understanding the particle と in the following sentence: 人々が家路へと急ぐごろ


I don't understand the use of と in the following sentence.

人々が家路へと急ぐごろ

I don't understand why と is used at all, since the particle へ is already used
in the sentence.

Right now I have only seen と been used as a particle indicating "and" or as a
quoting particle. Is there another way this particle can be used?




(First, it should be （急ぐ）ころ, not ごろ.)

Since that と doesn't follow a noun, it can't be a case particle, which means
"and". So, it's a quoting particle. The difference (if any) between the ones
with and without it is like below.

  * 人々が家路へ急ぐころ: around the time when people rush home
  * 人々が家路へと急ぐころ: around the time when people rush "home"

Sense of "quote" as in quoting particle と is much broader than what it
generally means in English.

