Garden State Parkway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Garden State Parkway
Length:	174.80 mi[1][2] (281.31 km)
Formed:	1946
South end:	NJ 109 near Cape May, NJ
Major junctions:	ACE in Egg Harbor Twp, NJ NJ 37 in Toms River Twp, NJ I-195 in Wall Twp, NJ NJ 18/NJ 36 in Tinton Falls US 9/NJ 440 in Woodbridge I-95/NJTP in Woodbridge, NJ I-78 in Union/Hillside Twp, NJ I-280 in East Orange, NJ I-80 in Saddle Brook Twp, NJ NJ 17 in Paramus, NJ
North end:	New York Thruway (I-87/I-287) in Chestnut Ridge, NY
System:	New Jersey Turnpike Authority, New York State Thruway Authority
New Jersey State Highway Routes < NJ 440 444 NJ 445 >

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". 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.

Between the Asbury Park and Raritan tolls, the parkway splits into express and local lanes. 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 just south of the Toms River Toll Plaza. It was from here that the Driscoll Expressway was to start (south of Exit 83) and run to the New Jersey Turnpike.

Contents 1 History 2 Usage 3 Toll Collection 3.1 Toll Plazas 4 Future developments 5 Exit list 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] 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 David 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. The Parkway, especially the "shore section", was designed to have a natural feel. Many trees were planted, and the only signs were those for exits--there were no distracting billboards. Most of the signs were constructed from wood, or a dark-brown metal, instead of the chrome bars used in the "metropolitan section". The guardrails were also made from wood and dark metal. Most early overpasses were stone, but then changed to concrete, with green rails and retro etchings, popular around the 50's and 60's. These are now in decay and being replaced by sleek, new bridges.

The Parkway was designed to gently curve throughout its length, so that drivers would remain alert and not fall asleep at the wheel.

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 will be eliminated in the future, with construction of an overpass at Exit 10 in Cape May Court House, New Jersey and Stone Harbor, New Jersey scheduled to begin in 2009.

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.

Literature from the time of the Parkway's construction indicates that the Parkway would become toll-free once bonds used for its construction were paid off. However, additional construction projects, plus the expectation that the Parkway will pay for its own maintenance and policing (and the massive E-ZPass project) make it unlikely it will become toll-free in the foreseeable future.

[edit] Usage

The speed limit on the Parkway is 65 mph (100 km/h) from mileposts 0 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 (80 km/h) between Milepost 8.0 to Milepost 11.5 in Middle Township, and is 45 mph (70 km/h) 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^[3].

Commercial trucks with a registered weight of over 7,000 pounds (3.18 tons) are not allowed to use the northern parts of the Parkway. From just past the Asbury Park toll barrier, at exit 105 trucks must exit. From Tinton Falls to the southern end of the Parkway at Cape May, trucks are allowed and pay additional tolls. Buses are allowed for the entire length of the Parkway.

[edit] 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. Some individual exits require a toll of either 70 cents, 35 cents, or 25 cents. 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. The NJHA has stated that they will continue to accept the tokens indefinitely, as the coin baskets will recognize them and there are no plans to modify them to reject tokens. As time passes and the supply of tokens in public hands diminishes (tokens taken in are melted down by a contractor) they will become less common. 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 in each composition, primarily for the use of Atlantic City bound buses. These were sold in rolls of 20 for $20.

To reduce congestion, some toll plazas on the roadway were converted into one-way plazas between 2004 and 2007, dubbed "one-way tolling". Under this program, a 70-cent toll (or two tokens) is collected in one direction, and the other direction is toll-free. As of March 10, 2007, the Cape May (in Upper Township), New Gretna (in Bass River Township), Great Egg (in Somers Point), Barnegat (in Barnegat Township), 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 plazas.

