U.S. Route 206

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U.S. Route 206
Length: 130.23 mi[1][2] (209.58 km)
Formed: 1934
South end: US 30/NJ 54 in Hammonton, NJ
Major
junctions:		 NJ 70 in Southampton, NJ
NJTP in Bordentown Twp, NJ
US 130 in Bordentown Twp, NJ
I-195 in Hamilton Twp, NJ
NJ 27 in Princeton Boro, NJ
US 202 in Somerville, NJ
US 22 in Bridgewater Twp, NJ
I-287 in Bedminster/Bridgewater Twp, NJ
I-80/NJ 183 in Stanhope/Roxbury Twp, NJ
NJ 15 in Frankford Twp, NJ
North end: US 209 in Milford, PA
United States Numbered Highways
List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Route 206 is a north-south United States highway in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, United States. Only about a half a mile (800 m) of its length is in Pennsylvania; the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge carries it over the Delaware River into New Jersey. Meeting great resistance from local residents, the State of New Jersey is attempting to widen the road in Byram from the current two lanes to five-lanes for about a mile north of Interstate 80 to eliminate a one-lane northbound bottleneck through the area.[3] For nearly two decades the township of Hillsborough, New Jersey has been pushing for a bypass of the congested part of U.S. Route 206. This plan as been mostly held up due to the opposition from the development that lays in its path. This development however, was built with a wide excess right of way through its middle, with the intent of using it for the bypass in the future. Residents feel they were misled and are now fighting the New Jersey Department of Transportation, despite that the bypass looks to be on its way to completion. The final design phase is in progress, and the state is just looking for funds.[4] Once complete the old section of U.S. Route 206 will become a "Main Street" that will be more pedestrian friendly and have more of a downtown appearance. It is also quite possible that old U.S. Route 206 may become a business route.

As of 2004, the highway's northern terminus is in Milford, Pennsylvania at an intersection with U.S. Route 209; some sources and signs show an overlap with US 209 to end at U.S. 6. Its southern terminus is in Hammonton, New Jersey at an intersection with Route 54 and U.S. Route 30.

Contents

[edit] Route description

Lengths
mi km
NJ 129.77[1] 208.97
PA 0.46[2] 0.74
130.23 209.58

[edit] Atlantic County

U.S. Route 206 begins at a traffic light with U.S. Route 30 in Hammonton.[1] For the first mile, 206 crosses over some streams and brooks until intersecting with Atlantic County Route 693 at 1.24 miles. Route 633 terminates from the right at 2.97 miles. County Route 536 begins to the left at 4.08 miles. 206 crosses more streams and brooks until it enters Burlington County at 6.28 miles.[1]

[edit] Burlington County

Route 206 signage as seen from CR 543
Route 206 signage as seen from CR 543

At 36.27 miles, 130 leaves to the right and 206 continues towards Mercer County. After the ramp from Interstate 195, 206 leaves Burlington County for Mercer County.[1] 206 spends 31 miles in Burlington County.[1] 206 begins in Shamong Township. At 9.45 miles, County Route 541 exits to the left. Burlington County Route 648 comes in from the left, merges for a short distance, where it leaves to the right at 11.36 miles. At Tuckerton Road, 206 enters Tabernacle Township, where County Route 532 crosses at the first traffic light since U.S. Route 30. Now in Southampton Towship, Burlington County Route 648 comes in once again from the right.[1] At 17.66 miles, New Jersey Route 70 crosses at a traffic circle. 206 continues through Southampton crossing County routes 642, 616 and 681. Just before leaving the town, New Jersey Route 38 and County Route 530 intersect and terminate at a traffic light with 206. Now in Springfield Township, County Route 537 crosses at 26.8 miles. In Mansfield Township, 206 becomes a divided highway for less than a mile. During this divided stage, Burlington County Routes 690 and 687 cross, as well as County Route 543. Just before becoming a divided highway once again, New Jersey Route 68 merges into 206 from the right. Now in Bordentown, U.S. 206 merges into U.S. Route 130 for about 2/3 of a mile.[1]

