U.S. Route 22 in New Jersey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
U.S. Route 22 is an east-west route stretching from Cincinnati, Ohio in the west to Newark, New Jersey in the east. In New Jersey, the route runs for 60.4[1] miles from the Delaware River in Phillipsburg to the Newark Airport Interchange in Newark.
Contents |
[edit] Route description
[edit] Phillipsburg-Alpha area
US 22 enters New Jersey from the west via Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge over the Delaware River. East of the bridge, westbound lanes pass through toll booths, while eastbound US 22 has a long ramp leading to Broad and Main Streets. From the previous exit, US 22 runs eastward, as a brief limited-access road that ends in an interchange with Morris Street and HillCrest Boulevard. The highway converts to the at-grade Memorial Boulevard; a major four to six-lane divided thoroughfare in the Phillipsburg area with some U-turns on a 59-meter median.
Left turns are not allowed on Memorial Parkway, therefore ramps were built to intersect major arterials. East of Phillipsburg's commercial district, the median on Memorial Parkway converts to a short and narrow concreted wall as it approaches a junction with Route 57. After passing the NJ 57 junction, 22 takes a southeasterly turn and enters a small rural section of the Phillipsburg-Alpha area. East of Alpha, 22 intersects CR 519 and CR 638. Route 122 is the final junction of the at-grade section of 22.
[edit] I-78/US 22 concurrency
Past NJ 122, 22 interchanges exit 3 of I-78 and the western endpoint of Route 173. From there, 22 is concurrent with 78 through a mountainous and rural area of western New Jersey. For much of the Bloomsbury-Clinton area, NJ 173 parallels and meets the 78/22 overlap at several interchanges, for its entire alignment.
78/22 meets Route 31 via exits 16 and 17, at a complex interchange half a mile east of Clinton. Exit 18 follows the 31 interchange; where 22 exits and heads east to end the concurrency with 78. 22 and 78 westbound separately have access to Annandale.
[edit] Annandale to Somerville
US 22 traverses the Lebanon area: as a divided highway, north of Round Valley Reservoir, and closely parallel to I-78. From this portion to Readington Township, I-78 is visible from US 22. In Readington Township, 22 takes a southeasterly turn away from I-78 and traverse the remaining towns in Hunterdon County.
When 22 enters Somerset County, the highway traverses a more populated and less rural land than Hunterdon County. Less than three miles east of the county line, 22 interchanges the western terminus of Route 28. At the northern tip of Somerville, 22 interchanges US 202 and US 206. East of the 202/206 overlap, 22 divides into two carriageways at the Interstate 287 approach. South of First Watchung Mountain, 22 briefly intersects I-287 and eventually intersects it at exits 14A and 14B.
[edit] I-287 to Garden State Parkway
East of I-287, 22 takes a northeasterly course while designated north of the Middlesex-Somerset County border. At the North Plainfield approach, 22 begins to enter a highly populated region of the state. Outside of N. Plainfield, 22 takes a more northernly turn while entering Union County. While 22 heads east and goes deeper into the New York metropolitan area, the roadway traverses cities and towns with a denser population. In the Springfield-Kenilworth region, 22 has numerous U-turn ramps on a larger median than the western one. In Union, 22 splits into two carriageways at the intersection with exits 140 and 140A of the Garden State Parkway and Morris Avenue (Route 82).
[edit] Hillside to Newark Airport Interchange
In the Hillside portion of 22, the highway has some grade-leveled junctions before converting to a limited-access roadway and taking a northeasterly turn. Briefly after crossing the Essex-Union County line, 22 enters Newark, the final and most populous city of its designation. The highway enters the city, designated north of Weequahic Lake. East of the lake, 22 westbound has access to the Route 27 interchange. Past the 27 junction, 22 is closely parallel to I-78, while 22 terminates at the complexed Newark Airport Interchange; southeast of downtown Newark and northeast of Newark Liberty International Airport. 22 eastbound merges with US 1-9, with one southbound ramp and two northbound ramps (one for local and another for express lanes). The main line follows the US 1-9 local northbound ramp for another 0.4 miles, with an intermediate exit for Route 21. The official eastern terminus of US 22 is at the ramp split for I-78 and northbound US 1-9.[2]
[edit] History
The route between Phillipsburg and Elizabeth was part of the original 1916 state highway system of New Jersey and was given the designation Route 9. The Route 9 alignment was assigned as part of U.S. Route 22 in late 1926. In the 1927 renumbering, Route 9 became Route 28 and was also extended to the Goethals Bridge. US 22 and Route 28 were cosigned for several years. In the 1953 renumbering, US 22 was reconfigured to end in Newark, truncating Route 28 in the process.
[edit] Junction list
 |
Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
[edit] References
- ^ U.S. 22 NJ Mileage. Google Maps.
- ^ US 22 ramps dialog (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
