I was inspired to compile this page by Jimmy and Sharon Williams' 1920s New Jersey Highways from which I also pulled the original legislative information for each highway.
New Jersey first passed legislation to establish its original numbered highway system in 1916, with the passage of Chapter 285, PL, 1916, known as the Egan Bill. The following year, the Edge Bill, or Chapter 14, PL, 1917, also provided for a state highway system, and among other related things, expanded the number of routes. By 1921, the Edge Bill had been modified to include more routes, and some expansions to the original ones. By 1923, the system had been expanded through legislation to routes numbered 1 through 16, two different Route 17's, three different Route 18's, a Route 19, two different Route 20's, and two un-numbered routes in the southern part of the state.
These original state highways expressly DID NOT extend into cities, or at least many cities. Paterson, Passaic, Jersey City, Newark, Plainfield, New Brunswick, Trenton, and Camden all had state highways that extended to their borders but not into the cities themselves; Bayonne had no state highways even touching its borders; New Brunswick, Plainfield, and Passaic all had numbered highways that came out on TWO SIDES of a city, with an implied but unsigned route going through each. In later years these cities would often see highways extended through them, usually but not always to connect to a major new crossing.
In 1924, 1925, and 1926, legislation further expanded the state highway system, with extensions to existing routes, and many new routes. Some of these routes were never built; others did not get numbered under the original system. After a proposed revision to the route numbering system failed to be adopted in 1926, a much more wide-ranging revision was proposed and adopted in 1927. This has become known to NJ road fans as the First Renumbering.
So herewith a list of routes from 1916-1926 and what happened to them in 1927, with a few notes about what happened later on as well.
NJDOT 1916 Annual Report: Beginning at St. George's avenue (Rahway Avenue) at the south city line of Elizabeth and following it to the Pennsylvania Railroad in Rahway thence along the north side to the railroad along the Essex and Middlesex turnpike to the grade crossing between Colonia and Iselin; thence along a new right of way to the beginning of Middlesex avenue in Menlo Park thence along Middlesex avenue to Metuchen detouring at Lake street to avoid a grade crossing, and passing the Lehigh Valley Railroad station and thence back on Middlesex avenue thence along Middlesex avenue to the Albany street bridge over the Raritan river to the New Brunswick City line beginning again at the Cranbury turnpike at the south city line of New Brunswick and along the said turnpike to Hightstown; thence through Windsor, Robbinsville Hamilton Square and Mercerville to Greenwood avenue, and thence along Greenwood avenue to the Trenton city line
1922, Chap. 253: Extension of Route #1, From the entrance of the vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River in Jersey City, thru the City of Jersey City and the County of Hudson, to, through and beyond the City of Newark in the County of Essex, through and beyond the City of Elizabeth in the County of Union to the point of beginning of said Route #1.
This original route was divided in 1927, perhaps in part to encourage
through traffic to avoid New Brunswick. From southwest to northeast:
from Trenton to Robbinsville became the western part of NJ 33;
from Robbinsville to Hightstown became part of both NJ 25 and NJ 33;
from Hightstown to Bodine's Corner became part of NJ 25;
from Bodine's Corner to New Brunswick was originally left out of the 1927
system, but was designated NJ 25M by 1934;
from New Brunswick to Newark became part of NJ 27;
in downtown Newark, old route 1 (according to a 1927 Tydol Trails map inset
made by Rand McNally) came into the city on Frelinghuysen Ave, then turned
east on Poinier St and north on Broad St before taking a complex collection
of streets over to Passaic Ave (now Raymond Blvd). Frelinghuysen and Poinier
may have become the north end of NJ 27, ending at Broad St (despite the
1927 law's definition of the corner of Frelinghuysen and Astor, north of
Poinier, as 27's north end -- which would have NOT ended at another
numbered highway);
the section of old 1 on Broad St in Newark was likely signed as a part of
NJ 21 until 1934;
from downtown Newark to eastern Newark became part of NJ 24;
from Newark to the Holland Tunnel became part of NJ 25. The segment from the
bridge over the Passaic River at the eastern edge of Newark to Hudson Blvd
in Jersey City became part of US 1-9 in 1926 or early 1927 (then from about
1930-34 part of US 1-9W before reverting to US 1-9); from Hudson Blvd to the
Holland Tunnel became part of US 1 when the tunnel opened in November 1927.
The modern equivalents are all modulo minor bypasses built later:
From Robbinsville to Trenton remains NJ 33 today.
From Robbinsville to South Hightstown is now NJ 33 and US 130 (multiplex).
From South Hightstown to the center of Hightstown is now NJ 33; from there to
South Cranbury is now CR 539, then CR 535 into the center of Cranbury, then
N Main St out to modern US 130 in North Cranbury. The Hightstown-Cranbury
Bypass was built around 1937 and NJ 25 was moved onto it; this may have been
the same time US 130 was actually signed in the area.
From North Cranbury to south of Dayton is now US 130.
Through Dayton and Deans to Black Horse is now Georges Rd and Old Georges Rd
(Middlesex CRs 697 and 642). This stretch was bypassed in 1941.
From Black Horse to Bodine's Corner is now US 130.
From Bodine's Corner to New Brunswick is now NJ 171 and city streets.
From New Brunswick to Newark (corner of Poinier and Broad) remains NJ 27.
Broad St in Newark is now apparently a city street.
The other streets in downtown Newark are all local streets.
From central Newark to the eastern edge of Newark was likely NJ 24 until 1953
and CR 510 from 1953 to at least 1973 (according to the 1973 official Essex
County map), but became a local road at some point after that.
From the eastern edge of Newark to Tonnele Circle in Jersey City is now part of
US 1-9 Truck, which designation was given to it by 1941.
From Tonnele Circle to the Holland Tunnel was numbered US 1 Business in 1934
and remained so until 1988, when it was redesignated as NJ 139 (and NJ 139U).
The piece from Jersey Ave east to the tunnel is also part of I-78 (one of the
rare cases where a piece of Interstate Highway has at-grade intersections).
NJDOT 1916 Annual Report: Trenton to Camden - From Trenton city line, along the White Horse road, White Horse road extension and Trenton road to Park street and Farnsworth avenue. Bordentown thence along Florence road to Burlington thence through Burlington to and along the Camden-Burlington pike to the Camden City line.
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 2 Trenton to Camden. By way of South Broad Street, Trenton, to White Horse, thence over Croswicks' Creek bridge to Bordentown, thence to Fieldsboro, thence to Roebling, to Burlington, and via the Burlington Pike into Camden. Except for minor changes to reduce curvature, there are no changes of alignment contemplated.
1922, Chap 253 and 265: Extension of Route #2, From the terminal point of said route at the city line of the City of Camden, thru the said City of Camden to the approach or entrance of the bridge proposed to be constructed over the Delaware River by the States of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The vast majority of this route became the southern half of the first
single-numbered state highway to connect the Philadelphia and New York
metro areas.
From southwest to northeast:
From the Ben Franklin Bridge in Camden to Bordentown became part of NJ 25.
The approach to the Ben Franklin Bridge may have been a multiplex with NJ 43
for a short while.
From Bordentown to White Horse became part of NJ 39;
from White Horse to Trenton became part of NJ 37.
Camden to Bordentown would become part of US 30 and 130, while Bordentown to
Trenton would be part of US 130 until the mid-1930s when it became part of new
US 206. NJ 37 was never completed and it is unclear how long the northwestern
end (White Horse to Trenton) continued to be signed as such.
Today the US routes (30, 130, 206) remain but the state route numbers were
dropped in 1953.
1922, Chap 265: Extension of Route #2, Including a spur extending from the property line of the Tacony-Palmyra Ferry Company to the Burlington Pike at Five Points.
This route was apparently left out of the 1927 renumbering, but would at some point before 1940 become Route S-41-N. S-41 would be routed to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge a bit downstream from the ferry and became modern NJ 73; S-41-N was left off the original 1953 renumbering, then got numbered 155, but was decommissioned and given back to the county around 1970; it is now Burlington CR 607.
NJDOT 1916 Annual Report: Camden to Absecon. --Beginning at the White Horse pike, Camden city line, and following the present line through to Absecon, with the exception of a realignment around Hammonton.
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 3 Camden to Absecon, by way of Berlin and Hammonton, following what is known as the "White Horse Pike." A complete, detailed survey was made of this route, including surveys of three possible routes through the town of Hammonton, one via the Wilsey Mills Road from Elm to the Egg Harbor road south of Hammonton; one from Elm, via Main Road to Hammonton Lake, and through De Costa to Egg Harbor Road. A line was surveyed to carry the route along westerly side of railroad from a point near Atco bridge to a connection with the Ancora bridge. This eliminates the bridges at Atco and Waterford, which have very bad curves at their entrances. From the Ancora bridge to Absecon no changes are contemplated, except flattening of existing curves.
1922, Chap 253: Extension of Route #3 From the entrance to the bridge over the Delaware River, thru the City of Camden, to the beginning of Route #3.
It is probable that this route in its entirety became NJ 43 in the 1927 renumbering. The western end would have been multiplexed with NJ 25. (This was also the original 1927 routing of US 30 as far as Absecon.) It is likely that the multiplex did not last, however; NJ 45 was built in 1927, US 30 was moved onto it, and NJ 43 was likely truncated back to the Camden city line at the time. The stub end west of route 45 was given back to the county after 1941. The main section of NJ 43 that remained US 30 stayed in place until the 1953 renumbering, when state designations were mostly removed from US routes.