Most toll plazas have dedicated lanes of three varieties: E-ZPass only (at some in addition to Express E-ZPass), Exact Change (coins or tokens are deposited in a basket which mechanically counts the deposit), or manned lanes at which change is available. The manned lanes will also take E-ZPass, the exact change lanes will not. Tolls at entrances or exits may not have all three varieties, depending upon the number of lanes available. The location of similarly-marked lanes is not identical at each plaza. To assist drivers in seeking the proper lanes, the lanes are numbered both on the booth and on the pavement leading up to them. Some lanes leading up to plazas are dedicated for E-ZPass holders only.

[edit] Toll Plazas

• Pascack Valley (formerly "Hillsdale", long a misnomer as it is actually located in Washington Township)- Both Directions / Express E-ZPass (2 lanes)
• Bergen - Northbound Only
• Essex - Southbound Only
• Union - Northbound Only
• Raritan - Southbound Only / Express E-ZPass (5 lanes)
• Asbury Park - Northbound Only / Express E-ZPass (3 lanes)
• Toms River - Both Directions / Express E-ZPass (2 lanes)
• Barnegat - Southbound Only / (One-Way & Express E-ZPass with Parkway Widening)
• New Gretna - Northbound Only
• Great Egg - Southbound Only
• Cape May - Northbound Only / Express E-ZPass (2 lanes)

The Cape May, Toms River, Asbury Park, Raritan, and Pascack Valley 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 Barnegat (in Barnegat Township) Toll Plaza to one-way tolling with Express E-ZPass, which is slated to begin on March 10, 2007.^[4]

[edit] Future developments

• A proposed interchange at the Absecon Service Station near mile marker 41.7 in Galloway Twp would be constructed. An alternative would be to make Exit 44 or Exit 40 into full interchanges. Plans have yet to be created.
• In May 2005, Codey announced a widening of the Parkway between Exit 63 in Stafford Township to Exit 80 in the Boro of South Toms River. The new Parkway setup would be "3-3" (as opposed to the current 2-2).
• There are new bridges that have been proposed to be constructed across the Mullica River from the City of Port Republic to Bass River Township. No dates have been set for construction.
• Exit 67 will receive a newly constructed southbound entrance ramp, and a northbound exit ramp. Toll gates will be constructed at these new ramps. Construction has yet to begin and will likely see work start in the summer of 2007.
• Exit 83 (in Toms River Twp) will see improvements, notably a southbound exit ramp and all other improvements to make it a full interchange. [1]
• Exit 88 (in Brick Twp) will see construction around 2009 or 2010 to bring it to full interchange status.
• Exit 91 (in Brick Twp) will also be upgraded to a full interchange starting sometime around 2009 or 2010. [2]
• At Exit 98 in Wall Township, the overpasses carrying NJ 138 and I-195 over the Parkway have been replaced with newly constructed ones. This project was finished in late 2006. However, this project did not improve 195's Exit 35 for NJ 34. Still to come will be a widening of the Parkway mainline below the new bridges to address the narrowing of the lanes from 4 to 3. It is unclear for how long this 4 lane widening will last for and how it will tie into the southbound entrance ramp from Route 34.
• The Driscoll Bridge received a new southbound parallel span just west of the original span. This new southbound bridge boasts seven southbound lanes and emergency shoulders. By 2010, a new northbound span will be constructed, consisting of eight northbound lanes and emergency shoulders.
• Exit 131A in Woodbridge Township new ramps will be built.
• Exit 142 (in Union Twp and Hillside Twp) will be upgraded with new ramps that will supply missing movements between the Parkway and I-78 since I-278 was cancelled between US 1-9 in Linden and the interchange for NJ 24/I-78.
• New overpasses and ramps are being built at Exit 145 in the City of East Orange. New EZ-Pass lanes will be built at the interchange toll gate. This is to be finished by late 2007.

