County receives federal funding for recreational trail projects

SUSSEX — Sussex County has received a portion of more than $1.8 million in federal grant money allocated for developing, maintaining and improving recreational trails throughout New Jersey. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, the funds will improve access to open space, enhance environmental resources, create urban and suburban corridors and provide additional hiking, biking and horseback riding opportunities. Funding was awarded to: Andover Township, Andover Trail/Bikeway: $25,000 Town of Newton, Sussex Branch Trail Rehabilitation: $25,000 Paulinskill Valley Trail Committee, the Park at Sparta Junction: $25,000 Stokes State Forest, Trail Marker Replacement: $4,000 Wawayanda State Park, Double Pond Trail: $3,072 Wawayanda State Park, Livingston Trails Rehabilitation: $4,010 Sussex County also shared funding with other counties for these projects: With Mercer County: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Trail Maintenance and Restoration: $25,000. With Atlantic, Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, Middlesex, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Passaic and Warren counties: Jersey Off Road Bicycle Association trail equipment storage and transport: $13,000 and trail maintenance equipment: $19,400; trail tools and supplies: $15,161. With Bergen, Cape May, Hunterdon, Ocean and Warren counties: New Jersey Audubon Society Trail Improvements: $4,395. With Morris, Passaic and Warren counties: New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Skills Workshop Series: $24,696 The projects were recommended for funding by the New Jersey Trails Council and approved by the Federal Highway Administration under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act. Since the program’s inception in 1993, New Jersey has awarded more than $9 million to federal, state, county and local governments and nonprofit agencies.