW) facility. The current bridge, which has been fenced off to pedestrians for several years, will be torn down to make way for the new bridge, which is slated to open within two years. 

Several abandoned buildings, once part of the South Orange Water Department Pumping Station and the South Orange Kennel, with be torn down to make way for the greenway. 

The greenway, which will pass through Chyzowych Field, will connect with the roadway to Walton Road near the DPW site. Although Chyzowych Field is in Maplewood, it is owned by South Orange Village.

Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr., who secured the funding, said that the project will "increase connectivity between Maplewood and the (South Orange) Village Center", adding that he is "delighted to be a part of this".

Other attending leaders included State Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr., Essex County Freeholder President Britney Timberlake, Essex County Clerk Christopher Durkin, South Orange Village President Sheena Collum, South Orange Village Trustees Janine Bauer and Deborah Davis Ford, and South Orange Village Administrator Barry Lewis, Jr.












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