Garden State Parkway
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The Garden State Parkway is a 174.8-mile (281-km) limited-access toll parkway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the New York Thruway at Chestnut Ridge, New York (just over the state line from Montvale, New Jersey), to Cape May at the southern tip of the state. Its name refers to the state nickname, the "Garden State". Along with the New Jersey Turnpike, Atlantic City Expressway, Palisades Interstate Parkway, and Interstate 295, it is one of five limited access highways closely associated with the suburban highway-centered culture of New Jersey. Within New Jersey, the official (unsigned) designation is Route 444. All but two miles of the road are within the state of New Jersey. The short segment that is in New York and connects to the New York State Thruway is officially designated (but unsigned) as New York State Reference Route 982L.
Two short spurs are given numbers by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Route 444R is the connector at Exit 117 (in Hazlet) to Route 35 at the north end of Route 36 in Keyport. Route 444S is the connector at Exit 105 to the south end of Route 36 at Hope Road (CR 51) near Eatontown.
At the Asbury tolls, the parkway splits into express and local lanes; these end at the Raritan tolls. The express lanes have no access to any exits, except for Exit 105 in Tinton Falls, and Exit 117 at the boundary between Aberdeen Township and Hazlet.
Between Exits 80 and 83, the Parkway has a concurrency with U.S. Route 9 and goes through the Toms River Toll Plaza.
History
The Parkway was constructed between 1946 and 1957 to connect suburban northern New Jersey with resort areas along the Atlantic coast and to alleviate traffic on traditional north-south routes running through each town center, such as U.S. 1, U.S. 9, and Route 35. Unofficially, it has two sections: the "metropolitan section" north of the Raritan River and the "shore section" between the Raritan River and Cape May. Only 18 miles had been constructed by 1950, but taking a cue from the successful New York State Thruway, on April 14, 1952, the New Jersey Legislature created the New Jersey Highway Authority, empowered to construct, operate, and maintain a self-sufficient toll parkway from Paramus to Cape May.
The landscape architect and engineer in charge of the newly-named "Garden State Parkway" was Gilmore Clarke, who had worked with Robert Moses on the parkway systems around New York City. Clarke's design prototypes for the parkway combined the example of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a model of efficiency with parallels in the German Autobahn routes of the 1930s, with the Merritt Parkway model that stressed a planted "green belt" for beauty. Both design models featured wide planted medians to prevent head-on collisions and mask the glare of on-coming headlights.
Most of the metropolitan section is like any expressway built in the 1950s through heavily populated areas. The shore section parallels U.S. Route 9 and runs through unspoiled wilderness in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. In Cape May County, the Parkway has three traffic lights (at exits 8, 10, and 11 respectively), but these may be eliminated in the future.
The Parkway had an old alignment before the Great Egg Harbor Bridge was completed. It was detoured onto U.S. Route 9 and over the Beesley's Point Bridge. This old alignment still exists today and is slowly being consumed by nature.
On July 9, 2003, Governor of New Jersey Jim McGreevey's plan to merge the operating organizations of the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike into one agency was completed.
Usage
The speed limit on the Parkway is 65 mph (100 km/h) from mileposts 27 to 123 and 163 to the New York border, and it is 55 mph (90 km/h) on the rest of the roadway, with some minor exceptions. The speed limit is 50 mph between Milepost 8.0 to Milepost 11.5 in Middle Township, and is 45 mph between Milepost 27 to Milepost 29, approaching and traversing the Great Egg Harbor Bridge, and between Milepost 126.7 and 127.7, approaching and traversing the Driscoll Bridge[New Jersey Turnpike Authority Regulations Relating to the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, Effective December 9, 2004] PDF File, accessed July 5, 2006.
Commercial trucks with a registered weight of over 7,000 pounds (3.18 tonnes) are not allowed to use the northern parts of the Parkway. From the Asbury Park exit (in Tinton Falls) to the southern end of the Parkway at Cape May, trucks are allowed and pay additional tolls. However, buses are allowed for the entire length of the parkway.
