Battlefield may clinch MOM battle

The state Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Parks and Forestry has apparently given ” thumbs down to the Monmouth Junction route’s proposed crossing” of the Monmouth Battleground State Park, according to the Asbury Park Press.

A May letter from the division, the paper says,

cites adverse effects from commuter trains on the park — which is crossed by rails where a freight train runs — and from more drivers using Route 522 to reach a proposed station in Manalapan near the park.

The effort to upgrade the Monmouth Junction line across the preserved battlefield could be prevented by federal officials, now that the DEP has rendered an opinion about the effects, a prominent historian said.

“They can’t proceed without the permission of the New Jersey Historic Sites Council, and if they approve, the National Parks Service would not approve,” said Garry Wheeler Stone, Monmouth Battlefield State Park historian.

The Post and Press will have more on this story as it develops.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet