Editing Union County, New Jersey (section)

==Transportation==
The county is served by rail, air, highways and ports.

===Roads and highways===

[[File:2018-06-20 18 47 05 View north along New Jersey State Route 444 (Garden State Parkway) between Exit 132 and Exit 135, entering Clark Township, Union County from Woodbridge Township, Middlesex County in New Jersey.jpg|thumb|Garden State Parkway northbound entering Union County]]
{{As of|2010}}, the county had a total of {{convert|1418.31|mi}} of roadways, of which {{convert|1158.45|mi}} were maintained by the local municipality, {{convert|176.32|mi}} by Union County and {{convert|66.22|mi}} by the [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]], {{convert|16.22|mi}} by the [[New Jersey Turnpike Authority]] and {{convert|1.10|mi}} by the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]].<ref>[https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/pdf/mileage_Union.pdf Union County Mileage by Municipality and Jurisdiction], [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]], March 2019. Accessed December 25, 2020.</ref><ref>[https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/pdf/00000278__-.pdf Interstate 278 Straight Line Diagram], [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]], June 2018. Accessed December 25, 2020</ref>

Major highways which traverse the county include the [[New Jersey Turnpike]] ([[Interstate 95 in New Jersey|I-95]]), the [[Garden State Parkway]], [[Interstate 78 in New Jersey|I-78]], [[Interstate 278|I-278]], [[U.S. Route 1/9|Route 1/9]], [[U.S. Route 22 in New Jersey|Route 22]], [[New Jersey Route 24|Route 24]], [[New Jersey Route 27|Route 27]], [[New Jersey Route 28|Route 28]], [[New Jersey Route 35|Route 35]] (only in [[Rahway, New Jersey|Rahway]]), [[New Jersey Route 82|Route 82]], [[New Jersey Route 124|Route 124]], [[New Jersey Route 439|Route 439]], and the [[Goethals Bridge]]. At 0.15 miles, [[New Jersey Route 59|Route 59]], located entirely in Union County, is the shortest state highway in New Jersey.<ref>Roberts, Russell. [https://books.google.com/books?id=00PHkUlnXJcC&pg=PT3 ''New Jersey's Atlantic Shore: From Sandy Hook to Atlantic City & on to Cape May''], p. 3. Hunter Publishing, 2011. {{ISBN|9781588439796}}. Accessed October 27, 2019. "The shortest highway in America is in New Jersey. Route 59, clocking in at a whopping 792 feet, is located on the border of Cranford and Garwood. It was originally built in 1931 to be part of Route 22, but plans changed."</ref>

===Public transportation===
Passenger rail service is provide by [[NJ Transit]] via the [[Northeast Corridor]], [[North Jersey Coast Line]], [[Raritan Valley Line]], the [[Morristown Line]] and the [[Gladstone Branch]].<ref>[http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LineDetailsTo&selLine=MNEG Gladstone Branch] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417080404/http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LineDetailsTo&selLine=MNEG |date=April 17, 2016 }}, [[NJ Transit]]. Accessed October 6, 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LineDetailsTo&selLine=MNE Morristown Line] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023060244/http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LineDetailsTo&selLine=MNE |date=October 23, 2013 }}, [[NJ Transit]]. Accessed October 6, 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LineDetailsTo&selLine=NEC Northeast Corridor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712073924/http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LineDetailsTo&selLine=NEC |date=July 12, 2014 }}, [[NJ Transit]]. Accessed October 6, 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LineDetailsTo&selLine=NJCL North Jersey Coast Line] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723025516/http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LineDetailsTo&selLine=NJCL |date=July 23, 2013 }}, [[NJ Transit]]. Accessed October 6, 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LineDetailsTo&selLine=RARV Raritan Valley Line] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015103641/http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=LineDetailsTo&selLine=RARV |date=October 15, 2013 }}, [[NJ Transit]]. Accessed October 6, 2013.</ref> Freight service is provided by on [[Conrail]]'s [[Lehigh Line (Conrail)|Lehigh Line]] and [[Chemical Coast Branch]]. Freight and passenger rail service was provided by the [[Rahway Valley Railroad]] from 1897 until 1992 when the short line closed due to lack of customers.<ref>Boright, Walter E. [http://www.nj.com/cranford/index.ssf/2011/05/rvrr_the_little_railroad_that.html "Rahway Valley Railroad: The little railroad that helped build Kenilworth, Part II"], ''Cranford Chronicle'', May 10, 2011. Accessed October 25, 2017. "He added that 1990 presented two major blows to the railroad. Its largest user, Monsanto Corp., closed its Kenilworth doors and the Rahway River Branch was then torn up. Second, Jaeger Lumber in Union ceased to use the railroad. Much of the land along the former Rahway River Branch was subdivided into building lots upon which homes and in some locations offices were constructed. The last train, carrying two hoppers, left Kenilworth on April 21, 1992."</ref>

