Residents can weigh in on $30M ‘boardwalk-style’ trail under Route 130 and across Rancocas Creek in Burlington County

Burlington County is in the early phases of designing a new $30 million extension of the Rancocas Creek Greenway Trail that would cross Route 130 and Rancocas Creek.

The preliminary plan is to build a boardwalk-style path along the southbound Route 130 embankment and underneath the highway that will connect to a new bridge across Rancocas Creek, officials announced Monday.

Likely still years away from completion, the new project would extend the trail system from Pennington Park in Delanco to separate connections in Willingboro Lakes Park in Willingboro and Rainbow Meadow Park in Delran.

The first segment of the Rancocas Creek Greenway Trail, a four-mile segment between Amico Island Park in Delran and Pennington Park, opened in 2022.

The new trail will put the county one step closer to achieving its goal of building a path along the 30-mile stretch of Rancocas Creek from the Delaware River to its source in Pemberton Township.

In a statement, Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel said the extension will “provide an important route for vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists to travel across the Rancocas Creek and Route 130, providing a long-sought safe connection for both sides of the highway.”

While the project is still in its preliminary phase, the community can weigh in on the project during a virtual public information session on Aug. 26 at 5 p.m.

The project is expected to cost around $30 million and will be paid for mostly by federal funding, according to the county.

More than half a million dollars have already been approved by the Delaware Valley Planning Commission for planning and design on the trail extension.

The commission also took the first steps to obtain federal funding for the remainder of the project through the New Jersey Transportation Improvement Program, the county said.

Still in the Local Concept Development phase, it’s too early to nail down a detailed timeline for the project, county spokesperson David Levinsky said in an email.

“The county anticipates finishing that portion of the planning and design later this fall,” he said, before they pursue funding for preliminary and final engineering for the project.

“Construction would come after those steps,” Levinsky said, which is still “several years” away.

He expects a timeline could come once the design phase is completed.

According to New Jersey Department of Transportation data, there were 111 crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists along Route 130 between 2019 and 2026, including 11 fatalities.

“The deaths and injuries on Route 130 over the years are proof positive that more needs to be done to improve safety for all road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists,” State Sen. Troy Singleton said in a statement.

Singleton co-sponsored legislation in 2018 to reduce the speed limit on Route 130 and make other safety improvements along the highway within Burlington City. The law is named after Antwan Timbers Jr., a 17-year-old Burlington City High School student who was killed in 2016 after being hit by a car along a stretch of the roadway.

“Infrastructure enhancements, like the one Burlington County is planning, will absolutely save lives and improve mobility through the Route 130 corridor,” Singleton said.