Today the routing of old route 3 is US 30 and I-676 from the bridge to the first exit, local roads in Camden east to Crescent Blvd, and US 30 from there east to Absecon. It appears unlikely that old route 3 was ever extended east to Atlantic City, though US 30 was signed on more or less its current routing in 1927 (and the state eventually took it over from Atlantic County in 1938 as NJ 56, a designation it held until 1953).
1916 NJDOT Annual Report: Rahway to Absecon - Beginning at the intersection of the Essex and Middlesex. Turnpike and St. George's avenue in Rahway, at junction with Route No. 1 thence along St. George's road to Perth Amboy avenue, Woodbridge thence along Perth Amboy avenue to Perth Amboy city line, then beginning at the north end of the Perth Amboy - South Amboy bridge crossing the Raritan river; thence along Stephens avenue, with some changes in line, to the Keyport Road, and through Keyport, following the Keyport road to Middletown; thence along the Middletown-Red Bank road to Red Bank; thence along the Red Bank-Eatontown road to Eatontown; thence along the Eatontown-Long Branch road to the Monmouth road, and thence along same to Cedar avenue, to Norwood avenue and thence southerly along Norwood avenue crossing Deal lake to Asbury Park; thence along Main street, through Asbury Park, Neptune township, Bradley Beach and Avon crossing the Shark river bridge to Belmar thence along the Belmar and Manasquan river road to Point Pleasant, from Point Pleasant through Burrsville to Lakewood thence along the Lakewood - Toms River road to Toms River: thence along the Main Shore road to New Gretna. With a detour in Lacy and Ocean townships to eliminate two grade crossings; thence along the Chestnut Neck road to Absecon, to junction with Route No.3.
1917 NJDOT Annual Report: Route No. 4 From a point on Route No. 1 near Rahway to Absecon. This is the longest of the fifteen routes, being approximately 110 miles in length. From Rahway over existing roads to Perth Amboy, thence over Perth Amboy-South Amboy bridge to South Amboy. Surveys were made of three lines from South Amboy to Morgan: one via Broadway, South Amboy, to and over Raritan River Railroad, thence along westerly side of New York and Long Branch Railroad to an overhead crossing of said Railroad, thence along Raritan Bay side of said Railroad to junction with present road at Morgan; one via Main Street, Stevens Avenue, Bordentown Avenue, and Pine Street, South Amboy, to present brick pavement into Morgan; and one from Amboy bridge to Alpine Street, South Amboy, thence by overhead crossing of Pennsylvania Railroad yards, through private right of way into Pine Street, South Amboy, thence over brick road to Morgan. Definite choice between these alternates has not as yet been made. From Morgan, route as surveyed is via Keyport, Middletown, Red Bank, Eatontown, Long Branch, Asbury Park, Point Pleasant, Lakewood, Toms River, Tuckerton, and New Gretna, to Absecon. No important changes from existing roads are contemplated between Morgan and Absecon, except flattening of existing curves and possible slight changes near Manasquan, and elimination of some existing railroad crossings and bridges by acquiring private property.
This may be the only pre-1927 route that kept its number over most of its
routing in the 1927 renumbering. From south to north:
from Absecon to North Absecon remained part of NJ 4 until 1930 when the Absecon
bypass was completed, then was renumbered to the second (concurrent) NJ S-4;
from North Absecon to Lakewood stayed part of an expanded NJ 4;
from Lakewood to Brielle became part of NJ 35;
from Brielle to Belmar also became part of NJ 35 but by 1929 was added to NJ 4N;
from Belmar to Eatontown became NJ 4N;
from Eatontown to South Amboy became part of NJ 35;
from South Amboy to Rahway stayed part of the expanded NJ 4.
Today this routing is (modulo later minor bypasses) all of NJ 157 (former S-4) north from downtown Absecon to North Absecon, US 9 thence from 157's north end to north of Port Republic, NJ 167 and former (abandoned) NJ 167 over the Mullica River (including the old bridge, now demolished), US 9 from New Gretna to Beachwood, NJ 166 from Beachwood to Indian Head, US 9 from Indian Head to Lakewood, NJ 88 from Lakewood to Bay Head, NJ 35 from Bay Head to Brielle, NJ 71 from Brielle to Eatontown, and NJ 35 from Eatontown to Rahway.
NJDOT 1916 Annual Report: Along Springfield Avenue from Newark City line to Morris Avenue, Springfield; thence westerly along Morris avenue to Madison Avenue to Morristown thence along Speedwell Street through - Morris Plains, Mount Tabor to Denville; thence through Rockaway to Dickinson's bridge; thence along Black-well street- through Dover to the Sussex turnpike aid along the same to Ledgewood and to the culvert under the canal; thence along the Sussex-Newton turnpike to Netcong borough line trestle to avoid railroad grade crossings on a new line to Budd's Lake road; thence southerly along Budd's Lake road and a new road to he built along the eastern shore of Budd's Lake to Hackettstown leaving Hackettstown by the Denville road through Denville to the Buttzville road and the Buttzville-Belvidere road to the Delaware road; thence along the Delaware road and new line to Delaware and extending to the bridge over the Delaware river ending at the New Jersey-Pennsylvania State line.
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 5 From Newark to the bridge crossing the Delaware River near Delaware, via Morristown, Dover, Netcong, Budd's Lake, existing roads are contemplated, excepting between Netcong and Hackettstown. As the existing roads are very crooked, indirect, unimproved, and have very steep grades, an entirely new line was surveyed from Netcong via Budd's Lake to Hackettstown, approximately nine miles. It was also necessary to survey a new line to eliminate several objectionable railroad undercrossings in the vicinity of Delaware. Survey was also made for under crossing the Morris Canal near Netcong.
1926, Chapter 125: Route #5-Ext. EXTENSION OF ROUTE #5 TO NEWARK; from the easterly terminus of State Highway Route No. 5 in the Township of Maplewood through the Town of Irvington, City of Newark, to connect with State Highway Route No. 1 as now or hereafter laid out in said City of Newark.
(Note: interesting that the 1916 layout specifies the Newark city line as the eastern terminus, with the 1917 implying the same, but then in 1926 the "old" eastern terminus is given as being in Maplewood, or possibly the Maplewood-Irvington line. The new eastern terminus is most definitely in downtown or eastern Newark.)
In 1917, NJDOT appeared to think it more useful to have one numbered highway
from near the Delaware Water Gap to Newark, and another numbered highway
crossing that one (in fact multiplexed for many miles) from Phillipsburg to
Paterson. In 1927 NJDOT apparently changed their minds and decided that two
kind-of-parallel highways were better then two crossing ones (though they also
made sort of the opposite decision in south-central Jersey). So pre-1927 route
5 got split into three different routes. From west to east:
From Delaware to Denville became part of NJ 6, and modulo later bypasses
is now US 46.
From Denville to Morristown became NJ 5N, which is now NJ 53. A small
segment in Morristown is now part of US 202.
From Morristown to Newark became part of NJ 24, which is now NJ 124
from Morristown to Maplewood and Essex CR 603 (Springfield Ave) through
Irvington into Newark.
Old route 5's extended eastern end was defined to be at old route 1, which
is likely to have taken a complex routing through Newark. One suggestion
would place the eastern end of route 5 on Lafayette St at Columbia St where
old route 1 southbound turned off Lafayette onto Columbia. If this were the
case, this would have placed post-1927 NJ 24 on this route, continuing east
on Lafayette St to Congress St and then Passaic St/Raymond Blvd. A later
rerouting would have used Market St to Raymond Blvd instead.
The routing of NJ 24 through Newark stayed that way until 1953, when NJ 24
was truncated out of Newark and Irvington to end without ceremony at the
Maplewood/Irvington line where NJ 124 ends today, leaving Springfield Ave
as a second-tier county highway. CR 510 took over the stretch from the corner
of South Orange and Springfield Avenues east to the eastern end of old route 5
in central Newark (and on following former NJ 24 from central to eastern
Newark). So the eastern "extension" of pre-1927 route 5 is no longer state
maintained; it is now Essex CR 603, the eastern end of CR 510, and
several blocks of local roads in Newark.
On the west end, the bridge at Delaware was demolished in 1954; US 46 had
been moved off the approach to that bridge in late 1953, and so the very
westernmost stub end of pre-1927 route 5 became (unsigned) NJ 163, which it
remains today even though the bridge is long gone.
NJHD 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 6 Camden to Bridgeton and Salem. From Broadway, Camden, to and through Gloucester, to Gloucester-Woodbury Turnpike, (Toll Road), to Woodbury, thence via Mantua Turnpike to Mullica Hill, thence along one leg of divided route to Bridgeton, and via other leg of divided route to Salem. No important changes from existing roads are contemplated.
1922, Chap 253: Extension of Route #6, From the entrance to the bridge over the Delaware River, thru the City of Camden, to the beginning of Route #6.
NJHD 1925 Official State Map: Camden to Salem to Bridgeton, via Woodbury, Mullica Hill and Woodston. Branch from Woodston to Mullica Hill, 22 miles, via Pole Tavern. Branch from Salem to Bridgeton, 16.6 miles, via Quinton and Shiloh.