Toll Collection
Whereas the New Jersey Turnpike uses a system of long-distance tickets, obtained once by a motorist upon entering and surrendered upon exiting at toll gates (a "closed" system), the Garden State Parkway uses no tickets but collects tolls at toll plazas at semi-regular intervals along its length and at certain exits (an "open" system). The standard car toll is 35 cents on the main road at two-way toll plazas and 70 cents at one-way toll plazas. At exits, tolls are either 70 cents, 35 cents, 25 cents, or free. Both the Turnpike and the Parkway now allow for payment with the E-ZPass system, which replaced the old token system. Tokens originally cost $10 for a roll of 40 tokens (the toll, when tokens were introduced, was 25 cents), but when the toll was increased to 35 cents, rolls were 30 tokens for $10. Tokens are still valid at any toll plaza, but they can no longer be purchased. They are quickly falling into disuse as an effect of the popularity of E-ZPass, and they are becoming a curiosity similar to two-dollar bills. Tokens were originally brass, but were changed to a bimetallic composition, with an outer silver-colored ring and a brass core. There also exist larger bus tokens with a similar bimetallic composition.To reduce congestion, some toll plazas on the roadway were converted into one-way plazas between 2004 and 2006, dubbed "one-way tolling". Under this program, a 70-cent toll is collected in one direction, and the other direction is toll-free. As of January 8, 2006, the Cape May (in Upper Township), New Gretna (in Bass River Township), Great Egg (in Somers Point), Asbury Park (in Tinton Falls), Raritan (in Sayreville), Union (in Hillside Township), Essex (in Bloomfield Township), and Bergen (in Saddle Brook Township) plazas had been converted to one-way toll gates.
The Cape May, Toms River (in Dover Township), Asbury Park, Raritan, and Pascack Valley (in Washington Township) plazas also feature Express E-ZPass lanes, a form of open road tolling that allow motorists with E-ZPass to maintain highway speeds of up to 65 mph (100 km/h) through the toll plaza. Officials are also considering converting the Essex and Barnegat (in Barnegat Township) Toll Plazas to one-way tolling with Express E-ZPass, but as of 2006, these projects have not started.[One-Way Tolling and Express E-ZPass Comes to the Garden State Parkway] accessed June 5, 2006
Shunpiking
Shunpiking occurs on the Garden State Parkway via U.S. Route 9 and Interstate 287. Shunpiking with U.S. 9 occurs between Cape May and Woodbridge Township; I-287 allows shunpiking north of Woodbridge Township to the New York state line.Exit list
| Exit # | Mile Marker | Municipality | Roads – Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0.00 | Lower Twp | US 9 / NJ 109 – Cape May | Begin/end Parkway |
| 4 | 3.9 | Middle Twp | NJ 47 – Wildwood | Toll gate at exit |
| 6 | 6.54 | Middle Twp | NJ 147 – North Wildwood | |
| 9 | 8.40 | Middle Twp | Shellbay Ave – To US 9 / Cape May Court House / Mayville | Exit is a traffic light |
| 10 | 9.90 | Middle Twp | Stone Harbor Blvd (CR 657) – Cape May Court House / Stone Harbor | Exit is a traffic light |
| 11 | 11.04 | Middle Twp | CR 609 / US 9 – Cape May County Park & Zoo | Exit is a traffic light |
| 13 | 13.60 | Middle Twp | Avalon Blvd – Avalon | |
| 17 | 17.50 | Dennis Twp | Sea Isle Blvd – Sea Isle City | |
| 19.38 | Upper Township | Cape May Toll Plaza – One-way northbound tolling with Express EZ-Pass | ||
| 20 | 20.25 | Upper Township | NJ 50 | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 25 | 25.34 | Upper Township | Roosevelt Blvd – Marmora / Ocean City | |
| 28.78 | City of Somers Point | Great Egg Toll Plaza – One-way southbound tolling | ||
| 29 | 28.90 | City of Somers Point | US 9 | |
| 30 | 30.00 | City of Somers Point | NJ 52 – Somers Point | Toll gate at exit |
| 36 | 35.82 | Egg Harbor Twp | To Fire Rd | |
| 36A | 36.08 | Egg Harbor Twp | CR 563 | Northbound entrance, southbound exit |
| 37 | 36.59 | Egg Harbor Twp | CR 608 | |
| 38 | 37.23 | Egg Harbor Twp | Atlantic City Expressway | |
| 40 | 40.04 | Egg Harbor Twp | US 30 – Absecon | Northbound entrance, southbound exit |
| 41.5 | Galloway Twp | CR 561 – Pomona / Richard Stockton College of New Jersey / AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center Mainland Division | Unsigned entrance and exit through Atlantic City Service Area | |
| 44 | 43.98 | Galloway Twp | CR 575 – Smithville / Pomona / Richard Stockton College of New Jersey | Northbound entrance, southbound exit |
| 48 | 48.29 | City of Port Republic | US 9 – Port Republic | Northbound entrance, southbound exit; begin/end US 9 concurrency with Parkway |
| 50 | 50.67 | Bass River Township | US 9 – Bass River Township | Northbound exit, southbound entrance; begin/end US 9 concurrency with Parkway |
| 52 | 52.70 | Bass River Township | East Greenbush Rd – New Gretna | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 53.54 | Bass River Township | New Gretna Toll Plaza – One-way northbound tolling | ||
| 58 | 58.69 | Little Egg Harbor Twp | CR 539 – Tuckerton / To Trenton and I-195 | |
| 63 | 64.11 | Stafford Twp | NJ 72 – Manahawkin / Ship Bottom / Long Beach | |
| 67 | 67.81 | Barnegat Twp | CR 554 – Barnegat | Northbound entrance, southbound exit |
| 68.61 | Barnegat Twp | Barnegat Toll Plaza – Two-way tolling (Express E-ZPass coming soon) | ||
| 69 | 70.45 | Ocean Twp | CR 532 – Waretown | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 74 | 75.34 | Lacey Twp | Lacey Rd – Forked River | Toll gate at exit |
| 77 | 77.40 | Berkeley Township | Kenswick Road (CR 618) – Beachwood / Whiting / Bayville | Toll gate at exit |
| 80 | 80.85 | Boro of South Toms River | CR 530 / US 9 – So. Toms River | Begin/end US 9 concurrency with Parkway |
| 81 | 81.85 | Dover Township | CR 549 – Toms River | |
| 82 | 82.35 | Dover Township | NJ 37 – Seaside Heights / Lakehurst | |
| 83 | 84.10 | Dover Township | US 9 | Begin/end US 9 concurrency with Parkway |
| 84.72 | Dover Township | Toms River Toll Plaza – Two-way tolling with Express E-ZPass | ||
| 88 | 89.36 | Lakewood Township | NJ 70 | Northbound entrance, southbound exit; toll gate at exit |
| 89 | 90.18 | Lakewood Township | CR 528 – Lakewood | Northbound entrance, southbound exit; toll gate at exit |
| 90 | 91.1 | Brick Twp | CR 549 | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 91 | 92.62 | Brick Township | Burnt Tavern Road | Toll gate at exit |
| 98 | 98.23 | Wall Township | Interstate 195 / NJ 138 / NJ 34 – Belmar / Trenton / To New Jersey Turnpike | Unusual cloverleaf interchange; toll gate at exit |
| 100 | 101.24 & 101.60 | Boro of Tinton Falls | NJ 66 / NJ 33 – Ocean Grove / Bradley Beach / Asbury Park | Unusual cloverleaf interchange |
| 102 | 103.15 | Boro of Tinton Falls | Asbury Ave – Neptune Township | Northbound entrance, southbound exit |
| 103.96 | Boro of Tinton Falls | Asbury Park Toll Plaza – One-way northbound tolling with Express E-ZPass | ||
| 104.2 | Boro of Tinton Falls | Parkway divides/merges into express/local roadways | ||
| 105 | 106.12, 106.18, 106.39 | Boro of Tinton Falls | NJ 18 / NJ 36 / NJ 35 – Eatontown / Long Branch | Toll gate for northbound entrance and southbound exit; express lane access |
| 109 | 110.14 | Middletown Township | CR 520 – Lincroft / Red Bank | Toll gate at exit |
| 114 | 113.88 | Middletown Township / Holmdel Twp | CR 52 – Holmdel | Toll gate at exit |
| 116 | 115.85 | Holmdel Township | PNC Bank Arts Center | |
| ~117 | Holmdel Township | Crossover ramps between express and local lanes | ||
| 117 | 118.50 | Hazlet Township | NJ 35 / NJ 36 – Keyport / Matawan | Toll gate at exit; express lane access |
| 117A | 118.79 | Hazlet Township / Aberdeen Township | Lloyd Road (CR 3) – Aberdeen | Soutbound exit and entrance; toll gate at exit |
| 120 | 121.13 | Old Bridge Township | CR 689 – Laurence Harbor | |
| 123 | 124.64 | Boro of Sayreville | US 9 – South Amboy | Northbound entrance and southbound exit |
| 124 | 124.99 | Boro of Sayreville | Main Street (CR 670) – Sayreville | Northbound entrance and southbound exit |
| 125.28 (SB) 125.57 (NB) | Boro of Sayreville | Parkway divides/merges into express/local roadways | ||
| 125.68 | Boro of Sayreville | Raritan Toll Plaza – One-way southbound tolling with Express E-ZPass | ||
| 127 | 128.0 | Woodbridge Township | US 9 / NJ 440 / I-287 – Woodbridge / Perth Amboy / Staten Island | Southbound this exit is combined with Exit 129 |
| 129 | 129.50 | Woodbridge Township | Interstate 95 / New Jersey Turnpike | |
| 130 | 130.63 | Woodbridge Township | US 1 – Trenton / Newark | Northbound entrance, southbound exit |
| 131A | 131.33 | Woodbridge Township | Metropark Train Station | |
| 131B | 131.83 | Woodbridge Township | CR 657 – Metropark | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 131 | 131.97 | Woodbridge Township | NJ 27 – Metuchen / Iselin / Rahway | |
| 135 | 136.22 & 136.30 | Clark Township | Central Avenue – Clark / Westfield | |
| 136 | 137.43 & 137.59 | Cranford Township | CR 607 – Linden / Roselle / Winfield Township | |
| 137 | 138.74 | Cranford Township | NJ 28 – Elizabeth / Bridgewater Township | |
| 138 | 140.34 | Boro of Kenilworth | CR 509 – Elizabeth | |
| 139A | 141.10 | Union Township | Chestnut Street – Union | Northbound exit and entrance, southbound entrance |
| 139B | 141.10 | Union Township | NJ 82 WEST – Union | Northbound exit only |
| 140 | 141.70 | Union Township | US 22 / NJ 82 – Elizabeth / Somerville / Morristown / Holland Tunnel | |
| 141 | 142.10 | Union Township | Vaux Hall Road (CR 630) – Union | Southbound exit, northbound entrance |
| 142.66 | Hillside Twp | Union Toll Plaza – One-way northbound tolling | ||
| 142 | 142.80 & 143.11 | Hillside Twp | Interstate 78 – Newark / Newark International Airport / To New Jersey Turnpike | Toll gate at southbound exit and northbound entrance; Parkway northbound has access to I-78 westbound only |
| 142A | 143.00 | Hillside Twp | Union Avenue – Hillside / Maplewood | Northbound exit only |
| 143 | 144.0 | Irvington Twp | Springfield Avenue / Lyons Avenue – Hillside / Maplewood | |
| 144A | 145.98 | City of Newark | 14th Avenue | Toll gate at exit (in Irvington) |
| 144 | 146.12 | City of Newark | South Orange Avenue (CR 510) | |
