Interstate 195 (New Jersey)

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 and Route 29 just south of Trenton, New Jersey in Hamilton Township, Mercer County while its eastern end is at the Garden State Parkway, Route 34 and Route 138 in Wall Township. I-195 is 34.17 mi (54.99 km) in length. The route is mostly a four-lane highway that runs through wooded areas in the center of New Jersey. It has an interchange with the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) at Exit 7A in Robbinsville Township and serves as a main access road to Six Flags Great Adventure (which is off the CR 537 exit in Jackson Township) and the Jersey Shore. I-195 is occasionally referred to 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.

The current I-195 was initially planned as a toll road called the Trenton-Asbury Park Expressway in the 1950s. In the 1960s, the road became part of the proposed Route 37 and Route 38 freeways that were to cross the central part of the state. A compromise between these two freeway was planned between Trenton and Belmar and would get Interstate Highway funding, becoming I-195. This freeway was built in several stages during the 1970s and 1980s. Due to the cancellation of the Somerset Freeway and the resulting gap in I-95, an interchange is planned between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-95 in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania to fill this gap. When this is completed in 2017, I-195 will be extended west along the current I-295 and I-95 around the north side of Trenton to the new interchange.

Route description

Mercer County

I-195's western terminus is at a modified cloverleaf interchange with I-295 in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, located southeast of the city of Trenton. From this end, the freeway continues north into Trenton as Route 29. I-195 serves as the southern continuation of Route 29, continuing east from I-295 as a six-lane expressway, passing between suburban neighborhoods to the north and the Crosswicks Creek to the south.^[1][2] After the exit for US 206, the highway narrows to four lanes and turns northeast as it interchanges with CR 524 and CR 620.^[1] Following this, I-195 passes near more neighborhoods and runs to the northwest of Gropp Lake before turning more to the east.^[2] The route has a cloverleaf interchange with Yardville-Hamilton Square Road before passing near business parks and reaching a cloverleaf junction with US 130. After US 130, the road enters Robbinsville Township as the settings start to become more rural, with a few areas of suburban development.^[1][2] In Robbinsville Township, there is a ramp that provides access to the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95). Shortly after passing over the New Jersey Turnpike, I-195 reaches the exit for CR 526.^[1] The highway runs to the north of Allentown before briefly forming the border between Robbinsville Township to the north and Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth County to the south as it reaches the interchange with CR 524/CR 539.^[1][2]

Monmouth and Ocean counties

Upon passing under CR 524/CR 539, I-195 fully enters Upper Freehold Township in Monmouth County and continues east through a mix of woodland and farmland.^[1][2] The next interchange the highway reaches is with CR 43.^[1] Past this exit, the highway passes through more rural areas and crosses into Millstone Township. In this area, I-195 turns to the southeast and enters more forested areas as it comes to a cloverleaf interchange with CR 537.^[1][2] This exit off I-195 provides access to Six Flags Great Adventure and the Jackson Premium Outlets.^[2] Due to the presence of Six Flags, this exit off I-195 can become busy during the summer months since it provides access to the park from both the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, which lies just east of I-195's eastern terminus.^[3][4] Upon crossing CR 537, the highway enters Jackson Township in Ocean County and continues east through heavy woods. The road comes to an exit with CR 527, where there is a park and ride lot for motorists. The median of I-195 widens past the CR 527 junction before narrowing as it comes to the CR 638 interchange.^[1][2] The road runs through more woodland, with nearby residential development increasing.^[2]

After crossing the North Branch Metedeconk River, I-195 continues into Howell Township, Monmouth County and turns northeast, reaching a cloverleaf interchange with US 9.^[1][2] At this point, the road turns east again and soon heads back into dense woods.^[2] After crossing the Manasquan River, the expressway interchanges with CR 547, which provides access to CR 524 and CR 549. Shortly after CR 547, I-195 enters Wall Township and passes through Allaire State Park.^[1][2] The eastern end of I-195 is located at Exit 35, its junction with Route 34 that has access to the southbound Garden State Parkway from the eastbound direction.^[1] At the exit for Route 34, I-195 ends and Route 138 begins, but the highway and exit numbering continue onto Route 138, marking the interchange with the Garden State Parkway as Exit 36.^[1][2] Past this interchange, Route 138 continues east to Belmar on the Jersey Shore as an arterial boulevard, making connections with Route 18 and Route 35.^[2]