[edit] Exit list

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Cape May	Lower Twp	0.00	0	US 9 / NJ 109 – Cape May	Begin/end Parkway; unsigned exit
	Middle Twp	3.9	4	NJ 47 – Wildwood	Toll plaza for northbound off, southbound on directions only; other directions are toll-free
		6.54	6	NJ 147 – North Wildwood	Southbound exit; northbound entrance only
		8.40	9	Shellbay Ave – To US 9 / Cape May Court House / Mayville	Exit is a traffic light
		9.90	10	Stone Harbor Blvd (CR 657) – Cape May Court House / Stone Harbor	Exit is a traffic light
		11.04	11	US 9 / CR 609 – Cape May County Park & Zoo	Exit is a traffic light
		13.60	13	Avalon Blvd – Avalon / Swainton
	Dennis Twp	17.50	17	Sea Isle Blvd – Sea Isle City
	Upper Township	19.38		Cape May Toll Plaza – One-way northbound tolling with Express E-ZPass
		20.25	20	NJ 50	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		25.34	25	Roosevelt Blvd – Marmora / Ocean City
Atlantic	City of Somers Point	28.78		Great Egg Toll Plaza – One-way southbound tolling
		28.90	29	US 9
		30.00	30	NJ 52 – Somers Point	Toll plaza at exit; southbound exit, northbound entrance
	Egg Harbor Twp	35.82	36	To Fire Rd	Northbound exit, north and southbound entrance
		36.08	36A	CR 563	Northbound entrance, southbound exit
		36.59	37	CR 608	Northbound entrance, southbound exit
		37.23	38	Atlantic City Expressway
		40.04	40	US 30 – Absecon	Northbound entrance, southbound exit
	Galloway Twp	41.5		CR 561 – Pomona / Richard Stockton College of New Jersey / AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center Mainland Division	Unsigned entrance and exit through Atlantic City Service Area
		43.98	44	CR 575 – Smithville / Pomona / Richard Stockton College of New Jersey	Northbound entrance, southbound exit
	City of Port Republic	48	48.29	US 9 – Port Republic	Northbound entrance, southbound exit; begin/end US 9 concurrency with Parkway
Burlington	Bass River Township	50.67	50	US 9 – Bass River Township	Northbound exit, southbound entrance; begin/end US 9 concurrency with Parkway
		52.70	52	East Greenbush Road – New Gretna	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		53.54		New Gretna Toll Plaza – One-way northbound tolling
Ocean	Little Egg Harbor Twp	58.69	58	CR 539 – Tuckerton / To Trenton and I-195
	Stafford Twp	64.11	63	NJ 72 – Manahawkin / Long Beach Island
	Barnegat Twp	67.81	67	CR 554 – Barnegat	Northbound entrance, southbound exit
		68.61		Barnegat Toll Plaza – One-way tolling southbound (Express E-ZPass coming soon)
	Ocean Twp	70.45	69	CR 532 – Waretown	Toll plaza at exit
	Lacey Twp	75.34	74	Lacey Rd – Forked River	Toll plaza at exit
	Berkeley Township	77.40	77	Kenswick Road (CR 618) – Beachwood / Whiting / Bayville	Toll plaza at exit
	Boro of South Toms River	80.85	80	CR 530 / US 9 – So. Toms River	Begin/end US 9 concurrency with Parkway
	Toms River Township	81.85	81	CR 549 – Toms River
		82.35	82	NJ 37 – Seaside Heights / Lakehurst	Full cloverleaf interchange
		84.10	83	US 9	Begin/end US 9 concurrency with Parkway
		84.72		Toms River Toll Plaza – Two-way tolling with Express E-ZPass
	Lakewood Township	89.36	88	NJ 70	Northbound entrance, southbound exit; toll plaza at exit
		90.18	89	CR 528 – Lakewood	Northbound entrance, southbound exit; toll plaza at exit
	Brick Township	91.1	90	CR 549	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		92.62	91	CR 549 (Burnt Tavern Road)	Toll plaza at exit
Monmouth	Wall Township	98.23	98	I-195 / NJ 138 / NJ 34 – Belmar / Trenton / To New Jersey Turnpike	Cloverleaf interchange with additional ramps; to access Parkway southbound from I-195, motorists must use NJ 34 southbound; to access I-195 from Parkway southbound, motorists must use NJ 34 northbound; toll plaza at exit
