Interstate 195 (New Jersey)

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Interstate 195
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Central Jersey Expressway
Length: 34.17 mi[1] (54.99 km)
Formed: 1968
West end: I-295/NJ 29 in Hamilton Twp
Major
junctions:		 US 206 in White Horse
US 130 in Hamilton Twp
I-95/NJTP in Robbinsville Twp
CR 537 in Millstone Twp/Jackson Twp
US 9 in Howell Twp
East end: NJ 34/NJ 138 in Wall Twp
New Jersey State Highway Routes
< NJ 187 US 202 >
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Interstate 195 (abbreviated I-195) is an auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western end is at I-295 just south of Trenton, New Jersey; its eastern end is at Route 34 in Wall Township. I-195 measures 34.17 miles (55.0 km) in length.

I-195 is occasionally known as the Central Jersey Expressway. On April 6, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed H.R. 4263 naming Interstate 195 in New Jersey the James J. Howard Interstate Highway, in honor of the late James J. Howard.[2]

Contents

[edit] Route description

Major cities

Interstate 195's western terminus is at a complex interchange with Interstate 295 and Route 29 in Hamilton Township, located southeast of the city of Trenton. From there it heads almost due east towards the Jersey Shore, straddling the boundary between Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

Vintage I-195 shield
Vintage I-195 shield

The eastern end of Interstate 195 is located at Exit 35, its junction with Route 34. I-195 does not end at the Garden State Parkway, but stops about ⅓-mile (½ km) short of it, having been built to connect with Route 38 (now Route 138), which ended at Route 34. At the exit for Route 34, Interstate 195 ends and Route 138 begins, but the exit numbering continues onto Route 138, marking the interchange with the Garden State Parkway as Exit 36. Route 138 continues east to Belmar, making connections with Route 18 and Route 35.

Much of the traffic on I-195 is due to the highway's proximity to the Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park, located on County Route 537 (Exit 16). Furthermore, although I-195 used to be a somewhat desolate rural freeway, traffic counts have been increasing each year, and with the new commercial and residential development planned in Jackson Township at Exit 21 (County Route 527), the rural freeway is becoming more like other congested freeways in New Jersey.

[edit] History

Interchange 21 for many years was the eastern terminus of I-195, as this USGS map illustrates
Interchange 21 for many years was the eastern terminus of I-195, as this USGS map illustrates
Exit 21 View of exit 21 from the Westbound lanes of I-195
Exit 21 View of exit 21 from the Westbound lanes of I-195

Construction on Interstate 195 began in 1968 on an isolated stretch east of the New Jersey Turnpike. Following the beginning of construction, the highway was completed on the following dates:

  • 1972: Washington Township to Jackson Mills (between milepost 8.5 and milepost 21.9)
  • 1974: White Horse to Washington Township (between milepost 1.8 and milepost 8.5)
  • 1979: Jackson Mills to Squankum (between milepost 21.9 and milepost 29.9)
  • 1981: Squankum to Wall Township (between milepost 29.9 and milepost 35.0)
  • 1987: White Horse (between milepost 0.3 and milepost 1.8)
  • 1990: I-295 / NJ 29 interchange (between milepost 0.0 and milepost 0.3).[3]

As shown, Interstate 195 once terminated at (present) Exit 21 before it was extended to meet U.S. Route 9 near Squankum in Howell. The line that forced drivers onto the exit ramp can still be made out along the pavement (even though it was scraped off). Also, the pavement noticeably changes right after the ramp. This is due to the fact that I-195 was not completed in a single stage. The remainder of the freeway was financed mainly with funds returned from the cancellation of never-completed portions of Interstate 278.

When it was planned, Interstate 195 did not intersect its "parent" (Interstate 95) at all; it instead connected to Interstate 295. When I-95 was re-routed to the New Jersey Turnpike in 1985 as a result of the cancellation of the Somerset Freeway, I-95 and the Turnpike became I-195's proverbial parent, as the interchange there served as a direct connection. Since I-95 abruptly ends at I-295 and US 1 in Lawrence Township, NJ, signage on I-295 directs southbound I-295 motorists to I-195 east in order to access the "official" part of I-95/New Jersey Turnpike.