| 145 | 146.93, 146.99 & 147.15 | City of East Orange | I-280 – Newark / Harrison | Toll gate at exit |
| 147 | 148.44 | City of East Orange | Renshaw Avenue | |
| 148 | 149.2 | Bloomfield Township | Bloomfield Avenue | Toll gate at exit |
| 148A | 149.17 | Bloomfield Township | Montgomery Avenue | Northbound entrance, southbound exit |
| 150.66 | Bloomfield Township | Essex Toll Plaza – One-way southbound tolling (Express E-ZPass coming soon) | ||
| 150 | 151.1 | Bloomfield Township | Hoover Road | |
| 151 | 152.45 | Bloomfield Township | Watchung Avenue – Nutley / Montclair | Toll gate at exit |
| 153 | 154.06, 154.18, 154.45 | City of Clifton | NJ 3 – New York City / Passaic / Little Falls | Toll gate at exit |
| 154 | 155.91 | City of Clifton | US 46 – Clifton | Toll gate at exit |
| 155P | ~156.4 | City of Clifton | NJ 19 – Paterson / To I-80 | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 155 | 156.68 | City of Clifton | Hazel Street | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 156 | 158.19 | City of Clifton | US 46 / NJ 20 – River Drive | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 157 | 158.87 | Boro of Elmwood Park | US 46 / NJ 20 – Garfield | |
| 159 | 160, 160.23, 160.35 | Saddle Brook Township | Interstate 80 – Paterson / George Washington Bridge | Toll gate at northbound exit and southbound entrance; no direct access from Parkway northbound to I-80 westbound |
| 160.46 | Saddle Brook Township | Bergen Toll Gate – One-way northbound tolling | ||
| 160 | 161.53 | Boro of Paramus | Paramus Road – To NJ 208 / Fair Lawn / Hackensack | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 161 | 161.88 | Boro of Paramus | NJ 4 – Teaneck / George Washington Bridge / Fort Lee | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 163 | 163.06, 163.15 & 163.29 | Boro of Paramus | NJ 17 – To NJ 4 / George Washington Bridge / Meadowlands Sports Complex / Mahwah | |
| 165 | 164.94 | Boro of Paramus | East Ridgewood Avenue – Ridgewood / Oradell | Toll gate at exit |
| 166 | 165.93 | Boro of Paramus | Linwood Avenue – Washington / Westwood | Northbound entrance, southbound exit |
| 166.25 | Washington Township | Pascack Valley Toll Gate – Two-way tolling with Express E-ZPass | ||
| 168 | 167.46 | Washington Township | CR 502 – Ho-Ho-Kus / Westwood / Alpine | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 171 | 170.15 | Boro of Woodcliff Lake | Glen Road – Saddle River | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| 172 | 171.52 | Boro of Montvale | CR 2 – Upper Saddle River | Northbound exit, southbound entrance |
| New Jersey/New York State Line | ||||
| 172.71 (2.09) | Village of Chestnut Ridge, New York | Schoolhouse Road | Southbound exit, northbound entrance | |
| 174.80 (0.00) | Village of Chestnut Ridge, New York | Thruway / I-87 / I-287 – New York City / Nanuet / Albany | Begin/end Parkway | |
''Note: Mileposts in New York increase southbound from the New York State Thruway junction. The New Jersey-New York state line is milepost 172.40 in New Jersey and milepost 2.40 in New York.
See also
References
External links
- [New Jersey Turnpike Authority & Garden State Parkway Official Website]
- [History of the Garden State Parkway]
- [NJ Route 444] Straight Line Diagram
- [Photos of the Garden State Parkway]
- [New Jersey Expressways and Tollways]
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