[edit] Mercer County

At 38.46 miles, 206 crosses Crosswick Creek and enters Hamilton Township, which is in Mercer County.[1] Interstate 195 interchanges soon after entering Mercer County. County Routes 524 and 533 intersect at the White Horse Circle, which is from 38.81 to 38.90 miles. Interstate 295 crosses at 39.63 miles, just after 206 becomes a divided highway. Mercer County Route 626 leaves to the right at 40.29 miles. 206 intersects with Mercer County Route 650 on the Hamilton-Trenton border.[1] New Jersey Route 129 and U.S. Route 1 cross in downtown Trenton at 41.97 and 42.3 miles. In Lawrence Township, U.S. Route 1 Business crosses at the Brunswick Circle. County Route 583 intersects with 206 at 45.63 miles. Interstate 95 crosses at 48.01 miles during a divided highway sequence. The divided highway ends at a traffic light with County Route 546.[1]

County Route 569 crosses at 50.21 miles, still in Lawrence Township. 206 enters Princeton at 51.59 miles, where it intersects with County Route 533 about a mile later.[1] New Jersey Route 27 leaves to the right in downtown Princeton. 206 continues for a few more miles until it enters Somerset County.

[edit] Somerset County

See also: U.S. Route 202

At 57.23 miles, US 206 enters the township of Montgomery in Somerset County.[1] The first four intersections are for local roads in Montgomery until 206 reaches County Route 518. A shopping plaza comes after at 58.22 miles and Somerset County Route 609 leaves to the right several intersections after the mall. County Route 533 ends to the right in Montgomery at 59.10 miles. Somerset 609 ends to the right soon after. Somerset 604 crosses at 61.33 miles with Somerset Routes 630 and 601 crossing 206 at 62.16 and 62.82 respectively. 206 leaves Montgomery for Hillsborough at 63.06 miles.[1] County Route 514 at 65.42 miles. Somerset County Route 608 leaves to the right after 206 becomes a divided highway. 206 crosses through the borough of Somerville and then enters Raritan, where it intersects with Somerset County Route 626 near 71 miles from the southern terminus. Somerset County Route 644 intersects with 206 at 71.17 miles. Less than a 1/2 mile later, New Jersey Route 28 merges in from the left.[1]

I-287 and 78 off 202/206
I-287 and 78 off 202/206
The Somerville Circle
The Somerville Circle

At the Somerville Circle, U.S. Route 202 comes in from the left and merges into 206. Sometime later in Bridgewater, U.S. Route 22 crosses. The interchange for the Bridgewater Commons Mall comes a 1/2 mile later.[1] Interstate 287 crosses even sooner after the mall. The divided highway merges into one road and goes through Downtown Bridgewater. For a short time, 202 and 206 split into a divided highway again but only for one block as it quickly re-merges. Entering the town of Bedminster, Interstate 78 crosses via an overpass. For a moderate distance in Bedminster, the road becomes a divided highway once again. During this divided highway process, Interstate 287 crosses once again and soon afterwards, 202 leaves to the right towards Morristown, while 206 continues towards Netcong. 206 continues a short distance as a divided highway and merges back together before entering downtown Bedminster. County Route 523 crosses in the downtown region. 206 then enters the boro of Peapack-Gladstone at 80.22 miles.[1]

Just before re-entering Bedminster, County Route 512 crosses. 206 leaves Bedminster soon after for Chester Township, which is in Morris County.[1]

[edit] Morris County

A view looking down the Musconetcong River between Warren and Morris Counties.
A view looking down the Musconetcong River between Warren and Morris Counties.

After entering Chester Township, US Route 206 enters Morris County.[1] The first seven or so intersections are for local roads in Chester. At 86¾ miles, 206 enters downtown Chester. The first traffic light is for a shopping mall with Morris County Route 671, Old Glastone Road crossing soon after. County Route 513 crosses at 87.14 miles, just before leaving downtown Chester. 206 then enters a rural area, where it intersects with Four Bridges Road and Hillside Road at 88.83 miles. Just before leaving the township of Chester, Morris County Route 625 leaves to the left. It crosses again soon after, with 613 and 612 crossing after that. At this point, 206 is now in Mount Olive. In the downtown area, 613 crosses twice again at 92.16 and 95.53 miles. 206 enters Roxbury Township at 93.69 miles. New Jersey Route 183 crosses at 95.03 miles and Interstate 80 soon after. 183 crosses once more before becoming concurrent with Interstate 80 in Mount Olive.[1]

