Delaware River Heritage Trail

When completed, the 60-mile Delaware River Heritage Trail would link 24 towns in New Jersey and Pennsylvania

(Courtesy of Delaware River Greenway Partnership)

BURLINGTON COUNTY -- Burlington County secured a $2.3 million federal grant this week that will allow it to complete another portion of a 60-mile bike and pedestrian loop that is being built along the Delaware River.

The goal of the Delaware River Heritage Trail is to link 24 towns -- from Trenton to Palmyra in New Jersey and from Morrisville to Philadelphia's Tacony neighborhood in Pennsylvania -- in the hopes of highlighting the cultural and natural resources along the river.

Burlington County opened its first 2.8-mile segment in 2013, connecting Bordentown City's waterfront to Fieldsboro.

The next 5-mile segment will pick up where the trail left off, continuing through rural Mansfield, Crystal Lake Park and back across Route 130 ending at the Roebling Museum in Florence, said Mary Pat Robbie, director of the county's Department of Resource Conservation.

Of the segment, 1.5 miles will be on the road and 3.5 miles will pass through the county's preserved open space.

The funding comes through the federal Transportation Alternative Program. The grant requires that construction begin by December 2017, but there are some environmental and regulatory hurdles that must be overcome before work begins, Robbie said.

She said the county has been meeting with NJ Transit to receive approval for crossing over the River Line.

The project has been in the works for years and is a cooperative effort between municipal and county governments on both sides of the river, the Delaware River Greenway Partnership, the Circuit Trails and other nonprofit organizations.

"I'm really pleased that there are grant monies available to make this type of trail possible," Robbie said. "In other parts of Pennsylvania, they've done a lot of work on the trails and they're great assets to the community. I'm glad to see that we'll be able to complete a major portion within Burlington County."

Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.