County Route 549 (New Jersey)

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County Route 549

Length:

17.82 mi^[1] (28.68 km)

South end:

NJ 166 in Toms River Twp

Major
junctions:

NJ 37 in Toms River

CR 571 in Toms River

Spur CR 549 in Toms River Twp

CR 528 in Brick Twp

NJ 70 in Brick Twp
GSP in Brick Twp

NJ 88 in Lakewood Twp

US 9/CR 526 in Lakewood Twp

Spur CR 549 in Brick Twp

North end:

CR 547 in Howell Twp

500-series county routes
< CR 548		CR 550 >

County Route 549 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends 17.82 miles from Main Street (Route 166) at County Route 527 in Toms River Township to County Route 547 in Howell Township. The highway has the distinction of being the only 500-series route left with two separate spur routes.

The highway is maintained by Ocean County, but there are several indications that the highway at one point may have been or was originally planned to be state maintained. There are a few mileposts left along the southern section of the highway that have a "NJDT" label on the bottom right corner. Also, the only "at grade" cloverleaf in New Jersey [1] exists on CR 549, and on the bridges there exists a stamp in the concrete that reads "1975". No other county bridges have their dates stamped into them^{[citation needed]}.

County Route 549 travels through both Monmouth and Ocean County, but mostly travels through the latter. The highway frequently transfers from one road to another, and with missing and nonexistent signage, it can be quite difficult to follow the road for those not familiar with the area. The route in its northern segment is a two-lane, rural road, but it becomes a four-lane arterial after crossing the Garden State Parkway all the way to Toms River Township. County Route 549 handles more traffic then any other county route in all of Ocean County^{[citation needed]}; it is a major link between the townships of Toms River and Brick. As the route is plagued by chronic congestion, the county has invested millions of dollars into upgrading this corridor. The most recent improvement was from Cedar Bridge Avenue (CR 528) to Beaverson Boulevard. It included widening, signal modification, and the extension of Beaverson Boulevard to meet Old Hooper Avenue. Ongoing improvements are being made between Beaverson Boulevard and Church Road, where widening and reconstruction should help alleviate some congestion in that area. However, without the completion of the Fischer Boulevard Extension, it is doubtful that CR 549 will see much relief anytime soon.

The road travels through the following municipalities (from South to North):