New Jersey Route 495

New Jersey Route 495

Route 495 marker

Route 495
Lincoln Tunnel Approach
Route information
Maintained by NJTPA, NJDOT, PANYNJ
Length: 3.45 mi[1] (5.55 km)
Existed: 1958 (1937 as Route 3) – present
Major junctions
West end: I-95 / NJ Turnpike in Secaucus
  Route 3 in North Bergen
US 1-9 in North Bergen
CR 501 in Union City
East end: NY 495 in New York City
Highway system

New Jersey State Highway Routes
Interstate and US

← Route 446X I-676

Route 495 is a 3.45-mile (5.55 km) freeway in Hudson County, New Jersey in the United States that connects the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) at exits 16E and 17 in Secaucus to the Lincoln Tunnel in Weehawken, providing access to midtown Manhattan. The road is owned and operated by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority between the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 3, the New Jersey Department of Transportation between Route 3 and Park Avenue near the Union City/Weehawken border, and by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey east of Park Avenue, including the helix used to descend the New Jersey Palisades to reach the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel. Route 495 is mostly a six-lane freeway with a contraflow bus lane used during the morning rush hour and a speed limit ranging from 35 mph (56 km/h) to 50 mph (80 km/h).

The first portion of the present-day Route 495, at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, was constructed in 1937 when the Lincoln Tunnel opened. In 1939, it was extended west to Route 3 and it became an eastern extension of that route. In 1952, the portion of the route west of Route 3 was opened when the New Jersey Turnpike was completed. In 1958, the road was incorporated into the Interstate Highway System and was designated as part of Interstate 495. Since the Mid-Manhattan Expressway that would have connected the route to New York's Interstate 495 (Long Island Expressway) was canceled, Interstate 495 officially became New Jersey Route 495 in 1979 with signs being changed in 1989.

Contents

Route description

The beginning of eastbound NJ 495 at the New Jersey Turnpike.

Route 495 officially begins at the Exit 16E off-ramp of the northbound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike near the boundary of Secaucus and North Bergen. The main roadway heads east through North Bergen as a freeway with three lanes in the eastbound direction and two lanes in the westbound direction. It has a speed limit of 50 mph (80 km/h) maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.[1][2] The route has an interchange with Route 3, with access to eastbound Route 3 and U.S. Route 1/9 for traffic in the eastbound direction and to westbound Route 3 in the westbound direction. Past this interchange, Route 495 becomes a six-lane, 40 mph (64 km/h) freeway maintained by the New Jersey Department of Transportation that intersects U.S. Route 1/9 at a partial interchange, with a westbound exit and eastbound entrance. Past U.S. Route 1/9, the speed limit rises to 50 mph (80 km/h) and the freeway has an interchange with County Route 501 (John F. Kennedy Boulevard), which uses 30th Street and 31st Street as collector/distributor roads.[1] East of this junction, Route 495 enters Union City and heads through developed residential areas, passing under numerous streets, with a speed limit of 40 mph (64 km/h).[1][2] There is an eastbound exit and westbound entrance for Park Avenue, which provides access to Weehawken and Hoboken, where Route 495 becomes a 35 mph (56 km/h) freeway maintained by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It enters Weehawken and comes to a westbound exit and eastbound entrance for Park Avenue.[1]

The Helix, from east

At this point, the speed limit becomes 40 mph (64 km/h) and the roadway loops around itself at a section in the roadway locally known as The Helix, descending the New Jersey Palisades to reach the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River. The route has a westbound exit for County Route 677 (John F. Kennedy/Hudson Boulevard East) and another exit for Boulevard East with a westbound exit and eastbound entrance. After interchanging with Boulevard East, the road features an eastbound toll plaza and enters the Lincoln Tunnel, which has a 35 mph (56 km/h) speed limit. At the New York state line, the road continues into midtown Manhattan in New York City as New York State Route 495.[1][2]

Since 1971, one of the westbound lanes is converted during the morning rush hour to a contraflow bus lane, known as the "XBL". It is used by buses headed east, mainly to the Port Authority Bus Terminal just past the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan, serving over 60,000 bus commuters each weekday morning.[3] This bus lane is the busiest in the United States.[4] Route 495 is a busy route that sees 120,000 to 160,000 vehicles every day.[5]

History

Interstate 495 (1959-1989)

The road was built as an approach to the Lincoln Tunnel, with the first section opening December 22, 1937 when the first (now the center) tube of the tunnel was completed. This section ran only from the tunnel portal south through the toll booths to a plaza with Park Avenue and Hudson County Boulevard East. Marginal Street, providing access from Hudson County Boulevard East west over Park Avenue to 32nd Street and the Bergen Turnpike, was also opened at that time.[6] In 1939, the Port Authority opened the rest of the approach, up the helix and west to Route 3, and it was designated as an eastern extension of Route 3.[7] Originally, the approach of the Lincoln Tunnel was to include a tunnel under land to Route 1 (now U.S. Route 1/9) in North Bergen, but the helix over the New Jersey Palisades was constructed instead.[5] The final section of today's Route 495 opened on January 15, 1952 with the completion of the New Jersey Turnpike.[5][8][9] The interchange (exit 16) only served traffic to and from the south; exit 17 at Route 3 served traffic towards the north on the Turnpike.