There appear to be some misprints in the above, given that they are
mutually contradictory. Maps of the time make things more clear. The Rand
McNally 1922 map shows the 1917 report's routing: south from Camden, through
Gloucester, Westville, Woodbury, Mantua, and Jefferson, to Mullica Hill. At
Mullica Hill the route splits into two branches, one going southwest through
Woodstown to Salem, and the other south through Pittsgrove (Pole Tavern) to
Bridgeton. The 1925 Standard Oil map shows a change being made, which is
confirmed by the 1925 official map and the 1927 Tydol Trails map (though the
1925 official written description was rather more opaque than it could have
been), with the road between Salem and Bridgeton connecting both of 1922's
southern endpoints also being numbered 6, which the 1922 map had shown
as part of route 15. (The 1927 map shows the northwest leg of former route 15
as route 17-S. Look this up later.) So in 1927 all of these routings changed
numbers. Roughly from south to north:
Between Bridgeton and Salem became part of NJ 49;
between Bridgeton and Mullica Hill became NJ 46 (now NJ 77);
from Salem through Mullica Hill to Gloucester became NJ 45;
from Gloucester to Camden became NJ 45 for a short time in 1927, but NJ 45 was
rerouted around southern Camden later that same year and the old route appears
to have been given back to the county (now CR 551).
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 7 Hightstown to Asbury Park. Beginning at the Junction with Route No. 1 at Hightstown, along the Manalapan road to Manalapan, along the Manalapan-Freehold road to Freehold; thence along the Freehold-Jerseyville road to Jerseyville, and along the Jerseyville-Hamilton road to Corlies Avenue to Main Street, Neptune township, where it joins Route No. 4, and a short distance along same to Asbury Park. Survey was made of proposed change in line at Hamilton's Mills to eliminate sharp curves on deep fill near Asbury Park Water Works. No other important changes in alignment are contemplated.
This one's actually pretty easy; in 1927 the entirety of this routing became part of NJ 33. The eastern end was concurrent with route 4N (old route 4) all the way into Asbury Park; this redundancy was eliminated in the 1953 renumbering, which truncated NJ 33 at its intersection with the newly renumbered NJ 71 in Ocean Grove. The routing through Freehold is now NJ 33 Business with the completion of the Freehold bypass in 1990.
1925, Chap 24-25: Route #7 Spur FROM FREEHOLD TO LAKEWOOD; beginning at Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey, and extending southwardly through Adelphia, Monmouth County, New Jersey, and from Adelphia over the route known as the "Old Stage Road" to Lakewood, Ocean County, New Jersey, connecting with Route #4, at the junction of Madison Avenue and Route #4 in Lakewood, Ocean County, New Jersey.
This spur route was part of a shortcut between the northernmost and southernmost legs of old Route 4, which diverted off to the shore for the southern half of Monmouth County and then took a route through Eatontown to get to the Raritan River crossings. In the 1927 renumbering route 4 was made more direct here in part by substituting this route for the shore route. Today it's part of US 9.
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 8 Montclair to near Unionville, New York State. Beginning in Montclair and following the Pompton Turnpike to the junction with the Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike at Riverdale; thence along the Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike to Stockholm; thence along the Stockholm-Franklin Furnace road to Franklin Furnace; thence through Hardinstonville and Hamburg to Sussex; thence northerly from Sussex borough, on the road east of the D., L. & W. R. R. to the State line near Unionville. Surveys were made for possible changes in alignment in the vicinity of Smith's Mills for elimination of two dangerous grade crossings. No other important changes in alignment are contemplated.
1925 Official State Map: Montclair to New York state line at Unionville, via Singac, Wayne, Pompton Plains, Butler, Newfoundland, Stockholm, Franklin Furnace and Sussex, under construction between Newfoundland and Stockholm.
NOTE 1: Both official notes state that the numbered route begins in
Montclair. But where in Montclair makes a reasonable southern terminus? Other
road blogs seem to think the south end should be at the current south end of
modern Route 23, which would make sense, but that's in Verona not Montclair.
NOTE 2: Multiple post-1924 non-state maps show Route 8 as extending down the
rest of the old Newark-Pompton Turnpike from Montclair (or Verona) to Newark
(along modern Bloomfield Ave). No indication this was ever approved by the
Legislature, and no idea if it was signed even in the absence of such approval.
In any event, the fate of this route is pretty clear.
The putative southeastern leg from Newark to Glen Ridge (Bloomfield Ave SE
of Belleville Ave) was not included in the post-1927 system, and in 1953
became CR 506 Spur.
Any stretches of Bloomfield Ave west of Belleville Ave that may have been
part of pre-1927 route 8 became part of NJ 9 in 1927 and will be discussed
later.
In 1927 the section from Verona to Sussex became part of NJ 23. The section
of Newark-Pompton Turnpike through central Pequannock (Pompton Plains) was
eventually bypassed; today it is Morris CR 683 south of Black Oak Ridge Rd,
CR 504 between Black Oak Ridge Rd and Jacksonville Rd, and Morris CR 660
north of Jacksonville Rd.
Likewise Riverdale, Bloomingdale, and Butler would be bypassed; the old
route on Newark-Pompton Turnpike north of modern NJ 23 to its end at Hamburg
Turnpike became CR 511 Alternate. (At that T intersection, CR 511 Alt turns
right onto Hamburg Turnpike while old route 8's routing turns left.) Old
route 8 (and initial NJ 23) then followed Hamburg Turnpike west through
Riverdale, Bloomingdale, and Butler; this road is modernly Morris and Passaic
CR 694, crossing the county line multiple times. (A short piece in Bloomingale
multiplexes with CR 511.) Near Smiths Mills the Hamburg Turnpike meets the
bypass, and the routing of old route 8 continued as NJ 23 all the way to
Sussex, and remains so today modulo minor bypasses.
The section from Sussex to the NY state line became
NJ 8N in 1927, continuing into New York as NY 8; New York renumbered their
highway as NY 84 in 1930, and in 1942 New Jersey renumbered 8N as NJ 84 to
match (as part of a wartime effort to make transport of troops and supplies
more efficient). Both states would renumber 84 as 284 in 1966 to avoid
confusion with newly constructed Interstate 84 nearby.
1926, Chap 246 (or 256): Route #8 Spur SPUR FROM ROUTE #8 TO DINGMAN'S FERRY; from Route No. 8 at Franklin Furnace, Sussex County, westward through Monroe, Lafayette and Branchville, stopping at the Delaware River Bridge at Dingman's Ferry on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River, and in Sussex County.
Parts of this spur route likely were parts of existing roads, but any parts
that hadn't been built yet almost certainly didn't get built as part of this
route, which did not make it into the post-1927 system as a unified route.
The middle section appears to have eventually become pieces of three different
routes. From west to east:
From Dingman's Ferry to Tuttles Corner was left unnumbered. In 1953 it became
part of CR 521, and is now CR 560.
From Tuttles Corner to Rosses Corner became part of NJ S-31, which later
became part of US 206 which it still is today.
From Rosses Corner to Lafayette was originaly unnumbered in 1927, but in 1938
became part of NJ 6A, which in 1953 became NJ 15.
From Lafayette to Monroe was part of proposed NJ 31 in 1927, but may never
have been built under that number; the highway from Newton to North Church, of
which this was a part, is listed by sources as not having been adopted until
1963, by which time it was part of NJ 94 (which was renumbered in 1953 to match
NY 94, which itself had been renumbered in 1949).
From Monroe to Franklin Furnace was left unnumbered and has not been part of
the state system since. Since it is unclear what routing was intended between
Monroe and Franklin Furnace, we cannot know if any of that routing is now
county highways; one possible routing involves NJ 94 from Monroe to North
Church and Sussex CR 631 thence to Franklin Furnace, another possible routing
uses part of Sussex CR 617 from approximately Ogdensburg to Franklin Furnace.
The remainder of the latter, and all other possible routings, are now local
roads.
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 9 Elizabeth to Phillipsburg. Westfield Avenue westerly from Elizabeth city line to Westfield; thence along South Avenue to the Plainfield city line; thence westerly from Plainfield city line on Front Street and Lincoln road to Union Avenue, through Bound Brook to Gaston Avenue and Cliff Street, Somerville; thence along Brunswick pike to the White House-Lebanon Road; thence along the Clinton-West Portal road through Bloomsbury and Still Valley to Phillipsburg. Except for flattening of curves and complete survey of route over Musconetcong Mountain to secure better line and grades than exist on present unimproved road, and possible changes in town of Clinton, no important changes from existing roads are contemplated.
In 1927, this route almost in its entirety became part of NJ 28. The easternmost bit, east of Elmora Ave in Elizabeth, became 27 and 28 Link, and then became part of NJ 28 later when the Goethals Bridge approach became part of NJ 439. Over the years after 1927, NJ 28 / US 22 saw bypasses built to get around Lebanon, Potterstown, Whitehouse, and North Branch. Of old route 9's routing, only the part east of North Branch is still NJ 28, modulo bypasses and minor reroutings in Somerville, Plainfield, and points east; in 1953 the western portion became just US 22 and US 22 Alt. US 22 Alt was decommissioned later as well, and its eastern half (through Alpha to US 22) became NJ 122. The stretch of old route 9 from Still Valley to modern NJ 31 was renumbered from US 22 to NJ 173 when US 22 was moved onto I-78 in 1969; old route 9's routing includes the stretch of I-78/US 22 between exits 13 and 15 (which is also part of NJ 173 and was once signed as such, but the NJ 173 signs were removed some time after 1990). The section east of modern NJ 31 is now Hunterdon CR 626 (Beaver Ave) until exit 18 of I-78, where US 22 leaves the interstate and roughly follows old route 9 instead.
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 10 Paterson to Fort Lee Ferry. From Market Street bridge over the Passaic River in Paterson easterly along Essex Street to Hackensack, through Hackensack and along Bergen Turnpike to Ridgefield, thence through Ridgefield and the Boroughs of Palisade Park, Fort Lee and Edgewater to the Hudson River. Necessary changes from existing roads require a complete new survey from Fort Lee Ferry, along the face of the Palisades to and through Borough of Cliffside Park, in and through Borough of Ridgefield, to Edgewater Avenue in Ridgefield, thence to Bergen Turnpike.