	Boro of Tinton Falls	101.24 & 101.60	100	NJ 66 / NJ 33 – Ocean Grove / Bradley Beach / Freehold	Cloverleaf interchange with additional ramps; no direct access from NJ 33 westbound to Parkway southbound or from Parkway southbound to NJ 66 eastbound
		103.15	102	Asbury Ave – Neptune Township	Northbound entrance, southbound exit
		103.96		Asbury Park Toll Plaza – One-way northbound tolling with Express E-ZPass
		104.2		Parkway splits into express and local roadways/merges
		106.12, 106.18, 106.39	105	NJ 18 / NJ 36 / NJ 35 – Eatontown / Long Branch	Toll plaza for northbound entrance and southbound exit; Express Lane accessible; All Trucks Must Exit here northbound, trucks may enter here southbound
	Middletown Township	110.14	109	CR 520 – Lincroft / Red Bank	Toll plaza at exit
	Middletown Township / Holmdel Twp	113.88	114	CR 52 – Holmdel	Toll plaza at exit
	Holmdel Township	115.85	116	PNC Bank Arts Center
		~117		Crossover ramps between express and local lanes
	Hazlet Township	118.50	117	NJ 35 / NJ 36 – Keyport / Hazlet	Toll plaza at exit (no toll for traffic from Parkway northbound); Express Lane accessible
	Hazlet Township / Aberdeen Township	118.79	117A	Lloyd Road (CR 3) – Aberdeen	Soutbound exit and entrance; toll plaza at exit
Middlesex	Old Bridge Township	121.13	120	CR 689 – Laurence Harbor, Matawan
	Boro of Sayreville	124.64	123	US 9 – South Amboy	Northbound entrance and southbound exit
		124.99	124	Main Street (CR 670) – Sayreville	Northbound entrance and southbound exit
		125.28 (SB) 125.57 (NB)		Parkway splits into express and local roadways/merges
		125.68		Raritan Toll Plaza – One-way southbound tolling with Express E-ZPass
		126.36	125	NJ 35 – Sayreville, South Amboy	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
	Woodbridge Township	128.0	127	US 9 / NJ 440 / I-287 – Woodbridge / Perth Amboy / Staten Island	Southbound this exit is combined with Exit 129; no direct access from Parkway southbound to NJ 440 northbound or from NJ 440 southbound to Parkway northbound. (Semi-direct access from NJ 440 northbound to Parkway northbound via US 9.)
		129.50	129	I-95 / New Jersey Turnpike
		130.63	130	US 1 – Trenton / Newark	Northbound entrance, southbound exit
		131.33	131A	Metropark Train Station
		131.83	131B	CR 657 – Metropark	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		131.97	131	NJ 27 – Metuchen / Iselin / Rahway
Union	Clark Township	136.22 & 136.30	135	Central Avenue – Clark / Westfield
	Cranford Township	137.43 & 137.59	136	CR 607 – Linden / Roselle / Winfield Township
		138.74	137	NJ 28 – Elizabeth / Bridgewater Township
	Boro of Kenilworth	140.34	138	CR 509 – Elizabeth
	Union Township	141.10	139A	Chestnut Street – Union	Northbound exit and entrance, southbound entrance
		141.10	139B	NJ 82 WEST – Union	Northbound exit only
		141.70	140	US 22 / NJ 82 – Elizabeth / Somerville / Morristown / Holland Tunnel
		142.10	141	Vaux Hall Road (CR 630) – Union	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
	Hillside Twp	142.66		Union Toll Plaza – One-way northbound tolling
		142.80 & 143.11	142	I-78 – Newark / Newark International Airport / To New Jersey Turnpike	Toll plaza at northbound entrance; Parkway northbound has access to I-78 eastbound only
		143.00	142A	Union Avenue – Hillside / Maplewood	Northbound exit only
Essex	Irvington Twp	144.0	143	Springfield Avenue / Lyons Avenue – Hillside / Maplewood
	City of Newark	145.98	144A	14th Avenue	Toll plaza at exit (in Irvington)
