Interstate 78 in New Jersey

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Interstate 78
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Phillipsburg-Newark Expressway
New Jersey Turnpike - Newark Bay Hudson County Ext.
Length: 67.83 mi[1] (109.16 km)
West end: Interstate 78 Toll Bridge in Phillipsburg
Major
junctions:		 NJ 31 in Clinton
US 22 in Pohatcong Twp
I-287 in Bedminster Twp
NJ 24 in Springfield
GSP in Union/Hillside
US 1/9 in Newark
I-95/NJTP in Newark
NJ 139 in Jersey City
East end: Holland Tunnel in Jersey City
New Jersey State Highway Routes
< NJ 77 NJ 79 >
Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs

Interstate 78 is an east-west route stretching from Union Township, Pennsylvania to New York City. In New Jersey, I-78 is called the Phillipsburg-Newark Expressway and the Newark Bay Extension. Interstate 78 runs for 66 miles (106 km) in the state of New Jersey from the Interstate 78 Toll Bridge at the Pennsylvania state line to Holland Tunnel at the New York state line. I-78 continues in Manhattan for less than a mile.

Contents

[edit] Route description

The western-most section of Interstate 78 in New Jersey opened in November 1989 after a more northerly alignment along present day U.S. Route 22 was rejected by community opposition. The new alignment ends at Exit 3 in New Jersey, where US 22 rejoins I-78. The section from Exit 3 to Exit 13, west of Clinton Township, was built c. 1960. This section runs along Musconetcong Mountain with a summit near milepost 10; the west slope features an automatic deicing spray.[2] From Exit 13 to Exit 15, old US 22 was upgraded on the spot, and Route 173 joins I-78 and US 22 for a concurrency. I-78 and US 22 continue east concurrently south of Clinton Township and Annandale to Exit 18.

At Exit 18, US 22 splits onto a four-lane surface highway, while I-78 continues roughly and closely parallel until Readington Township, where US 22 turns southeast while I-78 continues a due east course. Exit 29, a complicated interchange at Interstate 287, provides access to other areas of northeast New Jersey. This section of freeway, completed c. 1970, continues to Exit 41, a local exit for Drift Road in Watchung. The section from Drift Road to Route 24 (Exit 48) in Springfield Township was delayed because of environmental impacts to the Watchung Reservation. That section, opened in 1985 and 1986, was redesigned to allow construction to proceed. Extra land was added to the Nike Site Road overpass (milepost 45.74) and a separate land bridge at milepost 46.18 was built to allow for animal migration. These land bridges were later scorned by local communities for the amount of deer (and the resulting damage to flora on private property) that moved into the neighboring towns of Summit, New Providence and Berkeley Heights. The road was also designed to use a narrower right-of-way with no median strip and just a Jersey barrier dividing the highway.

At Route 24, I-78 divides into local and express lanes. There is currently a project underway to rebuild the highway between Route 24 and the Garden State Parkway. As part of this project, the express lanes had been closed until November 2006, and work on the local lanes is expected to begin in March 2007.[3] In this section of the highway, most access is via the local lanes, though Exit 49 (Route 124) includes a direct westbound onramp to the express lanes. Exit 49, and the westbound local lanes at this point, were designed to accommodate the semi-directional T terminus of the unbuilt extension of Interstate 278 (Union Freeway). Exit 56, which provides local access to Irvine Turner Boulevard in southwestern Newark, is a large semi-directional T interchange with full access to the local and express lanes. The interchange was built as the south end of the never-built Route 75, which would have connected to Interstate 280 (where unused ramps were also built) and Route 21.