It's not clear if old route 10 was extended to central Paterson before 1927. If it was, it would have been to meet up with similarly-extended old routes 11 and 12 in downtown. The 1927 renumbering changed this route in its entirety (with or without Paterson extension) to NJ 5 (including inside Paterson), but the 1929 amendments left only the eastern half, from NJ 1 east to the Hudson. The western half of old route 10 became NJ 10N until some time in the 1930s, though parts of the route may have been signed as NJ 5 or temporary NJ 6 as late as 1937. From 1936 to 1940 the section from central Paterson to NJ 2 (now NJ 17) was also numbered as part of US 46, until the bypass to the south of Paterson was completed. Since then this whole western stretch has been only county and local roads: Market St in Paterson is Passaic CR 648, from Elmwood Park to Hackensack it's Bergen CR 56; Hudson St and Bergen Turnpike are Bergen CR 124 to Little Ferry. The Hackensack Rover crossing from Little Ferry to Ridgefield Park was eventually abandoned and demolished. Old route 10's routing continued on modern CR 124 through Ridgefield Park and over Overpeck Creek into Ridgefield; that was likely as far east as NJ 10N ever got, as there it ran into NJ 1, modern US 1-9. Old route 10's routing continued north a few blocks on modern US 1-9 to the modern western end of NJ 5, then followed modern NJ 5 to Edgewater, and a block south on CR 505 to the ferry dock.
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 11 Paterson to Newark. Beginning at the southerly city line of Paterson Main street and continuing along the same to the northerly city line of Passaic; thence continuing from the southerly city line of Passaic on Passaic Avenue to the end of the same in Nutley; thence by a new line to Franklin Avenue and along the same, and by a new line through Soho Park to Harrison Street, through Bloomfield and Belleville to Franklin Street and along the same to the Newark city line, near the northerly end of Branch Brook Park.
1923, Chap 177,181,182,183,184,199: Route #11 (As originally laid out, still to be disposed of) From Newark to Paterson by way of Bellville, Bloomfield, Nutley and Passaic.
1923 Chap 498: Route #11 (As taken over by the State Highway Commission). From Newark to Paterson by way of Bellville, Nutley, and Passaic.
1925 Official State Map: Newark to Paterson, via Belleville, Nutley and Passaic. Kingsland Road, Nutley and Washington Avenue, Belleville under construction.
If the 1917 report is taken at face value, the routing through Clifton (and implied routing through Passaic in between sections of Clifton) is fairly straightforward: Main Avenue (Passaic CR 601) in Clifton from the Paterson line (Crooks Ave) to the Passaic city line, implied routing along Main Ave and Passaic St/Passaic Ave in Passaic, Passaic Ave (Passaic CR 603) in Clifton and (Essex CR 644 Spur) and Nutley, but after the south end of Passaic Ave at Kingsland St in Nutley things get weird. The first "new line" to Franklin Ave presumably cuts off a corner and that's fine, but the second "new line" forms a bizarre semicircle-ish loop involving new construction, Harrison St, Essex CRs 652 and 651, and Joralemon St in Belleville, that ends back on Franklin (same street, just in Belleville not Nutley), and then the highway runs down Franklin to end at the Belleville-Newark border. WTF.
A routing change for route 11 appears to have been made around 1925. While the Rand McNally 1922 map implies the 1917 routing, it doesn't show enough to be conclusive. The 1925 Standard Oil and 1927 Tydol maps either show or strongly imply a routing that more closely matches modern NJ 7, and the 1925 official state map confirms that such was either accomplished or being constructed. This took route 11 east on Kingsland St, then south on Washington St through Nutley and Belleville to the Newark city line. State maintenance ended there, and the street name changed to Broadway inside Newark. Somewhere between 1925 and 1927 the highway also appears to have been extended down Broadway into downtown Newark to meet the extended Route 1, most likely at the corner of Broad and Walnut streets.
In the 1927 renumbering, old route 11's fate got thoroughly tangled up with renumbered routes 7 and 21, and then in 1939 a new route (19) entered the picture to mess up things even more completely. NJ 21 was defined in 1927 to extend from NJ 25 in Newark to the Belleville Bridge; this would all eventually be on new construction, starting in 1931 with the section from Chester Ave in Newark north to Rutgers Ave in Belleville at the west end of the bridge. The segments south of Clay St were all completed in 1934-36, but the segment from Clay to Chester was not built until after the 1953 Great Renumbering! It seems pretty clear that until 1931, NJ 21 was routed along pre-1927 route 11 from the latter's south end up to Mill Street in Belleville, then possibly turning east on Mill and curving onto Main St to end at the bridge. North of Mill St, old route 11 was designated NJ 11N and likely followed old 11's routing up into Passaic, at which point the original 1927 bill took old 11's routing on Main Avenue and made it part of NJ 7. The 1929 amendments rerouted NJ 7, however, and so it is possible 11N was signed all the way to Paterson. (Data is sparse and thus inconclusive.)
From 1931 to 1936, the parts of old route 11 south of Clay St were still part of NJ 21, after which they were downloaded to the county or city. NJ 21 continued to follow old route 11 from Clay St to Chester Ave until 1955, after which that last part of old route 11 in Newark were also downloaded. Modernly, old route 11's route from Broad St to Broadway on Bloomfield Ave is CR 506 Spur, while its route on Broadway north from there to the Newark/Belleville city line is now Essex CR 667.
Now, as originally planned, NJ 7 north of the Belleville Bridge was to follow Main St in Belleville and River Rd in Nutley and Clifton, then River Dr in Passaic to Main Ave, and thence northwest to downtown Paterson. This was amended in 1929 to go up River Rd only as far as the location of modern NJ 3 (then NJ S-3) in Clifton, then recross the river on a bridge that may have not been yet built, and if is already existed or was built later, has since been replaced by the modern NJ 3 bridge, and turn north on modern CR 507 until ending at the 1927-era proposed NJ 3 on Paterson Ave in Wallington. It is not clear how much, if any, of this routing was ever signed; some contemporary maps show NJ 7 using the NJ 11N route from Rutgers Ave to Passaic. Then in 1939, New Jersey defined a new state route, numbered 19, to run south from the Paterson line (Hazel and Marshall Streets) on Hazel St and Paulison Ave through Clifton into Passaic, then turn south on River down to the bridge in Belleville (and also south into Newark presumably renumbering NJ 21, but that latter part never got implemented). It is unclear if this route 19 was ever signed as such; if it was, there may have been a multiplex between the Belleville and Rutherford Ave bridges. The 1949 law extending NJ 7 assumes the 1929 routing of NJ 7, which implies that officially NJ 11N continued to exist until 1953. The 1953 (Great) Renumbering officially put NJ 7 on what remained of NJ 11N. Therefore, the final pre-1927 routing of route 11 north of Mill St in Belleville officially became NJ 7 in 1953, which it still is today at least in Essex County. The actual date for the truncation of old route 11 / NJ 11N / rerouted NJ 7 out of Passaic County is not at all clear, but it appears to have happened no later than 1953. (Modern signage continues NJ 7 north to the interchange with NJ 3, a few blocks into Passaic County along old route 11.)
One last small note: the one block stretch of Washington between Belleville Avenue and Rutgers Avenue (plus Rutgers Ave between Washington and Main St, never part of old 11) was originally part of post-1927 NJ 9. It is unclear whether this remained the case all the way until 1953.
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 12 Paterson to Phillipsburg, via Little Falls, Pine Brook, Parsippany, Denville, thence over Route No. 5 to Budd's Lake, thence to Washington, Broadway and Phillipsburg. A survey was made of a new line to have an undercrossing of Erie Railroad at Little Falls Station thence across private right of way to and across Route No. 8 near Little Falls and into Pine Brook Road, west of Little Falls. The line surveyed for Route No. 5 between Netcong and Hackettstown will also carry Route No. 12 to a junction with the Washington road just east of Hackettstown. No other important changes of alignment are contemplated.
NJDH 1925 Official State Map: Paterson to Phillipsburg, via Little Falls, Pine Brook, Parsippany, Denville, thence over route 5 to Hackettstown, thence via Washington and Broadway. - NJHD 1925.
1926, Chapter 227: Route #12 Alter. ALTERATION OF ROUTE #12; from Paterson to Phillipsburg by way of Fairfield, Pine Brook, Parsippany, Denville, thence over Route No. 5 to Budd's Lake, thence to Washington and Broadway.
The western section is easier to deal with so I'll talk about it first.
From west to east:
Starting at the "Free Bridge" coming over from Easton, old route 12 followed
Morris St, the eastern section of which became Memorial Pkwy; the Memorial Pkwy
section would become US 22 in 1940.
From Phillipsburg to Penwell became NJ 24 in 1927; the western end was
truncated to US 22 near 6th St just east of the P-burg line in 1953.
From Penwell to Hackettstown became NJ S-24. Most of this latter segment would
become part of NJ 24 in 1953, with the mile or so in Hackettstown becoming NJ
57.
The stretch from US 22 to south Hackettstown became NJ 57 in 1969, with the
mile in Hackettstown becoming NJ 182, These numberings remain today.
From Hackettstown to Fairfield became part of NJ 6, and also part of US 46 in
1936. The eastern end of this segment, just east of the Pine Brook Bridge,
would be bypassed in 1941, and the piece that was old route 12 became NJ 6-M,
which became NJ 159 in 1953.
