2024 East Coast Greenway state-by-state highlights

2024 has been a landmark year for the East Coast Greenway Alliance, marked by more than $500 million in public investments awarded to projects along the route, Olympians training on the Greenway and the successful passage of four bonds supporting safer streets, trails and parks. Our team also celebrated its move to a new headquarters in downtown Durham, North Carolina.

Read on for hightlights at the state level, from north to south: 

Maine

• On Aug. 7, National Greenway Director Allison Burson joined U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at the celebration for the $25 million RAISE grant awarded to Portland, Maine, for active transportation and roadway infrastructure on Tukey’s Bridge and in the East Deering neighborhood.
• In November, voters passed the first-ever Maine Trails Bond, allocating $30 million to repair heavily used or damaged trails, expand and connect trails and create new trails and accessible outdoor spaces for everyone statewide.

New Hampshire

• A new 7.8-mile segment of the New Hampshire Seacoast Greenway opened Sept. 4, marking significant progress for the East Coast Greenway in New England. Executive Director Dennis Markatos-Soriano spoke alongside New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and other local and regional officials and trail supporters, while National Greenway Director Allison Burson and Northern New England Manager Emily Paskewicz engaged key stakeholders onsite. New Hampshire has completed more than 50% of its Greenway route, advancing from last place to the top eight states in trail completion. The full New Hampshire section is expected to be completed within the next decade.

Massachusetts

• Sixteen MassTrails grants were awarded for segments along or connecting to the East Coast Greenway. This program supports shared-use pathways and recreational trails through matching grants, technical assistance and resources for municipalities, nonprofits and public entities.
• The latest designation in Massachusetts is the Northern Strand Community Trail in Everett, a segment of the developing Border to Boston portion of the Greenway. It stretches 1.7 miles from Malden to the Encore Boston Harbor Harborwalk and existing paths along Boston Harbor.

Rhode Island

• Rhode Island is now connected via trail to Connecticut’s expansive East Coast Greenway network. Designated in November, Connecticut’s 5.8-mile Moosup Valley State Park Trail now connects with the Rhode Island border, linking with Rhode Island’s Trestle Trail, part of the 19-mile Washington Secondary Bike Path. 

Connecticut

• More than 8 miles of the Greenway are set to be completed in Connecticut this year, thanks to the efforts of Southern New England Manager Bruce Donald and his extensive network of local partners. Combined with the newly opened 3-mile stretch in Simsbury and Bloomfield, this progress will bring Connecticut’s Greenway to 56.4% completion by the end of 2024.
• Three November designations in Connecticut include Moosup Valley State Park Trail Phase II (5.8 miles), Farmington Canal Heritage Trail Phase IIIA (1.3 miles) and Quinebaug River Trail Phase V (0.5 miles).

New York

• Momentum for completing the East Coast Greenway in New York City and improving the city’s active transportation network is stronger than ever following a series of successful events for the East Coast Greenway Alliance team - the NYC Greenways Summit, the inaugural Roger Herz Greenway and Active Mobility Award celebration and more. Executive Director Dennis Markatos-Soriano, Deputy Director Niles Barnes, Mid-Atlantic Manager Daniel Paschall and Creative Director Mary-Paige McLaurin traveled to New York for the impactful slate of events.
• New Jersey & New York Manager Sofia Barandiaran, who joined the Greenway staff in May, was named to the steering committee for the NYC Greenways Coalition.

New Jersey

• Cramer Hill Waterfront Park, designated as part of the Greenway in November, is restoring ecosystems and reconnecting communities to the waterfront after nearly seven decades as a landfill. With adjacent sections of the planned Greenway route in design, planning and public control, Cramer Hill Waterfront Park will soon be linked to Center City Philadelphia via the Ben Franklin Bridge Walkway.
• Significant progress was made on the game-changing New Jersey Greenway in Essex and Hudson counties with a groundbreaking expected in 2025.

Pennsylvania 

• In Center City Philadelphia, the 2.1-mile-long Spring Garden Street Connector project secured $53.55 million, which includes funding for construction of the full project. The project will tie together national and regional trail networks the East Coast Greenway and the Circuit Trails between the Delaware and Schuylkill river trails. 
• Three safety-enhancing trail connections in Pennsylvania earned East Coast Greenway designation in 2024.

Delaware

• Trail segments along the East Coast Greenway made progress through planning and design stages across the state, including segments in the City of Wilmington; along SR4 in the Churchmans Crossing area; and in the Claymont area, linking Governor Printz Boulevard, the new Claymont train station and the Pennsylvania-Delaware border.
• East Coast Greenway partner Delaware Greenways unveiled a new brand for Northern Delaware’s trail network, now known as the First State Trails Network. The rebrand was led by the First State Trails Coalition.

Maryland

• The Maryland Department of Transportation launched its first update to the Maryland Statewide Transportation Trails Strategic Plan since 2009 and also announced new state funding for various biking, walking and trail projects, including $1 million earmarked for communities along the East Coast Greenway. Mid-Atlantic Manager Daniel Paschall was present for the announcement.

Washington, D.C.

• The New York Avenue Bridge and Lincoln Connector Trail Project in Washington, D.C., secured a $25 million RAISE grant to add 1.5 miles of trail, linking the Fort Lincoln neighborhood to the Anacostia River Trail and East Coast Greenway.

Virginia

• In August, Richmond broke ground on its first section of the 43-mile Fall Line trail. This section will connect to segments already under construction in Henrico and Hanover Counties to the north. When complete, the Fall Line will be a game-changing portion of the East Coast Greenway linking seven communities between Ashland and Petersburg in central Virginia. Virginia & Washington, D.C. Manager Elliott Caldwell represented the Greenway at multiple Fall Line groundbreaking events in 2024. 
• With Caldwell playing a key role in its development, the Chesapeake Trails and Connectivity Plan was unanimously adopted by a vote of the Chesapeake City Council in November.

North Carolina

• Working alongside state and local partners, the Alliance, led by North Carolina Manager Andrew Meeker, made great progress toward the acquisition of a critical 26-mile inactive rail corridor that will create the Durham-to-Roxboro Rail Trail, adding approximately 8 miles to North Carolina’s East Coast Greenway State Trail through Bragtown, a heavily developed area without safe pedestrian and bicyclist access. 
• Four feasibility studies that would greatly enhance the East Coast Greenway in eastern North Carolina are nearing completion.

South Carolina

• With South Carolina & Georgia Manager Jim Hemphill playing a key role in his first week with the Alliance, the South Carolina Department of Transportation applied for ATIIP funding and  requested public input on adding preliminary engineering and planning for an East Coast Greenway feasibility study in the Grand Strand, Charleston, and Lowcountry regions to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.

Georgia

• Camden County, Georgia, received a $750,000 RAISE grant for a Joint Comprehensive Transportation Plan to guide future infrastructure projects. Key for the East Coast Greenway, the plan will enhance the route connecting Georgia and Florida, including potential ferry and/or bridge links.

Florida

• Florida added three new East Coast Greenway designations, totaling more than 4 miles. A highlight is Jacksonville’s 0.9-mile Fuller Warren Bridge Shared-Use Path, which is a key segment of the proposed “Core-to-Coast” loop, a future complementary route of the East Coast Greenway connecting downtown Jacksonville with the surrounding neighborhoods. Other designations include The Underline Phase 2 in Miami (2.1 miles) and the Timucuan Trail in Jacksonville. (1.6 miles).