[edit] Sussex County

After the intersection with International Drive in Mount Olive, U.S. Route 206 crosses the Musconetcong River and enters Sussex County.[1] The road intersects with New Jersey Route 183 soon after the crossing from Morris County. 206 enters Stanhope for less than a ½ mile and soon enters Byram Township. The first traffic light in Sussex County comes at an intersection with Sussex County Route 604 in Byram. County Route 607 leaves to the right soon after. Between Hi Glen Drive and Sutton Drive, US 206 reaches 100 miles from its southern terminus. After passing some local roads, 206 crosses from Byram Township and into the borough of Andover at 102 miles.[1] Sussex County Route 606 and County Route 517 cross at 103 miles with Sussex 609 leaving to the right soon after. 206 leaves the borough and enters the town of Andover at 104.4 miles. Sussex CR 603 leaves to the left at 105.32 with Sussex routes 611 and 618 intersecting soon after. 206 leaves Andover and enters Newton Township at about 108 miles.[1]

Sussex County Route 621 leaves to the right early into Newton and then passes local roads until an intersection with New Jersey Route 94.[1] County Route 519 crosses soon after 94 at 109⅓ miles. At 109.45 miles, 206 crosses the brook of Paulins Kill. Soon after the intersection with South Park Drive, US 206 enters the town of Hampton. 206 does in Hampton as the road quickly enters Frankford Township. After crossing the Paulins Kill, New Jersey Route 15 and County Route 565 end at a traffic light with 206. Just after 116 miles, Sussex County Route 630 leaves to the right in one of its first interchanges with 206. 206 then leaves Frankford for the borough of Branchville, where it interchanges with County Route 519 once again. Sussex County Route 633 crosses at exactly 117 miles and enters Frankford once again within .4 of a mile.[1] Soon after the location change, Sussex County Route 630 comes in from the right and becomes concurrent with 206 for a short distance. CR 630 leaves soon after to the left. A little more than a mile later, 630 again returns from the left. Past halfway into 119 miles, County Route 521 joins in from the left. The two roads become concurrent from now until the Pennsylvania border.[1]

U.S. 206 at the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge
U.S. 206 at the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge

The now concurrent US 206 and CR 521 crosses into the Township of Sandyston. Sussex County Route 636 leaves to the left at 120 miles. County Route 560 begins to the left at exactly 122 miles. 560 brings you to one of the first two crossings into Pennsylvania. Continuing into Sandyston, 206/521 intersect with Sussex County Route 652 late into 123 miles and CR 654 soon afterwards. In the final miles, Sussex County Routes 675, 648, 656 and 645 all intersect with the concurrent routes. At 127.41 miles, 206/521 enters Montague, the final town before Pennsylvania. Sussex County Routes 653 and 650 intersect at 128 and 129 miles with 521 then leaving to the right just before the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge into Pennsylvania.[1]

[edit] Pennsylvania

After crossing the Milford-Montague Toll Bridge and entering Milford, 206 spends a short distance as its own route before merging onto U.S. Route 209 and disappearing from signage very soon after. However, some signs still show 206 and 209 (both northbound and southbound) cosigned (concurrent) with each other until the U.S. Route 6 approach, with which 209 merges and continues concurrent. This section of 206 is not controlled by PennDOT. Instead its run by the National Park Service because it is in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which stretches up the west coast of New Jersey and the eastern coast of Pennsylvania.

[edit] History

[edit] Former routes

U.S. Route 206 had many different designations throughout its 129.3 mile distance. South of Princeton, US 206 was known as Route 39.[5] Route 31 extended from Princeton to Newton, while Route S31 extended from Newton to the Delaware River. By the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, these roads became known as U.S. Route 206.

[edit] Bypasses

U.S. Route 206 is a busy corridor throughout western New Jersey; as a result, portions of it (such as the proposed Hillsborough bypass) have frequently been upgraded to freeway standards or to a better alignment bypassing the road's many towns.

In 1936, US 206 was realigned to bypass the borough of Somerville, leaving its old alignment on Bridge Street. Route 177 was the designation applied to this old alignment, although it is unclear according to New Jersey legal references when exactly the Route 177 designation was applied, or how much of Bridge Street was state-maintained. Route 177 was fully decommissioned by 1974. In 1942, a new alignment of US 206 was built south of White Horse. It was known for a time as Route 160, but it has also been decommissioned. In 1957, when US 206's current alignment bypassing Columbus was built, the designation of Route 170 was given to the old alignment through Columbus. In the 1960s, the road was given back to Burlington County and is now County Route 690.

