Gov. Phil Murphy was in Newark on Thursday touting a new plan to turn an abandoned rail line into New Jersey’s newest state park.

The Essex-Hudson Greenway will be nine miles and will cross into eight towns in Essex and Hudson counties. It will stretch from Montclair to Jersey City.

The project will get a jumpstart from $20 million in federal stimulus money.

"Nine miles of new, green space through some of our state's most densely populated areas. Nine miles for healthy recreation. For cycling, for running and for walking,” Murphy said.

Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill has been a leading advocate for the greenway.

Gill is also a political strategist who ran Murphy’s first election campaign in 2017.