New Jersey Route 7

Route 7 is a state highway in the northern part of New Jersey in the United States. It has two sections, an east–west alignment running from U.S. Route 1/9 Truck in Jersey City to Route 21 in Belleville, and a north–south alignment running from the Newark/Belleville to the Nutley/Clifton border, and is one of two state highways in New Jersey to have an intentional discontinuity (New Jersey Route 440 is the other). The New Jersey Department of Transportation lists Route 7 as a single north–south highway with a small gap between the alignments. The entire highway has a combined length of 9.46 mi (15.22 km).

The southern section of Route 7, which runs from Jersey City to Belleville, passes through industrial areas, the New Jersey Meadowlands, Arlington Memorial Park, and some residential and business areas. West of the interchange with County Route 508 in Kearny, Route 7 is the Belleville Turnpike, a historic road created in 1759. The northern section of Route 7 runs north through residential and business areas of Belleville and Nutley into Clifton, where it turns west and crosses back into Nutley, briefly turning to the north to come to its northern terminus. A portion of the route in Nutley is municipally maintained while the portion within Clifton is maintained by Passaic County. The two separate sections of Route 7 are linked by County Route 506 (Rutgers Street) in Belleville, which is signed as Route 7 despite the fact it is not officially part of the route.

Route 7 was established in 1927 to run from Jersey City to Paterson, replacing Pre-1927 Route 11 between Belleville and Paterson. The routing was amended in 1929 to head to Route 3 in Wallington and was extended north to Route 6 (now U.S. Route 46) in East Paterson in 1949. In 1953, the route was modified to follow its current alignment.

Route description

Southern section

The first section of Route 7 begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 1-9 Truck and County Route 645 (Charlotte Avenue) in Jersey City, Hudson County, heading to the west on a four-lane highway that is signed east–west.^[1] The route crosses the Hackensack River on the Wittpenn Bridge into Kearny. Route 7 interchanges with County Route 659 (Fish House Road) and widens to a six-lane divided highway. The route than passes by industrial areas and a railroad yard and then interchanges with County Route 508.^[1][2] Past this interchange, Route 7 becomes the four-lane, divided Belleville Turnpike. The route narrows to a two-lane, undivided road and heads northwest into the New Jersey Meadowlands, passing under the mainline of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) and the western spur of the New Jersey Turnpike a short distance later.^[1][2]

Route 7 continues northwest, widens into a divided highway, and forms the border of Kearny to the south and North Arlington, Bergen County to the north, entering a more residential environment.^[1][2] The route is signed north–south along the border of Kearny and North Arlington.^[3] The road intersects Schuyler Avenue, which runs as County Route 507 to the south of Route 7 and County Route 130 to the north of Route 7. County Route 507 joins Route 7 at this intersection and the two routes continue west, meeting the southern terminus of Route 17 (Ridge Road) and the northern terminus of County Route 697 (Kearny Avenue). Past this intersection, County Route 507 splits from Route 7 by heading north on River Road, County Route 699 heads to the south on Passaic Avenue, and Route 7 continues west, crossing the Passaic River on a drawbridge into Belleville, Essex County, where the first section of Route 7 ends at an intersection with Route 21.^[1]

Northern section

The second section of Route 7, designated a north–south road, heads north on Washington Avenue from the Second River crossing on the Newark/Belleville border, passing through a business district.^[4] The route intersects County Route 506 (Belleville Avenue), and that route forms a concurrency with Route 7 that lasts one block to the intersection with Rutgers Street, where County Route 506 heads to the east.^[1] Rutgers Street is used to connect the two sections of Route 7 and is named for Colonel Henry Rutgers, an American Revolutionary War hero and benefactor of what is now Rutgers University. It is signed as but not officially part of Route 7. Route 7 is not signed on Washington Avenue between the Second River and Rutgers Street except on overhead signs suspended from traffic signals.^[4]

From Rutgers Street, Route 7 continues north, crossing into Nutley.^[1] At the intersection with County Route 646 (Park Avenue), Route 7 turns into a municipally maintained road and enters a more residential area.^[1][4] Upon intersecting County Route 606 (Kingsland Road), Route 7 crosses into Clifton, Passaic County and heads to the west on county-maintained Kingsland Street signed east–west.^[1][4] It crosses back into Nutley, Essex County and regains state maintenance. At the intersection with County Route 644, Route 7 turns north onto Cathedral Avenue and comes to its terminus at the Nutley/Clifton border less than one-half mile from an interchange with Route 3.^[1]

History

The Belleville Turnpike was created in 1759 as a turnpike made out of cedar logs and was chartered in 1808.^[5][6] It served as a part of the Underground Railroad route for escaped slaves to get to Jersey City.^[7] The northern segment of Route 7 was originally a part of Pre-1927 Route 11, which was legislated in 1917 to run from Newark to Paterson.^[8] In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 7 was designated to run from Jersey City to Paterson, replacing Pre-1927 Route 11 between Belleville and Paterson.^[9][10]

In 1929, the routing was amended to run from Route 25 (now U.S. Route 1/9 Truck) in Jersey City to Route 3 in Wallington.^[11] Route 7 was extended north in 1949 to continue to Route 6 (now U.S. Route 46) in East Paterson (now Elmwood Park).^[12] In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 7 was legislated onto its current alignment, with the northern terminus moved to the Nutley/Clifton border.^[13] The route was also realigned to head south on Washington Avenue between the Newark border and Rutgers Street in Belleville on what was Route 11N, a remnant of Pre-1927 Route 11, making Route 7 discontinuous.^[14] County Route 506 used to follow the southern portion of Route 7 but has been truncated to the intersection with Routes 7 and 21 in Belleville.^[15]

Major intersections

Southern section

Northern section

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• New Jersey portal

References

External links

• New Jersey Roads: Route 7
• New Jersey Highway Ends: Route 7
• An expanded view of road jurisdiction near the confluence of US 46, I-95 / NJTurnpike, I 280, NJ 7 and CR 508 in Kearny
• Speed Limits for Route 7