The final interchange on the free part of I-78 is the massive complex at the Newark Airport, called the Newark Airport Interchange, with ramps to and from U.S. Route 1/9, U.S. Route 22, Route 21, and many local roads. Several ramps provide access to the express lanes. Just to the east, the local and express lanes rejoin at the toll gate for the New Jersey Turnpike. An interchange just beyond the toll booth provides full access to Interstate 95, the main line of the Turnpike; I-78 then rises onto the Newark Bay Bridge into Bayonne. Exits 14A and 14B, numbered as part of the New Jersey Turnpike, provide local access to Bayonne and Jersey City, and Exit 14C is the number given to the toll plaza at the end of the turnpike extension. After the toll plaza, there is a recently built exit for a Hudson-Bergen Light Rail park and ride. Then after an exit for Columbus Drive and Montgomery Street, I-78 heads down to surface level and merges with the Route 139 freeway. I-78 and Route 139 head east along 12th Street (eastbound) and 14th Street (westbound) in downtown Jersey City, running through four traffic signals (in violation of Interstate standards) before heading into the Holland Tunnel (tolled eastbound) under the Hudson River into New York City.

The expressway (like many other interstates in New Jersey) once had solar powered emergency call boxes every 1.0 mile, however with the advent of cell phones the usage of these call boxes became extremely limited. So to save on maintenance costs the NJDOT removed these call boxes in 2005, and with difficulty replacing parts, they are disappearing from many other highways such as I-195, I-280, I-295, I-80, NJ 55, NJ 208. [1] [2]

[edit] History

This 1955 plan shows the full proposed route of I-78, running east to Kennedy Airport and then north to the Bruckner Interchange.
This 1955 plan shows the full proposed route of I-78, running east to Kennedy Airport and then north to the Bruckner Interchange.

The oldest section of Interstate 78, the Holland Tunnel, was established in September of 1927. The tunnel predated the Interstate Highway System, as a commuter linking Jersey City and Manhattan. Six months after it was opened, 3,655,000 passengers used the tunnel.[4]

The Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike was the first limited-access section of I-78 to be built in the state of New Jersey. The 8.2 mile long expressway was opened in 1956 to provide access from the New Jersey Turnpike mainline to the Holland Tunnel.[5]

In July 1963, New Jersey Governor Richard J. Hughes approved a plan to build I-78 through the city of Newark at a cost of $204,696,637.[6]

A section of Interstate 78 in New Jersey was closed off in August 1989 when a debris pile under a bridge caught fire and damage the elevated highway. The road was opened nine days after the fire occurred.[7]

