Last month New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced that the state will spend $65 million to purchase land for the completion of a rail trail linking Hudson and Essex counties. The funding commitment ensures that an August 2020 deal to procure the land will not expire in January.

What is currently being called the Essex-Hudson Greenway will be built along nine miles of overgrown railway that was NJ Transit’s Boonton Line. Once complete, it will give runners, walkers and cyclists a protected travel route between Jersey City and Monclair. In addition to providing a more eco-friendly means of traveling between cities, the linear park will provide more outdoor and exercise opportunities for residents of the smaller towns along its path.

In announcing the funding commitment, Murphy said he expects the project will be considered one of the state’s top five accomplishments 30 or 40 years from now. Still, he was quick to admit that the land was now equivalent to “a rough-cut gem,” as more funding will be required to bring the project to fruition. Among the work to be done is environmental remediation of brownfields as well as strengthening of more than a dozen older bridges.