The vision of completing the
Morris Canal Greenway as a 111-mile continuous pedestrian and bicycle trail connecting six counties
is advancing, with work underway
on key projects from small and subtle additions, like signs and kiosks to larger projects, like lock restoration and bridges.
The Morris Canal Working Group, coordinated through the NJTPA, met for its semi-annual meeting on May 18. Joe Macasek and Tim Roth of the
Canal Society of New Jersey presented updates about various segments of the canal, all in different phases of design, planning, and construction, ranging from interpretative signs and kiosks to more elaborate potential plans like a floating river bridge to connect Waterloo Village with an adjacent inclined plane.
The premier project is the lock and Lock Tenders House in Wharton, which is
nearly ready with only a punch list of items to be accomplished, Macasek said. The site has gone through extensive archaeology assessment and construction since it began in 2006. The goal is to have the Lock Tender’s House completed in time for this year’s
Canal Day, set for August 19. The lock itself could be finished by the end of the year, he said. A ribbon-cutting ceremony at last year’s Canal Day celebrated
major completion of the restoration.
In Boonton, stabilization of the Arch Bridge is out for bids and could be completed this year, Macasek said. The railroad trestle stabilization as a public walkway is still in the works but has been pushed to 2024. Meanwhile, the state’s Green Acres program will fund acquisition of the railroad turntable. “A lot of this is about connectivity,” he said, and bringing the community together.
A restoration project for Inclined Plane 4 West, across the river from Waterloo Village, is expected to go under contract this summer. An interpretive canal project this fall will help to define this to visitors, Macasek said, and a floating river bridge is being considered that would connect Waterloo Village with this plane site. “That might be in the offing and that certainly would be a marvelous thing to connect, the visitors at Waterloo to the historic remains of this inclined plane.”
A path along a water-filled section of the canal along Route 202 in Montville will become Dorsey Pond Canal Park later this summer. Macasek described it as “a short but enjoyable stretch of the towpath trail.”
Major projects in Passaic County included the Peckman River Bridge, which is waiting for contracts; the Morris Canal feeder from Wayne to Mountain View, which is in the final design; and, the 4.5-million New York Susquehanna & Western Rail Trail from Pequannock to Mountain View is under construction. Meanwhile, seven different walking trails planned as part of Jersey City’s Greenway Connectivity Plan would all connect with the Morris Canal Greenway.
The greenway is envisioned as a 111-mile trail from the Delaware River in Phillipsburg to the Hudson River in Jersey City, closely aligned with the former canal, which closed a century ago. More information on the canal is available at
https://www.morriscanalgreenway.org/