From Fairfield to Paterson, the pre-1926 route appears to have used what is now
CR 615 (Fairfield Rd, Little Falls Rd) through Fairfield, CR 631 (Main St)
through Singac to downtown Little Falls, turning northeast on CR 646 (Union
Ave) over the Passaic River, and Union Blvd (CR 646 - NJ 62 - CR 646) into
central Totowa, Totowa Rd (CR 644) across into West Paterson (modernly Woodland
Park), McBride Ave, Murray Ave, and Grand St to its end in downtown Paterson.
In 1927, this may still have become part of NJ 6, but by 1929 it was designated
NJ S-6 (with NJ 6 bypassing central Paterson). The part north of modern US 46
in Totowa, West Paterson, and Paterson was designated US 46 for a short time
from 1936 until about 1940, when the Paterson bypass was finally completed.
The Totowa and West Paterson pieces of that same stretch became NJ 62 in 1953,
and it's possible that the Little Falls piece was as well; most of the route
has been downloaded to the counties or the localitles, leaving just the small
piece between US 46 and I-80 as NJ 62 today.
The 1926 alteration may have been only a proposal at the time, but it appears
that the new bridge over the Passaic bypassing Little Falls was complete by
1929. The new routing likely ran initially from eastern Fairfield along the
routing of modern US 46 to the intersection with modern NJ 62; it was numbered
NJ 6 in 1927, though the older route may have been signed as 6 until the new
route was complete. The NJ 6 designation was dropped in 1953.
The routing from Hackettstown to Totowa would also be designated US 46 in
1936, a numbering it still carries today.
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 13 New Brunswick to Trenton. From the westerly city line of New Brunswick along Somerset Street to Franklin Park; thence continuing to Ten Mile run, to Kingston, and across the canal and Millstone river to and through Princeton Borough; thence to Lawrenceville and along the Lawrenceville-Trenton road and Princeton Avenue to the Trenton city line. Survey was made of proposed betterment at Kingston where line crosses the railroad and the Delaware and Raritan Canal. Surveys were made for minor alignment changes between Princeton and Lawrenceville.
NJDH 1925 Official State Map: Route No. 13 New Brunswick to Trenton, via Kingston, Princeton and Lawrenceville. This route is part of the Lincoln Highway. All hard-surfaced pavement.
This routing in its entirety became part of NJ 27 in 1927. The segment from Trenton to Princeton also became part of US 206 in 1936, and the NJ 27 designation was dropped from that portion of the highway in 1953.
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 14 Egg Harbor City to Cape May City, via Mays Landing, Tuckahoe, and Cape May Court House. The only important contemplated changes in alignment are a relocation of line to the easterly side of railroad between Cape May Court House and Cape May City, whereby eight railroad grade crossings may be eliminated.
In 1927 the section from Cape May City to Seaville became the southernmost
leg of an expanded NJ 4; it also became part of US 9. The NJ 4 designation was
dropped from all segments south of Paterson in 1953.
The routing from Seaville to Egg Harbor City became NJ 50 in 1927, and
(modulo bypasses of course) still is today.
NJDOT 1917 Annual Report: Route No. 15 Bridgeton to Cape May Court House, or such other point on Route No. 14 as may be designated by the State Highway Commission. No survey of this route has been made, but a number of alignment changes for the elimination of grade crossing are advisable, and are now in contemplation.
NJDH 1925 Official State Map: Route No. 15 Bridgeton to Route 14 at Rio Grande, via Millville, Port Elizabeth, Dennisville, Goshen, Dias Creek and Green Creek. Hard surfaced road from Bridgeton through Millville to Menatico Creek. Under construction between Menatico Creek and Port Elizabeth, and between Rio Grande and Green Creek.
Here is one route where the 1922 Rand McNally map disagrees with the 1917 NJ map, so it's unclear whether R-McN was speculating on future expansion of the route, or they were just misinformed, or if the route had been expanded between 1917 and 1922 and retracted between 1922 and 1925. The 1922 Rand McNally shows route 15 from Penns Grove through Pennsville, Salem, Quinton, Shiloh, Bridgeton, Millville, Port Elizabeth, Dorchester, Leesburg, Delmont, Dennisville, and Goshen to Cape May Court House. The 1925 Standard Oil map shows the Penns Grove to Salem segment as unnumbered, Salem to Bridgeton as part of route 6, and from Bridgeton to Goshen as route 15, with the last segment to Cape May C.H. swapped out for a more southerly extension to Rio Grande. The 1927 Tydol map shows Pennsville to Salem as route 17-S, which does not agree with the 1923 law defining that route as going from Penns Grove to Westville. The legs from Salem to Bridgeton and Bridgeton to Rio Grande remain as part of Route 6 and all of Route 15 on this map.
Using just the section east of Bridgeton, from west to east the following
renumberings happened in 1927:
From Bridgeton to South Dennisville became part of NJ 49;
from South Dennisville to Rio Grande became NJ S-49. (NJ S-49 would be
extended from Rio Grande to Wildwood in 1938.)
In the 1953 renumbering, this was partially changed:
From Bridgeton to Millville remained part of NJ 49;
From Millville to Rio Grande (and the extension to Wildwood) became the
southern "half" of NJ 47.
1921 NJDOT Annual Report: "From Morristown to Trenton, by way of Van Dorn's Mills, Bernardsville, Far Hills, Bedminster, Pluckemin, Somerville, South Somerville, Bell Meade, and Harlingen.
NJHD 1925 Official State Map: Morristown to Princeton, via Van Doren's Mills, Bernardsville, Far Hills, Bedminster, Pluckemin, Somerville, Royce Valley, Bell Meade, and Harlingen. Section between Somerville and Royce Valley to be under construction, also underpass at Bridge Street, Somerville railroad crossing.
1925, Chapter 196 Route #16-Ext. From Route #5 at the intersection of South Street and Park Place in Morristown and extending thence along Park Place, Market St., and Mount Kemble Avenue to the boundary line of Morristown, the present beginning point of said Route #16.
Not sure why the 1921 report says Trenton, where the medial place names stop north of Princeton. Trenton may be a typo in my source. In any case, the south terminus of route 16 did settle in Princeton. The north terminus, originally the Morristown town line, was extended to the center of town at route 5.
The routing from Princeton to Bedminster became part of NJ 31 in 1927. In 1936 it also became part of US 206. The routing from Somerville to Bedminster also became part of US 202 around 1935, which may have been briefly US 122 before that highway was renumbered to US 202. A small bypass of the Bedminster intersection was built later on, taking US 202 off the last half mile or so of that segment. The NJ 31 designation was dropped from this routing in 1953.
The routing from Bedminster/Far Hills to Morristown became part of NJ 32 in 1927. This also became part of US 122 in 1930, which was renumbered to US 202 in 1935. The NJ 32 designation was dropped in 1953.
1923 Chap 5,177,181,183,184: Route No. 17-N From Newark, by way of Kearney, Rutherford, Hackensack, Ridgewood and Ramsey to the New York State Line.
In 1927, the southernmost segment (Newark to North Arlington) was left unnumbered; the rest of this routing was renumbered to NJ 2. However, in 1924 New York had set up a system of numbered state highways, and ths continuation of this route had been numbered (after old NJ route 17) as NY 17, which kept that number in NY's 1930 renumbering. For purposes of making it easier for troops and supplies not to get lost during World War II, in 1942 New Jersey renumbered two of its state routes that crossed into New York (as NY state routes) to match the New York numbers: NJ 2 was renumbered as NJ 17, a number it still has today, making it the only modern NJ *state* highway to have any piece of its modern routing with the same number as it did before 1927. (The routing is basically the same although the entirety of old route 17-N has been bypassed starting in the 1930s.)
1923 Chap 199: Route No. 17-S From a point on route No. 6 at Westville and continuing through Thorofare, Paulsboro, Gibbstown, and Bridgeport and thence to Penn's Grove, in the County of Salem, connecting at said point with the proposed State Highway.
This routing does not agree with the 1927 Tydol map. As there do not appear to have been any legislative changes to the routing before the 1927 renumbering, I will assume in this case that the map is wrong. The routing described above became NJ 44 in 1927; it also became part of US 130 in 1936. The NJ 44 designation was dropped in 1953, but was soon returned to pieces of the routing that had been bypassed by new construction of US 130. In 1968, US 130 was moved back to some pieces of NJ 44, leaving only the segment from Barker Ave in Bridgeport to West Deptford as modern NJ 44.
1923 Chap 181,183: Route No. 18-S From Penn's Grove, by way of Sharpstown, Woodstown, Pole Tavern, Elmer, Malaga, Buena, Mays Landing, Pleasantville to Atlantic City.
1925, Chapter 23--55: Modification of Route #18S FROM PENN'S GROVE TO ATLANTIC CITY; from the dock of the Penn's Grove, and Wilmington Ferry CO. at Penn's Grove, by way of Sharpstown, Woodstown, Pole Tavern, Elmer, Malaga, Buena, Mays Landing, Pleasantville to Atlantic City.
The 1925 modification appears to have been just to extend the west end to the ferry. This routing was renumbered to NJ 48 in 1927. It was also part of US 40. The west end of US 40 was rerouted in 1951 when the Delaware Memorial Bridge opened; the west end of NJ 48 was probably truncated back to NJ 44/US 130 at that time since the Penns Grove ferry ceased operation. In 1953, NJ 48 was dropped from its multiplex with US 40, leaving just the short routing from Penns Grove to US 40 west of Sharptown.
1923 Chap 197: Route No. 18-N From Hoboken to New York State line by way of Weehawken, West Hoboken, town of Union, North Bergen, Fairview, Ridgefield, Palisade Park, Fort Lee, Englewood-Cliffs, Tenafly and Alpine.