History

What would become I-195 was first proposed in the late 1950s as a toll road called the Trenton-Asbury Park Expressway that was to be operated by the New Jersey Highway Authority, the owner of the Garden State Parkway at the time.^[5] In 1965, this road would be incorporated into a planned Central Jersey Expressway System. The western portion would become a part of the Route 37 freeway that was to run from Trenton to Seaside Heights while the eastern portion would become a part of the Route 38 freeway that was to run from Camden to Belmar. The two freeways were to meet near Fort Dix.^[6] By 1967, plans for the Route 38 freeway were canceled, leaving Route 37 as the only planned east-west freeway through central New Jersey. The routing of this freeway, which was to be called the Central Jersey Expressway, was changed to run from the Trenton area east to Wall Township^[7] In addition, officials pushed for Interstate Highway funding for the freeway, with funds to be diverted from the canceled I-278 in Union County. The proposed freeway would cost $60 million.^[8]

By 1970, construction took place on the route between CR 539 near Allentown and CR 527 in Jackson Township.^[9] The portion of I-195 between the New Jersey Turnpike and CR 527 was opened by 1973 and construction on the section between White Horse and the New Jersey Turnpike began.^[10] In 1979, I-195 was completed east to Squankum.^[11] By 1983, the length of I-195 was completed.^[12]

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority had proposed to build the Driscoll Expressway which was to start from exit 80 of the parkway in Toms River and end 3 miles north of exit 8A of the Turnpike in South Brunswick. This proposal was also part of the "Central Jersey Expressway System," but it was proposed before I-195 was ever created. After I-195 was extended into Jackson Township in the late 1970s, an interchange was planned to be built to connect the two roads. However, the Driscoll Expressway was shelved in the 1980s.^[13]

When it was planned, I-195 did not intersect I-95 at all; it instead connected to I-295 at its west end.^[12] When I-95 was re-routed to the New Jersey Turnpike after the cancellation of the Somerset Freeway, I-195 was connected to I-95.^[14] Since I-95 abruptly ends at I-295 and US 1 in Lawrence Township, motorists must take I-295 southbound to I-195 east in order to access I-95/New Jersey Turnpike.^[15]

On April 6, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed H.R. 4263 naming I-195 in New Jersey the James J. Howard Interstate Highway, in honor of the late James J. Howard, a U.S. Representative from New Jersey who advocated improving the highways of the United States .^[16] In the late 1990s, the New Jersey Department of Transportation considered the possibility of widening I-195 to six lanes between the New Jersey Turnpike and CR 537 in order to accommodate traffic going to Six Flags Great Adventure.^[17] The interchange with CR 537 was improved in 1997 by adding separate ramps to westbound and eastbound CR 537 from I-195 and by making the westbound ramp two lanes for Six Flags traffic.^[18]

I-195, like many other highways in New Jersey, once had solar powered emergency call boxes every 1.0-mile (1.6 km). With the advent of cell phones, the call boxes saw limited use. To save on maintenance costs, the NJDOT removed the call boxes in 2005.^[19][20]

Future

On April 30, 2010, NJDOT started a project to repave the expressway both eastbound and westbound from just east of the Turnpike overpasses near Exit 7 in Robbinsville Township to Exit 11 in Upper Freehold Township. This was completed in late autumn of 2010.^[21]

When the Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project (the interchange between I-95 and I-276 near Bristol Township, Pennsylvania) is completed in 2017, I-195 is planned to be extended from its present-day western terminus, continuing counterclockwise to the north and replacing sections of the current I-295 and I-95, with its designation proposed to end at that new interchange.^[15] 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 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, as no route designation is official until approved by them.^[22] If approved, approximately 27.1 miles (43.6 km) will be added to I-195.^[23] Interchange renumbering will also take place that will coordinate with the future I-195 designation in Pennsylvania, as well as the new and current I-195 designation, from Ewing to Belmar.^[24] The future route designation can be seen here.

Additionally, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has studied proposals to expand I-195 from Exit 16 near Six Flags to the New Jersey Turnpike from 4 to 6 total lanes, which would eliminate the grass median in the process.^[17]

On December 1, 2004, plans were announced to extend the dual-dual configuration of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) to Exit 6 in Mansfield Township from its current end at Exit 8A in Monroe Township. Three additional lanes will be added at the exit 7A tollgate and the exit ramps that connect the 7A tollgate with Interstate 195 will be widened to two lanes. A new high speed overpass will be built across the expressway, and I-195s' overpasses that cross over the turnpike will be reconstructed.^[25][26]

Exit list

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• New Jersey portal

References

External links

• Interstate 195 (Steve Anderson)
• New Jersey Roads: Interstate 195
• Speed Limits for State Roads: Interstate 195 in New Jersey