NJ Transit provides bus service to the [[Port Authority Bus Terminal]] in [[Midtown Manhattan]], as well as service to major cities in New Jersey and within Union County.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090522212305/http://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=BusRoutesUnionCountyTo Union County Bus / Rail Connections], [[NJ Transit]], backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of May 22, 2009. Accessed October 6, 2013.</ref>

The [[Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal]] is part of the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]].<ref>[http://www.panynj.gov/port/about-port.html About the Port], [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]]. Accessed October 6, 2013.</ref>

The southern portion of [[Newark Liberty International Airport]] is located in Elizabeth, within Union County.<ref>[http://www.panynj.gov/airports/ewr-about.html About the Airport], [[Newark Liberty International Airport]]. Accessed October 6, 2013.</ref>

===Potential rail-to-trails===
Union County Park Line rail trail is a proposed walking and/or biking trail proposed on old railroad tracks. Two abandoned rails exist in the county.<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1DBBlGLp93s1zuQRC_SVzk-8gR5g Abandoned right-of-ways Union County], Google Maps. Accessed December 21, 2016.</ref>

The City of [[Summit, New Jersey|Summit]] and the Summit Park Line Foundation are working on turning the line from Morris Avenue to Briant Park in Summit into a [http://www.nj.com/independentpress/index.ssf/2015/01/summits_own_highline_would_be.html rail trail] that will be approximately one mile long. This rail trail, potentially called the Summit Park Line, could provide a greenway to connect several county parks, akin to a Summit High Line.<ref>[http://www.summitparkline.org/about/ About], Summit Park Line Foundation. Accessed January 3, 2017.</ref> A path could run directly from Summit to the [[Arthur Kill]] in [[Linden, New Jersey]] on the [[Rahway Valley Railroad]] and the [[Staten Island Rapid Transit]] line.

The Summit city council applied for a $1 million grant toward the Summit Park Line project in November 2016.<ref>Faszczewski, Bob. [https://www.tapinto.net/towns/summit/articles/summit-council-applies-for-1-million-grant-towar "Summit Council Applies for $1 Million Grant Toward Park Line Project; Parking 'Holidays' for Thanksgiving Weekend, December Approved"], TAPintoSummit, November 3, 2016. Accessed January 3, 2017. "The Summit Common Council, at its first meeting of November, authorized application for a maximum $1 million federal grant that the majority of Council members feel will kick start the proposed Summit Park Line project, and bring needed sidewalks to sections of Broad Street and Morris Avenue in East Summit. ... As envisioned by the Summit Park Line Foundation, which is collecting private funding to pay for the project, the Park Line will convert an abandoned rail line right-of-way stretching from Briant Park through the central business district to a public park, walkways and nature areas while offering a view of the Manhattan skyline."</ref>  "If Summit is able to complete the project, it might help other parts of the greenway come through," said Union County Public Relations Coordinator, Sebastian Delia.<ref name="unionnewsdaily.com">http://unionnewsdaily.com/news/2465{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The [[Rahway Valley Railroad]] runs from Summit to Roselle Park. Beginning in Hidden Valley Park, the railroad right-of-way continues by connecting [[Houdaille Quarry]], Briant Park, Meisel Park, [[Rahway River]] Parkway, [[Galloping Hill Golf Course]] and Black Brook Park. The ending of the railway is on Westfield Avenue in [[Roselle Park, New Jersey|Roselle Park]]. The [[Staten Island Rapid Transit]] runs from [[Cranford, New Jersey|Cranford]] to [[Staten Island]], although the project would only include the section that runs from Cranford to Linden.<ref name="unionnewsdaily.com"/> The possible inception in Cranford would be a lot on South Avenue East. The ending of this trail would be in Linden at an empty lot. A boardwalk would run over the existing tracks to ease line reactivation.