[edit] Major intersections

[edit] US 30 to US 130

County Location Mile[1] Roads intersected Notes
Atlantic Hammonton 0.00 US 30 (White Horse Pike) Southern terminus of US 206.
4.08 CR 536 (Chewtown Road) Eastern terminus of CR 536.
Burlington Shamong Township 9.45 CR 541 (Stokes Road) Southern terminus of CR 541.
Tabernacle Township 14.81 CR 532 (Medford Lakes Road)
Southampton Township 14.81 NJ 70 Traffic circle.
23.48 NJ 38 and CR 530 (South Pemberton Road) Eastern terminus of NJ 38. Western terminus of CR 530.
Springfield Township, Burlington County 26.80 CR 537 (Monmouth Road)
Mansfield Township 30.64 CR 543 (Main Street)
23.48 NJ 68 Western terminus of NJ 68.
Bordentown 34.32 New Jersey Turnpike Exit 7 off NJTP
35.17 CR 545 (Farnsworth and Georgetown Avenues)
35.61 US 130 Begin concurrency of 206 and 130

[edit] US 130/206 concurrency

County Location Mile[1] Roads intersected Notes
Burlington Bordentown 55.97 (US 130) CR 528 (Crosswicks Street)
36.27 US 130 End concurrency of 206 and 130

[edit] US 130 to US 202

County Location Mile[1] Roads intersected Notes
Mercer Hamilton Township, Mercer County 38.71 Interstate 195 Exit 1 off I-195
38.88 CR 524 (South Broad Street) Traffic circle
38.89 CR 533 (Whitehorse Avenue) Traffic circle
Trenton 41.93 NJ 129
42.30 US 1
Lawrence Township 45.01 US 1 Business (Strawberry Street) Traffic circle
45.36 CR 583
48.01 Interstate 95
48.31 CR 546 (Franklin Corner Road)
Princeton 52.55 CR 533 (Quaker Road)
53.95 NJ 27 (Nassau Street) Southern terminus of NJ 27.
Somerset Montgomery Township 58.08 CR 518 (County Road)
59.10 CR 533 (Orchard Road)
Hillsborough 65.42 CR 514 (Amwell Road)
Raritan Township 71.30 NJ 28 (Amwell Road)
71.46 US 202 Begin concurrency of 202 and 206.

[edit] US 202/206 concurrency

County Location Mile Roads intersected Notes
Somerset Bridgewater NJ 28 Traffic circle
US 22
Interstate 287
Bedminster Interstate 287 Exit 22 off 287.
78.32 US 202 End concurrency of US 202 and 206.

[edit] US 202 - US 209

County Location Mile Roads intersected Notes
Somerset Peapack-Gladstone 82.27 CR 512 (Pottersville Road)
Morris Chester 87.14 CR 513 (Main Street)
Roxbury 95.21 Interstate 80 Exit 27 off 287.
95.35 NJ 183
Sussex Stanhope 97.90 NJ 183
Andover 103.32 CR 517 (Brighton Avenue)
Newton 109.25 NJ 94 Begin concurrency of 206 and 94.
109.33 CR 519 (Mill Street; Trinity Street)
Hampton Township 111.57 NJ 94 (Laffayette Road) End concurrency of 206 and 94.
Frankford Township 114.14 NJ 15 CR 565 (Sussex Road (CR 565)) Termini of both 15 and 565.
Branchville 116.48 CR 519 (Brighton Avenue)
Frankford Township 119.64 CR 521 (Owassa Road) Begin concurrency of 206 and 521.
Sandyston Township 122.0 CR 560 (Tuttles Corner Road)
Montague Township 129.3 CR 521 (Montague River Road) End concurrency of 206 and 521.
Pike Milford US 209 206 merges into 209.

[edit] See also

[edit] Related routes

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae US 206 Straight Line Diagram. Division of Traffic Engineering and Safety Bureau of Transportation Data Development. New Jersey Department of Transportation (2006). Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
  2. ^ a b Federal Highway Administration. The National Highway Planning Network [map], 1 : 68350. Cartography by Quantum GIS. (2005) Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
  3. ^ North Byram Concerened Citizens
  4. ^ Fox unveils re-designed Hillsborough Bypass: New smart growth plan reduces sprawl, preserves more open space, New Jersey Department of Transportation press release dated December 20, 2002
  5. ^ [1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering - Wikisource]

[edit] External links

Browse numbered routes
< US 202 NJ NJ 208 >
< PA 204 PA PA 208 >