The first major hurdle to the project, the purchase of the land for $65 million from the Norfolk Southern Railway, is close to being cleared, Kagan said.

The sale is being brokered by the Open Space Institute, and the trail, which lies roughly equally in Essex and Hudson counties, would eventually be owned and managed by those counties. Funding for the purchase is coming from local, county, state and federal sources and private donors. If passed, President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure bill, which has money earmarked for bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure, could help finance the Greenway’s design and construction, said Montclair Township Council member Peter Yacobellis. “With the stars aligning and money flowing, this is the moment. This is an amazing opportunity,” he said.