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New Jersey Journey

Started by Mapmikey, September 20, 2015, 11:09:40 AM

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Mapmikey

Yesterday I took a 17 hr trip...

Took normal routes to Baltimore and used I-695 around the west of Baltimore to I-83 north.  I-70 is still posted as heading east of 695.  I left I-83 at secret MD 943 (exit 18) so I could get to MD 145 which I followed to MD 165.  MD 145 is very winding on its western half and sports a bridge with a 1922-96 carved date on it.  I went to the south stub end of MD 165 which did not seem to be posted in any way that the route ended there.  I then took MD 165 north to PA 74, then east on PA 372.  PA 372 is mostly a series of zig-zags connecting communities.  There was a lot of horse and buggy traffic east of PA 896.  The setup at PA 272 is silly upon first glance but I'm guessing the PA 272 SB traffic had a hard time stopping heading downhill for what I assume was a stoplight at PA 372's original crossing.  PA 372 WB traffic has to use local streets to continue on PA 372.  Also there is an error PA 222 shield at the PA 372-472 intersection.

I used PA 82 then US 30 Business over to US 202 then to I-276 to NJ Tpk.  Construction at I-95 still seems relatively early.  Most piers for the flyover that I-95 SB will use have been started and not so much on the 95 NB part, it appeared.  I-276 east is not posted in NJ, although BGSs on NJTPK do call it I-276.  WB on 276 there was a TO I-276 shield that I saw.  I used US 206 north to I-195 west to I-295 then ramped around to drive I-195 and NJ 138 to NJ 35.  I-195 is pretty quiet.  I then followed NJ 18 all the way to I-287.  Lots of construction in the US 1 area.  NJ 18 is still posted to end just north of Rutgers but overhead street blades now show NJ 18 on Hoes Ln and Centennial Ave over to I-287.  I-287 does not yet identify NJ 18.

I used I-287 north to I-80 then I-280 east.  They really removed a huge section of mountain to get I-280 through here.  It was hazy but on clear days there should be a terrific view of Manhattan.  At the very east end of I-280 lies an ancient I-95 shield on a BGS (https://goo.gl/maps/DcD5Hsby8p82).  i followed the eastern branch of I-95 then NJ 495/NJ 3 to US 1-9, then reversed to follow NJ 3 west to US 46, then reversed to CR 623 Grove St north to NJ 19 south (Broad St), which I followed south to NJ 19's posted endpoint at Colfax south of US 46.  The "blank" NJ shield at the south end of NJ 19 has been replaced.  Also you can see evidence of NJ 3 being NJ S3 on some of the overpasses.

I reversed course and drove NJ 19 into Patterson.  Patterson was nuts.  It was like driving in Manhattan and I had to make some unexpected turns to route myself onto Main St across the river to use CR 504 east to get over to NJ 20, which for some reason ends south of the river and not at CR 504.  I drove NJ 20 and NJ 21 south to US 1-9.  Approaching Newark on NJ 21 south was fairly scenic as it was literally on the bank of the Passaic River.  I curled around via Haynes Ave and NJ 27 to get to US 22 west to GSP north back to I-280 WB so that I could used CR 577 south to NJ 10 which I drove out to US 46.  From here I was supposed to cut east to NJ 15 and do a loop to get NJ 15 and NJ 284 and NJ 94 but time was short so I instead used US 46 over to NJ 182 to NJ 57. 

NJ 182 makes no sense, even in the quirkiness of the NJ primary system.  It should be part of NJ 57 as they end at each other.  There was still a NJ 24 shield leaving the NJ 57-182 jct, too.  NJ 57 was a pretty nice ride and it had some 1921 bridges remaining (done with the NEW JERSEY ROUTE carving) and also boasts the first concrete mile in New Jersey, which is still concrete.  I used US 22 into Easton, then PA 611 to Doylestown.  PA 611 is scenic but slow down to PA 32 before moving away from the Delaware River.  PA 611 still has 2-lane concrete for several miles south of PA 113.  At Doylestown there is still a text PA 611 BGS and I was trying to see if there was a faded "US" where the "PA" letters are but it did not appear to be that way. 

I drove the newish US 202 parkway southwest from PA 611.  Curvier than I had imagined and for some reason there are median separated portions around a lot of the curves (with still only one travel lane in each direction).  I used Old US 422 to get to I-476 south to I-95 south to Baltimore, then used I-97/MD 3/US 301 to get back to Virginia.  US 301 was fair to good and I think it only took 20 minutes more than a wide open 95 (which was not the case per traffic reports) would be.

So Pennsylvania has taken the next illogical step in their vigor in posting TRUCK routes.  Now they have postings that say, for example, PA 32 TRUCK ALTERNATE SOUTH, in full shields and banners.  I saw 5 of these yesterday (PA 41, US 30 Bus, US 322, PA 32, and US 202).  The PA 32 TRUCK ALT was posted on PA 611 from PA 32 to at least Doylestown and was a different route than the temporary Truck Detour for PA 32 that is in place.  As best I could tell, trucks were not banned from the mainline routes that were avoided by following these ALTERNATE routings.

Routes Clinched:  MD 943, MD 145, MD 165, PA 372, US 30 Bus, I-276 (PA, NJ), I-195 (NJ), NJ 138, NJ 18, I-280, NJ 3, NJ 19, NJ 20, NJ 21, NJ 10, NJ 182, NJ 57 and re-clinch of US 202 (PA).

Mike



dgolub

Quote from: Mapmikey on September 20, 2015, 11:09:40 AM
I-276 east is not posted in NJ, although BGSs on NJTPK do call it I-276.  WB on 276 there was a TO I-276 shield that I saw.

That's because there is no I-276 in New Jersey, at least at this point.  The turnpike extension that goes from exit 6 of the mainline to I-276 is technically part of I-95 (confusing now, but it will make sense once they renumber everything when the new I-95/I-276 interchange is completed) and turns into I-276 at the state line.



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