The Union Transportation Trail is a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

situated in western Monmouth County, New Jersey. It extends from

Hornerstown, New Jersey Hornerstown is an unincorporated community located within Upper Freehold Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Hornerstown is located near Cream Ridge and uses the 08514 ZIP code. Centered about the intersection of Hornerstown- ...

, to the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. The trail occupies the former roadbed of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

's Pemberton & Hightstown line, which was originally chartered by the Union Transportation Company (UTC) in 1864. The railroad connected local dairies and farms with larger railroads at rail junctions in Pemberton and

Hightstown, New Jersey Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,494,New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not consi ...

. The line was completely abandoned by 1984. The roadbed was later acquired by

Jersey Central Power & Light FirstEnergy Corp is an electric utility headquartered in Akron, Ohio. It was established when Ohio Edison acquired Centerior Energy in 1997. Its subsidiaries and affiliates are involved in the distribution, transmission, and generation of electri ...

and was subsequently leased for trail use in 1998 by the Monmouth County Park system. The Union Transportation Trail—named after the UTC—first opened in September 2010 with the gravel-surfaced section between Millstream Road and Jonathan Holmes Road. A extension to the trail was completed in 2011, with the section between County Route 526 and Herbert Road/Sharon Station Road being added in February 2015. Construction on the segment between County Route 526 and Davis Station Road, in length, commenced in 2015 and was completed in September 2016. The fifth segment, completed in late January 2017, comprises the between Herbert Road/Sharon Station Road and County Route 539, passing through the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. Trail access points with parking lots are located at Millstream Road, Jonathan Holmes Road, and the intersection of Herbert Road and Sharon Station Road, all of which are in Upper Freehold. A grant awarded through the New Jersey Department of Transportation will fund the construction of a extension of the trail from its current terminus at Old York Road in Upper Freehold. This extension will cross over the New Jersey Turnpike and connect to a proposed trail head and parking lot, located near the intersection of Airport Road in East Windsor. Additional expansion is also being considered, including a southern extension into New Egypt, which may extend further south into eastern

Burlington County Burlington County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The county is the largest by area in New Jersey. Its county seat is Mount Holly.

and connect to the Kinkora Branch Trail and the

Pemberton Rail-Trail The Pemberton Rail-Trail is a rail trail in Pemberton, New Jersey. It occupies a abandoned rail corridor in Burlington County, New Jersey, that extends from Hanover Street in Pemberton to Birmingham Road in Juliustown, New Jersey. The trail s ...

. This would function as a link with the southern New Jersey/greater Philadelphia trail network.

References

{{Rail trails in New Jersey Rail trails in New Jersey Transportation in Monmouth County, New Jersey Bike paths in New Jersey Monmouth County Park System