This routing may not have been completely built as defined; one source says that as built, its south end was at old route 10 (now NJ 5). That segment from old route 10 to the NY state line was initially retained as NJ 18N in 1927. However, in 1929, the portion from post-1927 NJ 5 to Fort Lee was renumbered to NJ S-1-A, and the portion from Fort Lee north to the NY line was renumbered as part of a realigned NJ 1. All of this was also part of US 9W by 1928. In 1932, US 9W and NJ 1 were rerouted north of NJ 4 in Fort Lee (the GW Bridge approach) to use Fletcher Ave north to the modern north end of NJ 67, and post-1927 NJ S-1-A was extended to that point. In 1953, the NJ 1 designation was dropped, and NJ S-1-A was renumbered as modern NJ 67.
1923 Chap 184: Route No. 18- From Camden to Merchantville, through Moorestown, Mount Holly, Pemberton, New Lisbon, Brown's Mills and Lakehurst to Toms River and ending at the junction of Route No. 4 with the Toms River-Lakehurst road at Toms River.
This routing shows a different approach to the single numbered route across
the Pinelands from Camden to the shore. In 1927 it was apparently decided that
the new routes 37 and 38 should cross the state diagonally, intersecting in the
middle, with 37 connecting Trenton to Toms River (and then north up the shore
to the Point Pleasant area) and 38 connecting Camden to Belmar. The middle of
these two routes were never completed. In the meantime, post-1927 route 40
became the straightest shot across the state from the Camden area. This third
pre-1927 route 18 would be divided up into diffrent sections. From west to
east:
From Camden to Mount Holly became NJ 38, was later bypassed and became CR
537. (NJ 38 ran northeast to NJ 39, modern US 206, until the bypass was built
south of Mount Holly.
There were four possible routes east from Mount Holly to the Pemberton area.
One involved modern CR 537 northeast to Unionville, then Woodlane Rd and North
Pemberton Rd (modern Burlington CR 630) before turning south (most likely on
Fort Dix Rd, modern Burlington CR 616) into Pemberton, and east on
Pemberton-Browns Mills Rd (modern Burlington CR 687) to modern CR 530. A
second possible route could have taken Mill St and Powell Rd (modern
Burlington CR 621) east to modern US 206, but would have needed to go north or
south to one of the routings after that. The third possible route would take
Pine St (modern Burlington CR 612) to Shreve St and Railroad Ave east to
Ewanville; then modern Indian Trail to Birmingham, abandoned roads thence to
Pemberton, and Pemberton-Browns Mills Rd (modern Burlington CR 687) east to
modern CR 530. The fourth routing would have gone further south on Pine St
(CR 612) to South Ave, then going east on modern NJ 38 to its end at US 206,
and then crossing over onto CR 530; the east-west part of this routing may
not have existed in 1927. None of the last three routings were included
in the post-1927 system, and of the first routing only as far as Unionville
would be part of the state system as part of NJ 38, until the 38 bypass was
built south of Mt Molly. Modernly, the fourth routing between CR 612 and
US 206 became part of NJ 38 in 1986.
From east of Pemberton to the Burlington-Ocean county line was not included in
the post-1927 system, and in 1952 most of it became part of CR 530 (save for a
bypass of New Lisbon);
from the Burlington-Ocean county line to Lakehurst became part of NJ 40, which
was renumbered in 1953 to NJ 70;
in Lakehurst this routing may have used Union Ave and Brown Ave to get across
town instead of modern NJ 70;
from Lakehurst to Toms River became part of NJ 37, though the very eastern end
is almost certainly now the southern end of CR 527 (Lakehurst Rd).
1923, Chap 182/183: Route No. 19- From a point on Route No. 14 at Seaville, by way of Palerma, Marmora, Beesley's Point, Somers Point to Pleasantville and connecting with Route No. 4, at Absecon.
This route was never built as route 19. In 1927 this route was absorbed into an expanded NJ 4, but the segments were taken into the state system (and presumably improved to state highway standards) between 1928 and 1931; from Somers Point to Absecon -- the southern half of the Absecon bypass -- was taken over in June 1930, and from Seaville to Beesley's Point was taken over in November 1931. The routing also included the now-gone Beesley's Point Bridge from 1928 on, which was never operated by the state; it remained a privately owned and operated bridge until it was forced to close in 2004 for lack of funds to perform necessary repairs. Cape May County bought the bridge for $1 in 2008 intending to repair it, but things had deteriorated too quickly and in 2011 it was announced that the NJ Turnpike Authority would demolish the bridge as part of a large scale reconstruction of the nearby Garden State Parkway Somers Point Bridge.
In the mid-1930s, this routing also became part of an expanded US 9. In 1953, the NJ 4 designation was dropped from all routings south of Paterson, leaving US 9 as the only number for this routing.
1923, Chap 177: Route No. 20- From a point on Route No. 3, extending by way of West Berlin, Gibbsboro and Haddonfield, connecting with Haddon Avenue in the Borough of Haddonfield, and continuing to approach to the Delaware River Bridge.
This route was never built under this number and does not appear to have been included in the post-1927 system. In 1952 this routing was made part of CR 561.
1923, Chap 182: Route No. 20- From Westville to Millville commence at a point on Route No. 6 at Westville, extending through Hurffville, Glassboro, Malaga and Vineland to Millville.
1925, Chap 55: Modification of Route #20 From Westville to Millville commencing at a point on Route No. 6 at Westville, and extending through Hurffville, Glassboro, Clayton, Franklinville, Malaga and Vineland, and thence to and through Landis Township in the County of Cumberlabnd to the City of Millville in said county, and thence connecting with Route #15.
The 1925 modification appears to be a rerouting of part of the segment between Glassboro and Malaga. In 1927 this routing became part of NJ 47.
1923, Chap 201: Route No. - From Berlin to Blue Anchor, known as the "Berlin-Blue Anchor Road," thence from Blue-Anchor to Mays Landing, known as the "Mays Landing Road."
This route was never built as part of the pre-1927 system and was left out of the post-1927 system. In 1938 the northern half of this, from NJ 42/US 322 at Penny Pot in Folsom to NJ 43/US 30 in Berlin, was designated NJ S-41-A as an extension of NJ S-41. In 1953 this became part of NJ 73, though the piece south of the Atlantic City Expressway is only signed (and only appears on official state maps) as CR 561 Spur.
1923, Chap 202: Route No. - From Route No. 2 of the State Highway System at Five Points, in the county of Burlington, by way of Moorestown, Evesboro Cross Road, Medford and Atsion, to Route No. 3, of the State Highway System at Hammonton, in the county of Atlantic, to be numbered by the State Highway Commission, together with a spur from said route at Evesboro, in the county of Burlington, to Merchantville, in the county of Camden.
Like the other unnumbered 1923 route and the first route 20, this route
was not built as part of the pre-1927 system. Parts of it did end up in the
post-1927 system, however. From south to north:
From Hammonton to Shamong became part of NJ 39. In 1936 this became part of US
206; in 1953 the NJ 39 designation was dropped, leaving just US 206.
From Shamong to Medford was not in the post-1927 system; in 1952 became CR
541.
From Medford to Evesboro may have been a proto-alignment of NJ 40 (now NJ 70),
but it seems unlikely. If it ever was part of the post-1927 system it quickly
was dropped, and is now Evesboro-Medford Rd.
The main line from Evesboro to Five Points was also not part of the post-1927
system, and is now S. Church St, N. Church St, and Church Rd, ending at US 130
in Cinnaminson.
The spur from Evesboro to Merchantville was likewise not part of the post-1927
system, and eventually became CR 616, Church Rd.
1924, Chap. 233: Route -* From Trenton to Buttsville, by way of Pennington, Woodsville, Ringoes, Flemington, Clinton, crossing Route No. 9, Glen Gardner, Hampton, and Washington, crossing Route No. 12 to Route #5, including a spur extending from the Delaware River Bridge at Labbertville to Ringoes, and a spur from Flemington to White House, connecting with Route No. 9.
The main line of this routing was legislated as NJ 30 in 1927. In 1953 it
was renumbered to NJ 69, and in 1967 was renumbered *again* to NJ 31, which
(modulo bypasses) it remains today.
Most of the spur out to the Lambertville Bridge -- specifically from central
Lambertville to the main line at Ringoes -- would be legislated as part of a
larger NJ 29 in 1927. (The bridge itself and its Bridge St approach west of
Old York Rd were unnumbered until designated as NJ S-29 in 1949.) The entire
spur lost the NJ 29 and NJ S-29 designations in the 1953 renumbering.
This spur was also signed as part of US 122 until that route changed numbers
to US 202 in 1935, and remained part of that route until the freeway bypass
was built between 1965 and 1974. As US 202 was moved onto newly completed
sections of the freeway, the old routing was signed as NJ 179, which it
remains today.
The Flemington-White House spur doesn't appear as a state route in the 1927
system, but was signed as US 122 until 1935 (and possibly as US 202 briefly
in 1935 before the US route was moved onto the newly completed NJ 29
routing). In 1952-53 it became part of CR 523.
1925, Chap 158: Route # * FROM SUSSEX TO PORT JERVIS: from Route #8 in the borough of Sessex by way and through High Point Park to the New York State line near Port Jervis, New York.
In 1927 this routing became the northwestmost leg of NJ 23, which it remains today. (The rest of NJ 23 had been part of old Route 8; the northern leg of old 8 from Sussex to the New York line became NJ 8N, then NJ 84, and is now NJ 284.)
1925, Chapter 222: Route # * From Freehold to Mount Holly via the Old Monmouth Road.
