Interstate 80 in New Jersey

Infobox road
state=NJ
route=80
type=I
alternate_name=Bergen-Passaic Expressway
length_mi=68.54
length_round=2
length_ref= [ [http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/00000080__-.pdf Interstate 80 in New Jersey] straight line diagram (PDF)]
year_established=1959
direction_a=West
terminus_a=Jct|state=PA|I|80 at Pennsylvania state line
junction=Jct|state=NJ|US|46|NJ|94 in Knowlton
Jct|state=NJ|US|206 in Mount Olive
Jct|state=NJ|NJ|15 in Wharton
Jct|state=NJ|I|287 in Parsippany-Troy Hills
Jct|state=NJ|I|280 in Parsippany-Troy Hills
Jct|state=NJ|NJ|23 in Wayne
Jct|state=NJ|NJ|19 in Paterson
Jct|state=NJ|NJ|20 in Paterson
direction_b=East
terminus_b=Jct|state=NJ|I|95|NJTP| in Teaneck
previous_type=NJ
previous_route=79
next_type=NJ
next_route=81
Interstate 80 is a major Interstate Highway in the United States, running from the San Francisco Bay Area east to the New York City area. In the state of New Jersey, it runs convert|68.54|mi|km from the Delaware Water Gap to its eastern terminus at Interstate 95 in Teaneck. I-95 continues compass east from the end of I-80 to the George Washington Bridge for access to New York City; access is also provided via the Interstate 280 spur towards the Holland Tunnel and US 46 to Route 3 towards the Lincoln Tunnel.

New Jersey Transit provides commuter rail service to many of the towns along Interstate 80 in New Jersey. Plans are in the works to extend services to Delaware Water Gap and Northeast Pennsylvania using the Lackawanna Cutoff to help relieve the ever expanding traffic congestion on I-80.

History

I-80 was first planned in 1936 as a replacement for the cross-state U.S. Route 46, considered again in the 1955 [http://www.nycroads.com/history/joint-study/ Joint Study of Arterial Facilities] . Coming off the George Washington Bridge, Route 4 and US 46 already provided high-speed corridors, but they were overloaded, and so a new corridor in between, the Bergen-Passaic Expressway, was planned to run from the bridge to Paterson.

The planned route west to the Delaware Water Gap was designated in 1956 as Federal Aid Interstate Route 101 by the New Jersey State Highway Department, and was designated Interstate 80 in 1959. The easternmost section of the route, leading to the bridge, had become part of Interstate 95.

The section of I-80 through the Delaware Water Gap had already opened on December 16, 1953, running from the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge to Route 94 at Columbia. ["NEW SPAN CROSSES DELAWARE RIVER; Fine, Driscoll at Ceremonies for Water Gap Bridge -- Road to Link Poconos and New York", "The New York Times", December 17, 1953. p. 51] This road was originally planned as part of U.S. Route 46, but was instead signed as a realignment of U.S. Route 611 until April 1965, receiving the Interstate 80 designation in December 1959. Both I-80 signs and US 611 signs would remain until 1973 where the road would officially become strictly Interstate 80. This section of road was built four lanes wide with lower standards, as it was built prior to the Interstate Highway System.

Actual construction of Interstate 80 began circa 1959 between Route 15 and U.S. Route 46 in western Denville; this section was completed in 1961, and was completed west from Route 15 to U.S. Route 206 in Netcong in 1963. The easternmost section between Paterson and the terminus at Interstate 95 in Teaneck was completed in 1964-65. [http://nycroads.com/roads/I-80_NJ/ The Roads of Metro New York - Interstate 80 (New Jersey)] ] [http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/nj/log/7.html#80 New Jersey Roads - NJ State Highways: 75-90] , "Steve Alpert".] In 1969, the section between U.S. Route 202 in Parsippany and Route 23 in Wayne was completed. By 1971, the section between Wayne and Paterson was completed. In 1973, the section between U.S. Route 206 in Netcong and U.S. Routes 46 and 611 in Columbia was completed, and that group of roads were realigned into a complex array of ramps. At that point the US 611 tags were removed from the Delaware Water Gap section of the freeway. At the same time, for unrelated reasons, US 611 was decommissioned and became Pennsylvania Route 611. The last section, a 3½-mile section between Route 46 in Denville and Route 202 Parsippany-Troy Hills, was opened in September 1973. [Burks, Edward C. "Vital Stretch of Route 80 Opens In Jersey, Ending Big Bottleneck; Stretch of Route 80 Opens And Eliminates Bottleneck", "The New York Times", September 15, 1973.]

The expressway (like many other interstates in New Jersey) once had solar powered emergency call boxes every 1.0 mile, however with the advent of cell phones the usage of these call boxes became extremely limited. So to save on maintenance costs the NJDOT removed these call boxes in 2005, and with difficulty replacing parts, they are disappearing from many other highways such as I-195, I-280, I-295, I-78, NJ 55, NJ 208. [ [http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0NSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NjcxMzEyMyZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTU= "Reducing highway safety completely uncalled for"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", June 26, 2005. Accessed October 13, 2007.] [Barlas, Thomas. [http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/newjersey/nj_politics/story/7249540p-7103827c.html "Last call for N.J.'s roadside call boxes"] , "Press of Atlantic City", February 28, 2007. Accessed October 13, 2007. "The state Department of Transportation, or DOT, has removed the last 330 still-operating roadside call boxes on I-295, I-95 and I-280, and Routes 55 and 208."]

Exit list

Related routes

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References

External links

* [http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/traffic_orders/speed/rt80.shtm Speed Limits for New Jersey State Roads: Interstate 80]