Lincoln Tunnel Helix and toll plaza circa 1955, with the south tube under construction.

With the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956, the approach to the Lincoln Tunnel was planned to become an Interstate highway along with present-day Route 3, which itself was not included in the Interstate Highway System because New Jersey thought it would be too expensive to bring it up to Interstate Highway standards. However, the Lincoln Tunnel approach was included in the Interstate Highway System and in 1958, it was renumbered from Route 3 to Interstate 495 despite the fact it does not meet Interstate Highway standards. Shortly after the road became Interstate 495, the western portion of the road was brought up to Interstate Highway standards with the improvements of the interchanges with the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 3.[5] Interstate 495 was intended to connect with New York’s Interstate 495 by way of the Mid-Manhattan Expressway; however, this proposed controlled-access highway through Manhattan was canceled in 1971 due to strong opposition to the road running through the heart of Manhattan. [10] Due to the fact that New Jersey’s Interstate 495 would not be connected to New York’s, the route was officially renumbered as New Jersey Route 495 in 1979; however, signs along the route were not changed until 1989. In 2006, the interchanges with Route 3 and U.S. Route 1/9 were improved at a cost of $16 million with ramp improvements and improvements to U.S. Route 1/9 that added an additional southbound lane and replaced the bridge over the Northeast Corridor rail line. [5]

The entire highway east of Route 1 and 9 on is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places for its engineering, architecture and history. The designations were given in segments between 1991 and 2003 and include the Lincoln Tunnel Approach and Helix as well as the toll booths and ventilation towers as well as the tunnels.[11]

Exit list

There are no exit numbers on NJ 495. The entire route is in Hudson County.

Location Mile[1] Destinations Notes
Secaucus 0.00 I-95 / NJ Turnpike south to I-280 / I-78 – Newark Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
North Bergen 0.19 I-95 / NJ Turnpike north to US 46 / I-80 – Clifton Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
0.78 US 1-9 / Route 3 east – Park & Ride Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
0.78 Route 3 west to G.S. Pkwy. – Secaucus Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
0.90 US 1-9 – Ridgefield, Jersey City Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Union City 1.23 CR 501 (John F. Kennedy Boulevard) traffic circle above NJ Route 495 and below JFK Blvd.
2.08 Park Avenue – Union City, Weehawken, Hoboken Westbound entrance, eastbound-last exit in N.J. before toll
Weehawken
Lincoln Tunnel Helix
Park Avenue – Union City, Weehawken, Hoboken eastbound entrance, westbound exit
2.23 Boulevard EastWeehawken northbound exit
Marginal Highway local lane
2.50 Weehawken, Hoboken eastbound entrance at Boulevard East, southbound exit to Willow Avenue
2.60 Lincoln Tunnel toll plaza
Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson River
3.45 New Jersey-New York state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g New Jersey Department of Transportation. "Route 495 straight line diagram". http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/00000495__-.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-11. 
  2. ^ a b c Google, Inc. Google Maps – overview of New Jersey Route 495 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=new+jersey+turnpike+north+bergen+nj&daddr=lincoln+tunnel+new+york+ny&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=40.798997,-74.023819&sspn=0.057827,0.109863&ie=UTF8&ll=40.772742,-74.030428&spn=0.028925,0.054932&t=h&z=14. Retrieved 2009-02-11. 
  3. ^ Cichowski, John. "PA brainstorms for ideas to speed bus trips to N.Y.C.", The Record March 20, 2005
  4. ^ "Lincoln Tunnel Exclusive Bus Lane Enhancement Study". Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080627153521/http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/tunnels/pdfs/01_09_XBL-II_nwslttr_285fri.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-13. 
  5. ^ a b c d e Anderson, Steve. "NJ 495 Freeway". Eastern Roads. http://www.nycroads.com/roads/NJ-495/. Retrieved 2009-02-11. 
  6. ^ "Governors to Open New Tunnel Today", New York Times December 21, 1937
  7. ^ "Approach to Open for Lincoln Tube", New York Times June 30, 1939
  8. ^ Seigel, Kalman. "Jersey Pike Opens Final 9-Mile Link", New York Times January 16, 1952
  9. ^ Schwab Jr., Armand. "City Linked to Super-Highway", New York Times January 20, 1952
  10. ^ Anderson, Steve. "Mid-Manhattan Expressway (I-495, unbuilt)". Eastern Roads. http://www.nycroads.com/roads/mid-manhattan/. Retrieved 2009-02-11. 
  11. ^ "New Jersey Register of Historic Places in Hudson County". Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Register of Historic Places. 2010. http://www.state.nj.us/dep/hpo/1identify/lists/hudson.pdf. Retrieved 8 February 2010. 

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