[edit] Exit list


County Location Mile # Destinations Notes
Warren Phillipsburg 0.00 Interstate 78 Toll Bridge over the Delaware River
Greenwich Twp 3.94 3 US 22 west / NJ 173 to NJ 122 – Phillipsburg, Bloomsbury, Alpha West end of US 22 overlap
5.48 4 Warren Glen, Stewartsville Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Franklin Twp 7.03 6 Warren Glen, Asbury Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Hunterdon Bloomsbury 7.46 7 NJ 173 – West Portal, Bloomsbury
Union Twp 11.76 11 NJ 173 – West Portal, Pattenburg
13.42 12 NJ 173 – Jutland, Norton
15.01-15.07 13 NJ 173 west (Service Road) West end of NJ 173 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Franklin Twp 16.06 15 NJ 173 east (CR 513) – Clinton, Pittstown East end of NJ 173 overlap
Clinton Twp 17.32-17.87 17 NJ 31 – Clinton, Washington, Flemington, Trenton Signed as exits 16 (north) and 17 (south) eastbound
18.34-18.83 18 US 22 east – Annandale, Lebanon East end of US 22 overlap
Lebanon 20.78 20 Lebanon, Round Valley Recreation Area, Cokesbury Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; signed as exits 20A (south) and 20B (north)
Tewksbury Twp 25.03 24 CR 523 to CR 517 – Oldwick, Whitehouse
Somerset Bedminster Twp 27.11 26 CR 665 – Lamington, North Branch
30.80-30.87 29 I-287 to I-80 / US 202 / US 206 – Morristown, Somerville
Warren Twp 34.58 33 CR 525 – Bernardsville, Martinsville
37.39 36 CR 651 – Basking Ridge, Warrenville
40.98 40 CR 531 – The Plainfields, Watchung, Gillette
Union Berkeley Heights 42.22 41 To US 22 – Berkeley Heights, Scotch Plains No eastbound entrance
44.01 43 Berkeley Heights, New Providence,Watchung
44.52 44 New Providence, Berkeley Heights (CR 527) Eastbound exit and entrance
Summit 46.72 45 CR 527 (Glenside Avenue) – Summit Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Springfield Twp 49.28 48 NJ 24 west to I-287 – Millburn, Springfield, Morristown
Union Twp 50.58 49 NJ 124 to NJ 82 – Springfield, Union, Maplewood Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; signed as exits 49A (east) and 49B (west)
51.43 50 Union, Millburn, Maplewood Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; signed as exits 50A (south) and 50B (north)
53.11 52 GSP Movements from GSP south to I-78 east and GSP north to I-78 west are handled by U-turns at exits 50 and 54; toll station at ramp
Hillside Twp 54.32 54 Hillside, Irvington Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Essex Newark 54.88-55.00 55 Hillside, Irvington Eastbound exit is part of exit 54
56.45 56 Hillside Avenue to Clinton Avenue – Downtown Newark Originally built for the Route 75 freeway
57.23 57 NJ 21 north – Newark No westbound exit
57.45 57 US 1-9 south – Newark Airport, Elizabeth
58.03 58A US 1-9 south to US 22 / NJ 21 – Port Newark, Elizabeth, Newark, Newark Airport
Frontage Road Eastbound exit is via exit 58B
58.32 58B US 1-9 north
58.6 New Jersey Turnpike Toll Plaza (Exit 14)
58.93 NJTP / I-95
Hudson Jersey City 62.01
(N3.5)[8]		 14A Bayonne (NJ 440)
64.20
(N5.5)[8]		 14B Jersey City, Liberty State Park
64.5
(N5.9)[8]		 New Jersey Turnpike Toll Plaza (Exit 14C)
64.63 Liberty State Park, Light Rail Park & Ride Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
65.60 Columbus Drive - Jersey City Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
66.49 To US 1-9 (NJ 139 west) West end of NJ 139 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
66.76 Jersey Avenue Traffic signal
66.85 Erie Street Traffic signal
66.94 Grove Street Traffic signal
67.03 Luis Munoz Marin Boulevard Traffic signal
67.1 Holland Tunnel toll plaza
67.83 Holland Tunnel under the Hudson River

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Interstate 78 Straight Line Diagram from the New Jersey Department of Transportation
  2. ^ Rich Dean (March 6, 2005). "Automatic de-icer on I-78". misc.transport.road. (Web link). Retrieved on 2007-01-20.
  3. ^ New Jersey Department of Transportation. Interstate 78 Resurfacing, Reconstruction: Overview. Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
  4. ^ "HOLLAND TUNNEL TOLLS NOW EXCEED $2,000,000; First Six Months' Receipts Show It Is Helping to Pay for Itself--Average Daily Traffic Already Above Half Its Capacity--Income Rising Monthly Income Now Rising. Trucking Cost Lowered. Cuts Fog Delays. Effect on Jersey City. Out of Gasoline.", The New York Times, March 13, 1928, p. 129. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. 
  5. ^ "Jersey Will Open Pike Link Today; New Jersey Turnpike Extension Will Cut Travel Time", The New York Times, September 15, 1956, p. 14. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. 
  6. ^ Wright, George Cable. "Hughes Approves a Huge Road Plan; $204,696,637 Spending in Fiscal '63 Cleared--Route 78 to Cross Newark", The New York Times, July 31, 1963. Retrieved on 2007-09-09. 
  7. ^ ""Section of Interstate 78 To Reopen to Traffic", Associated Press, New York Times, August 16, 1989. Retrieved on 2007-08-31. 
  8. ^ a b c New Jersey Turnpike Authority. Interchanges. Retrieved on 2007-01-24.

[edit] External links


Interstate 78
Previous state:
Pennsylvania		 New Jersey Next state:
New York
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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