The expressway (like many other interstates in New Jersey) once had solar powered emergency call boxes every mile; however, with the advent of cell phones, the usage of these call boxes fell dramatically. In order to save on maintenance costs, the NJDOT removed these call boxes in 2005. Due to the difficulty in replacing parts, the call boxes are also disappearing from many other highways such as I-280, I-295, I-78, I-80, NJ 55, and NJ 208.[4] [1]

[edit] Future

 This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.
Approaching the southern terminus of Route 29 where it transitions into I-195 near Trenton
Approaching the southern terminus of Route 29 where it transitions into I-195 near Trenton
  • When the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project (the interchange between I-95 and I-276 near Bristol Township, Pennsylvania) is completed circa 2014, I-195 is currently slated to be extended from its present-day western terminus, continuing counterclockwise to the north and replacing sections of the current Interstate 295 and Interstate 95, with its designation proposed to end at that new interchange,[5]. I-295 would be truncated to the current interchange with I-195, and I-95 would be rerouted onto current I-276 to the New Jersey Turnpike. Though there are other numbering alternatives – such as the original design choice of an I-295 extension into Pennsylvania – officials from New Jersey and Pennsylvania have agreed to submit the I-195 request to AASHTO, as no route designation is official until approved by them. If approved, the mileage of I-195 will go up and all of the exits along its current 34.17 mile stretch would have to be renumbered. If this occurs, approximately 15.7 miles will be added to I-195, an extension that will make New Jersey's I-195 longer than its identically numbered counterpart in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and also would run in Pennsylvania.
  • Additionally, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has studied proposals to expand I-195 from Exit 16 near Six Flags to the Turnpike from 4 to 6 total lanes, which would eliminate the grass median in the process. Exit 16 would be reconfigured to allow better movements before such an expansion were implemented.
  • Pavement resurfacing will be performed from milepost 34.17 to 27.2 (eastbound) and 34.17 to 32.0 (westbound) in Wall Township. Also resurfacing will be done from milepost 0.0 to 2.0 (westbound) and 0.0 to 0.9 (eastbound) in Hamilton Township. [2]
  • Pavement resurfacing will be performed late in 2007 and into 2008 on stretches of I-195 from about Exit 16 to Exit 32. When complete more than half of the interstate will be new pavement. [3] [4]

[edit] Exit list

County Location Mile # Destinations Notes
Mercer Hamilton Township 0.00 60 I-295 / Route 29 – Trenton Partial cloverleaf interchange with a fly-over ramp opened in 1990 as the connector to Interstate 295. Access to Route 29 was under construction in 1990, and was completed in 1995. Exit numbered for I-295.
0.92 1 U.S. Route 206 Provides access to the White Horse Circle
1.55
1.67		 2 CR 620 / CR 524 Stack-like interchange
3.37 3 Yardville-Hamilton Square Road
4.90 5 U.S. Route 130 – New Brunswick / Bordentown / To Hightstown and Hamilton Marketplace Alternate route to NJ 32 and US 1
Robbinsville Township 6.25 6 Interstate 95 / New Jersey Turnpike Interchange opened in the 1970s
7.31 7 CR 526 – Robbinsville, Allentown No access from CR 526 westbound to I-195 eastbound; access provided by Exit 8
Mercer / Monmouth Robbinsville Township / Upper Freehold Township 8.54 8 CR 539 / CR 524 – Allentown / Hightstown / To Atlantic City and GSP While passing this exit heading east, Kingda Ka is briefly visible over the trees directly ahead.
Monmouth Upper Freehold Township 11.79 11 CR 43 – Imlaystown
Monmouth / Ocean Millstone Township / Jackson Township 16.71 16 CR 537 – Freehold / Mount Holly / Six Flags Great Adventure
Ocean Jackson Township 21.04 21 CR 527 – Siloam / Jackson Mills This exit has a newly built Park & Ride located just north of it
22.99 22 CR 638 – Georgia / Jackson Mills
Monmouth Howell Township 27.17 28 U.S. Route 9 – Lakewood / Freehold
31.49
31.57		 31 CR 547 – Farmingdale / Allaire State Park / Lakewood
Wall Township 34.17 35 Route 34 to Garden State Parkway south – Brielle / Matawan / Point Pleasant Eastern terminus of Interstate 195, western terminus of Route 138
Route 34 used for connections to/from GSP southbound
0.28, 0.36
(34.45, 34.53)		 36 Garden State Parkway north Cloverleaf interchange with additional ramps

[edit] References

  1. ^ Interstate 195 NJDOT Straight-line diagram
  2. ^ Today in Interstate History, accessed July 24, 2006
  3. ^ Interstate 195 (New Jersey). Retrieved on 2006-08-23.
  4. ^ "Reducing highway safety completely uncalled for", The Record (Bergen County), June 26, 2005. Accessed September 30, 2007.
  5. ^ Design Advisory Committee Meeting #2 Summary. PA Turnpike / I-95 Interchange Project (2005-09-14). Retrieved on 2006-08-08.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Auxiliary routes of Interstate 95
v • d • e
Expressways in New Jersey
Interstate Highways
I-76 • I-78 • I-80 • I-95 • I-195 • I-278 • I-280 • I-287 • I-295 • I-676
U.S. and state highways
US 1/9 • NJ 18 • NJ 19 • NJ 21 • NJ 24 • NJ 33 • NJ 42 • NJ 55 • NJ 133 • NJ 208 • NJ 440 • NJ 495
Toll roads and other highways