This routing was left out of the post-1927 system. It is possible that, in 1938, the western part of this routing was intended to become part of the proposed NJ 38 extension, but the only portion of the extension ever signed as NJ 38 was the section from NJ 34 to the shore in Wall Twp and Belmar, which has nothing to do with this routing. In 1952 this routing became part of CR 537 and remains so today.
1925, Chapter 224: Route # * FROM ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS TO KEYPORT; from the northerly end of the road known as the Ocean Boulevard at Atlantic Highlands, and thence continuing westerly and northerly through Leonardo, Ocean View, Port Monmouth, Keansburg, Union Beach, First Street, Keyport, and ending at State Highway #4 in the borough of Keyport, siad route being laid as near the shore front of Sandy Hook and Raritan Bay as practicable.
In 1927 this routing became the vast majority of new NJ 36, which was extended from this routing east to Highlands. Today it is still part of NJ 36, which was extended later on to its present length.
1925, Chapter 225: Route # * From Far Hills to the New York State Line at or near Tri-State, by way of Chester, Flanders, Netcong, Andover, Newton, Rosses Corner, Branchville, and Hainesville.
This routing would eventually become the northern half of US 206 in 1936.
In 1927 it was split between two state routes. From south to north:
From Far Hills/Bedminster to Newton became NJ 31;
from Newton to Montague became NJ S-31;
from Montague to "Tri-State" was left out of the post-1927 system, and in 1952
became part of CR 521.
NJ S-31 was directed to the Milford-Montague Bridge into PA instead of going
northeast towards Port Jervis NY, and US 206 would follow that routing as well
when it was designated.
1925, Chapter 230: Route # * FROM MORRISTOWN TO HACKETTSTOWN; beginning at Park Place, Morristown, connecting with Route #5 at this point, and continuing through Mendham, Chester, Long Valley, and ending in Hackettstown at the intersection of Route #5 at the soldier's monument.
Most of this routing would eventually be part of NJ 24. In 1927, the section from approximately Schooleys Mountain east to Morristown was designated as the central section of new NJ 24, which ran from Phillipsburg to Newark; the piece of NJ 24 from Penwell to Schooleys Mountain was proposed but never built. In 1953 NJ 24 was rerouted around the unbuilt section, to go all the way up to South Hackettstown and use even more of this routing to get to Morristown. The westernmost mile of this routing in Hackettstown was part of NJ S-24 from 1927 to 1953, at which point it was renumbered as NJ 57, and is today NJ 182.
1925, Chapter 235: Route # * SOUTH AMBOY TO KEYPORT; from Mains Street and Stevens Avenue, South Amboy, and running thence (1) along Main Street, South Amboy, continued to the Cheesequake road, thence (2) along said Cheesequake road by way of Rose's corner southerly to the village of Cheesequake and from thence running (3) easterly at or near a point where said road intersects road from Cheesequake to Old Bridge to a point near Cheesequake known as Brown's Garage, at which point the Morristown Road and Mount Pleasant Road intersect and and running thence (4) southeasterly from Brown's Garage along the Mount Pleasant Road to a point where said road intersects the Old Bridge-Mattawan road, recently completed, thence (5) continuing along said road in a southeasterly direction to that part of Mattawan designated as Frenau and from thence running (6) along Main Street, Matawan, or same continued, in a northeasterly direction to a point where said road is intersected by a street known as Clark Street, Keyport, or Clark Street extended, and running thence (7) in an easterly direction along Clark Street to where this street intersects with State Highway Route #4.
The descriptions for this route are unusually specific. This routing was not fully adopted into the post-1927 system, but the western section from South Amboy to Matawan became part of a realigned NJ 4 (and US 9). In 1942, when the new direct route from Cheesequake to Freehold was completed, this section from Cheesequake to Matawan became part of new NJ 4A; in 1953 this became the northernmost segment of an expanded NJ 34.
The section from Matawan to Keyport was not taken into the post-1927 system; in 1952 it became part of CR 516.
1925, Chapter 240: Route # * FROM CAMDEN TO ATLANTIC CITY; from Camden to Mt. Ephraim. to Chews, to Blackwood, to Turnersville, to Cross Keys, to Williamstown, to Cecil, to Weymouth, to McKee City, to Pleasantville, to Atlantic City.
This routing is the Black Horse Pike (as opposed to old Route 3 the White Horse Pike), and in 1927 the section from Camden to McKee City was designated NJ 42, and the section from McKee City to Atlantic City became part of NJ 48. From Williamstown to Atlantic City also became part of US 322 when that highway was extended in 1936, and the NJ 42 designation was removed from the Williamstown-McKee City section in 1953. When the NJ 42 freeway from Turnersville to Camden was opened in 1957-59, that section of this routing became NJ 168.
1926, Chapter 14: Route # * NEW BRUNSWICK TO TRENTON; From New Brunswick to Trenton, which said road is known as the Straight turnpike and also as Trenton and New Brunswick turnpike.
In 1927, this routing became NJ 26. The state takeover was not completed until 1930; at that time US 1 was placed on the route as well from Trenton to the south end of the New Brunswick bypass (NJ S-26 and NJ 25). In 1953, the NJ 26 designation was removed from the portion that was also US 1, leaving just the piece from US 1 up to New Brunswick as NJ 26.
1926, Chapter 46: Route # * ROSELLE PARK TO HILLSIDE TOWNSHIP; From a point on State Highway Route No. 9 in the borough of Roselle Park, Union County, and continuing through Roselle Park Borough, Union Township and Hillside Township to a point in Elizabeth Avenue, Hillside Township, Union County, paralleling the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
This routing was not brought into the post-1927 system except maybe a
northernmost leg along Hillside Avenue. My guess is that this was proposed to
follow either Chestnut St or Locust St north from old Route 9 (modern NJ 28)
and then do one of two things: (1) cut northeast either just before or just
after the railroad tracks over a road that was never built, and ending up on
Lehigh Avenue; or (2) go up to Galloping Hill Rd thence northeast on Salem
Avenue. Unclear where the intended endpoint was, though it's possible that
the street that is Elizabeth Avenue in Newark may have had the same name in
Hillside at the time; that road is now known as Broad Street in Hillside. If in
fact the routing used Hillside Avenue to get over to Elizabeth Ave/Broad St,
that stretch may have been part of NJ 29 for a short time in the mid-1930s.
(Modern US 22 bypasses this stretch.)
If the routing used Salem Avenue, that stretch became part of CR 509 in
1952.
1926, Chapter 104: Route # * STOCKTON TO NEW BRUNSWICK; Beginning at the Delaware River Bridge in the Borough of Stockton, County of Hunterdon, and running thence through or near Sergeantsville to a point through or near Sandbrook; thence to the Borough of Flemington; thence through or near Three Bridges; thence to a point through or near Centerville, where the counties of Somerset and Hunterdon join; thence along the Old York road adjoing the county line to a point where the Old York road joins the road running from Readington to Raritan; thence to the town of Raritan; thence to the Borough of Somerville; thence to the City of New Brunswick by way of Finderne, Manville, Millstone, East Millstone, and Middlebush.
Only part of this routing made it into the post-1927 system. From west to
east:
From Stockton to Flemington was not taken over, and in 1952 became part of CR
523.
From Flemington to Raritan became part of NJ 12 in 1927, but was likely dropped
from the state system in favor of a realigned NJ 29 (now US 202) when that
highway opened in 1935; the piece of this south of modern US 202 is now part
of CR 567.
From Raritan to Somerville became part of NJ 28; some pieces of that section
may still be part of that route.
From Somerville to Millstone was not taken over, and in 1952 most of it became
part of CR 533.
From Millstone to New Brunswick was not taken over, and in 1952 most of it
became part of CR 514.
1926, Chapter 108: Route # * ROUTE #1, JERSEY CITY TO ROUTE #11, PASSAIC. Beginning at the commencement of Route No. 1 in Jersey City, and running northwesterly through Jersey City, Hoboken, Union City, North Bergen, Secaucus, Hudson County; Carlstadt, East Rutherford, Wallington, in Bergen County; Passaic in Passaic County, connecting with State highway Route No. 11 in Passaic County.
Most of this was not taken into the post-1927 system. From south to
north:
From the Holland Tunnel entrance, my best guess is Marin Blvd to Newark
St/Observer Blvd, west on Observer to Paterson Ave, and north on Paterson Ave
and Paterson Plank Rd to the Hackensack River in Secaucus. From Jersey City to
North Bergen was not taken over; west of Tonnelle Ave in Secaucus became part
of NJ 3 in 1927, but apparently in 1934 a new bridge was built where the modern
Route 3 bridge is, and north of there, NJ 3 was moved off Paterson Plank Rd.
Most of the above routing is now Hudson CR 681.
The original Hackensack River bridge is no longer extant. Northwest of there,
the routing again uses Paterson Plank Road and Paterson Ave to Wallington.
This was originally intended to be post-1927 NJ 3; the section from Washington
Ave in Carlstadt (CR 503) to modern NJ 17 was made part of NJ 20 in 1953, and
became part of NJ 120 in 1988. The section west of NJ 17 became Bergen CR 14
(I think).
From Wallington the routing used the Main Ave Bridge across the Passaic River
into Passaic, then most likely River Dr into central Passaic where the routing
ended at old Route 11. It is unclear whether this piece was intended as part
of NJ 3 in 1927 (in which case NJ 3, along with NJ 11, would have used Main
Ave in Passaic and Lexington Ave in Clifton to connect with McLean Blvd in
Paterson) or if NJ 3 went more directly north (Wallington Ave/Market St Bridge,
1st St, Dayton Ave, Barbour Ave, Randolph Ave). USGS topo maps from the mid to
late 1930s show NJ 3 at least temporarily on the former, so this routing would
have been part of NJ 3, even if this was a temporary routing pending
construction of a new highway (which never happened). This piece was officially
dropped from the state system in 1953; NJ 20 was officially discontinuous
pending construction of new road to connect the segments (which again never
happened). Main St in Wallington is now Bergen CR 14; Main Ave in Passaic is
now Passaic CR 624, and Lexington Ave in Clifton is Passaic CR 625.