		146.12	144	South Orange Avenue (CR 510)
	City of East Orange	146.93, 146.99 & 147.15	145	I-280 – Newark / Harrison	Toll plaza at exit
		148.44	147	Renshaw Avenue
	Bloomfield Township	149.2	148	Bloomfield Avenue	Toll plaza at northbound exit and southbound entrance (25 cents)
		149.17	149	Belleville Avenue - Bloomfield, Belleville	Northbound entrance, southbound exit
		150.66		Essex Toll Plaza – One-way southbound tolling (Express E-ZPass coming soon)
		151.1	150	Hoover Avenue (CR 651)	Southbound entrance, northbound exit
		152.45	151	Watchung Avenue – Nutley / Montclair	Toll plaza at southbound exit and northbound entrance
Passaic	City of Clifton	154.06, 154.18, 154.45	153	NJ 3 – New York City / Passaic / Little Falls	Toll plaza at exit
		155.91	154	US 46 – Clifton	Toll plaza at exit southbound
		~156.4	155P	NJ 19 – Paterson / To I-80	Northbound exit, southbound entrance; use this exit for I-80 westbound
		156.68	155	Hazel Street	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		158.19	156	US 46 / NJ 20 – River Drive	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
Bergen	Boro of Elmwood Park	158.87	157	US 46 / NJ 20 – Garfield
	Saddle Brook Township	160, 160.23, 160.35	159	I-80 – Paterson / George Washington Bridge	Toll plaza at northbound exit and southbound entrance; no direct access from Parkway northbound to I-80 westbound
		160.46		Bergen Toll Plaza – One-way northbound tolling
	Boro of Paramus	161.53	160	Paramus Road – To NJ 208 / Fair Lawn / Hackensack	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		161.88	161	NJ 4 – Teaneck / George Washington Bridge / Fort Lee	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
		163.06, 163.15 & 163.29	163	NJ 17 – To NJ 4 / George Washington Bridge / Meadowlands Sports Complex / Mahwah	Northbound to northbound, southbound to southbound movements only
		164.94	165	East Ridgewood Avenue – Ridgewood / Oradell	Toll plaza at northbound exit and southbound entrance
		165.93	166	Linwood Avenue – Washington / Westwood	Northbound entrance, southbound exit
	Washington Township	166.25		Pascack Valley Toll Plaza – Two-way tolling with Express E-ZPass
		167.46	168	CR 502 – Ho-Ho-Kus / Westwood / Alpine / Allendale	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
	Boro of Woodcliff Lake	170.15	171	Glen Road – Saddle River	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
	Boro of Montvale	171.52	172	CR 2 – Upper Saddle River	Northbound exit, southbound entrance. Missing movements can be completed via a service road in the Montvale service area.[5]
New Jersey/New York State Line
Rockland	Village of Chestnut Ridge	172.71 (2.09)		CR 41, Schoolhouse Road – Chestnut Ridge	Southbound exit, northbound entrance
		174.80 (0.00)		Thruway / I-87 / I-287 – New York City / Albany	Begin/end Parkway
				CR 35 – Nanuet	Exit off ramp from Parkway northbound to Thruway south/eastbound; no entrance

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.

[edit] See also

• State highways in New Jersey
• New Jersey Turnpike
• New York State Thruway

[edit] References

1. ^ Garden State Parkway straight line diagramPDF (2.60 MiB)
2. ^ Rockland County traffic countsPDF
3. ^ 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
4. ^ One-Way Tolling and Express E-ZPass Comes to the Garden State Parkway accessed June 5, 2006
5. ^ Cichowski, John. "Show New Yorkers how to get to work", North Jersey Media Group, December 12, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-03-26.

[edit] 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