1926, Chapter 124: Route # * KEARNEY TO CALDWELL; from State Highway Route No. 1 in the City of Jersey City, or from any connection or proposed connection with said Route No. 1 in town of Kearney to State Highway Route No. 12 at Caldwell Township, through the Town of Kearney, Borough of North Arlington, Town of Bellville, to connect with State Highway Route No. 11 in said town; Town of Bloomfield, Borough of Glen Ridge, Town of Montclair to connect with State Highway Route No. 8 in said town; Borough of Verona, and thence to Route No. 12 in said Township of Caldwell.
This routing actually makes a great deal more sense than the hodgepodge
we ended up with. From west to east:
From Route 12 in Caldwell (modernly NJ 159 in Fairfield), following Bloomfield
Ave to Glen Ridge, thence on Belleville Ave to Washington Ave in Belleville,
then one block north on Washington Ave, then east on Rutgers Ave to Main St,
was designated NJ 9 in 1927. That designation was dropped in 1953.
From the corner of Main St and Rutgers Ave in Belleville, going east
over the bridge, then through North Arlington and Kearny to Tonnele
Circle in Jersey City, became the east-west portion of NJ 7 in 1927, and the
portion east of NJ 21 remains the eastern segment of discontinuous two-piece
NJ 7 today.
In 1952 this routing in its entirety was also designated CR 506, which is the
only current designation for the Bloomfield/Belleville Avenues section (former
NJ 9). Not sure if NJDOT officially carries the 506 designation along the
Hudson County section any more since it's also NJ 7, but they did for decades
after the 500 series was implemented. CR 506 *does* follow Rutgets Ave between
the two pieces of NJ 7, even if that's the current east end of 506.
1926, Chapter 126: Route # * JERSEY CITY TO DOVER; from State Highway Route No. 1 in the City of Jersey City through the Town of Kearney, Town of Harrison, City of Newark, City of East Orange, City of Orange, Town of West Orange, Township of Livingston, and through Hanover, Whippany and Littleton in the Township of Hanover, and thence to connect with the present State Highway Route in the Town of Dover.
Tha 1927 Tydol Maps inset map of Newark implies that this route was intended
to take Park Ave from Newark to West Orange. Why they chose that and not the
"business" route of Orange Rd (in Newark) and Main St (the Oranges) puzzles me.
Anyway, the route from Newark west is basically the old Newark and Mt Pleasant
Turnpike, though ending at Dover instead of going to Mt Pleasant (north of
Dover on modern NJ 15, just south of modern Berkshire Valley, presumably at
the top of the hill instead of down near the creek on the north side). From
west to east:
The portion from downtown Dover (NJ 6, later US 46) to SE of Victory Gardens
probably used Clinton St, Morris St, Blackwell St, and Salem St. This was part
of the 1927 and 1929 routings for NJ 10, which later bypassed Dover and ended
at NJ 6/US 46 at Ledgewood Circle. The Clinton St portion was part of NJ 6A,
later NJ 15, until fairly recently. The other streets were dropped from the
state highway system when NJ 10's west end was moved to Ledgewood. The relevant
section of Blackwell St is now part of CR 513.
The routing from Victory Gardens to Jersey City all became part of NJ 10 in
1927. NJ 10's east end was truncated to Prospect Ave in West Orange in 1953,
leaving behind a piece of CR 577, CR 660, CR 659, CR 658, and CR 508.
1926, Chapter 140: Route # * PATERSON PLANK ROAD AND TONNELE AVENUE; between the Wallington County Bridge and the proposed Route No. 17 (100' wide); From Route #17 to Tonnele Avenue in Union City in the County of Hudson (150' wide); From a point on the Paterson Plank Road near the Hackensack Bridge in the Town of Secaucus running westerly to connect with the County Road and thence southerly along the County Road to Tonnele Avenue in Jersey City in the County of Hudson (150' wide); Tonelle Avenue fron the Paterson Plank Road westerly to connect with the proposed State Highway Route No. 1 (150' wide).
This description has spots that make no sense. Using a 1926 Bergen County
map, following the legislative description from northwest to southeast:
"From Wallington County Bridge to proposed Route No. 17" is likely on Paterson
Ave and Paterson Plank Road to start with, though new construction may have
been contemplated. That's simple enough, and is also described in 1926 Chapter
108 above. Thus this would have been part of planned NJ 3 in the 1927
system, and appears today to be Bergen CR 14.
"From Route #17 to Tonnele Avenue in Union City" is problematic; the 1926
Bergen County map doesn't show Tonnele Ave in the area at all, and a 1940 map
clearly shows Tonnele Ave as being in North Bergen, not Union City. This was
probably intended to follow Paterson Plank Rd at least initially, but the
eastern half cannot be continuous with the next defined segment. In any case,
this appears to be identical to a segment of the highway in 1926 Chapter 108;
most or all of this proposed segment would have become part of NJ 3 in the
1927 system, though NJ 3 would be moved off the eastern portion by 1940. The
piece from old route 17-N to current NJ 17 is probably Bergen CR 14 now, though
the number isn't clear on the current online map. The piece from NJ 17 to CR
503 became part of NJ 20 in 1953, and part of renumbered NJ 120 in 1988. The
part from CR 503 to the Hackensack River in Bergen Co may be just local roads.
Across the river in Secaucus and North Bergen, this routing is now Hudson CR
681.
"From a point on the Paterson Plank Road near the Hackensack Bridge in the
Town of Secaucus running westerly to connect with the County Road and thence
southerly along the County Road to Tonnele Avenue in Jersey City" makes sense
only if one assumes that the "westerly" direction is an error, as this routing
definitely runs southeast. County Ave and New County Rd are shown on the 1926
Bergen County map. Those roads were left out of the 1927 system, and today are
Hudson CR 653. Paterson Plank Rd would have been part of new NJ 3, and it is
also in 1926 Chapter 108; today it is Hudson CR 681.
"Tonelle Avenue fron the Paterson Plank Road westerly to connect with the
proposed State Highway Route No. 1" is straightforward except that again one
must assume that "westerly" is an error. In 1927, this stretch became part of
NJ 1 (old route 1 having become part of NJ 25). In 1934 this became part of
US 1 and US 9, which it remains today; in 1953 the NJ 1 designation was
dropped.
1926, Chapter 167: Route # * NEWTON TO SWARTSWOOD LAKE (Sussex County) A road leading from the route designated in Chapter 158 of the laws of 1925, at or near the court house in the Town of Newton, to Swartswood Lake in the Townshup of Stillwater, in the County of Sussex.
The route designated in 1925 Chapter 158 doesn't go through Newton! The route designated in 1925 Chapter 225 does, though. There's no indication any part of this was ever built/taken over by the state, and it was left out of the post-1927 system. Today it appears to be CR 622, Newton-Swartswood Rd.
1926, Chapter 185: Route # * SPUR FROM ROUTE #13 TO RIDGE ROAD From a point about one mile east of the Delaware and Raritan Canal at Kingston, in a southerly direction to the intersection of the Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike, connection Route No. 13 with the road from Kingston to Monmouth Junction known as the Ridge Road.
Yet another description that doesn't quite make sense. One mile east of the canal at Kingston is ON the Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike! If one starts right AT Kingston, however, this appears to be either Academy St or Heathcote Rd. This short routing soesn't appear to have made it into the 1927 system and is evidently local roads today.
1926, Chapter 194: Route # * JERSEY CITY TO KILL VON KULL BRIDGE; from State Highway Route No. 1, in the City of Jersey City, thence along the westerly side of and through the City of Jersey City and the City of Bayonne, to the entrance to the proposed bridge across the Kill von Kull.
In 1926 this routing became part of NJ 1. A temporary route was set up on Hudson Blvd pending the construction of the proposed highway along the west side of Bayonne. This was never built. In 1953, NJ 1 was changed to part of NJ 440, but again Hudson Blvd was only used as a temporary route. In 1959, NJ 440 was formally relegislated to go up the westerly side of Bayonne, and the first section of a highway on the east side of Bayonne was opened. This was NJ 169; in 2001, NJDOT realized that the west side freeway was never going to happen and renumbered NJ 169 to NJ 440.
1926, Chapter 259: Route # * WEST LONG BRANCH TO LONG BRANCH (Branch in Long Branch); commencing in the Borough of Long Branch beginning with Route number four and thence continuing easterly through Borough of West Long Branch, taking over the route known as Wall Street and ending at Norwood Avenue in the City of Long Branch.
This appears to be a spiritual predecessor to part of NJ 36, but I suspect that the 1940 extension of NJ 36 used its current routing (farther north) and not this one. This is certainly true on the 1962 Monmouth County map, and I haven't found an earlier one in the automobile era. This routing is now Monmouth CR 32.
1926, Chapter 323: Route # * HACKETTSTOWN TO ROCKPORT (Warren County Branch) From Trout Brook, on Grand Avenue, in the Town of Hackettstown, in the County of Warren, to the State Game Farm at Rockport, in the Township of Mansfoeld in said Couty of Warren, being a reservation maintained wholly by the State of New Jersey.
This was left out of the post-1927 system. In 1967 it was Grand Ave (local road) in Hackettstown, and Warren CR 29 (Rockport Rd) in Mansfield Twp; the county-maintained portion is now CR 629.