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Unbuilt Highways of New Jersey

Started by kernals12, September 23, 2020, 12:29:03 AM

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kernals12

Kurumi has covered Connecticut's unbuilt highways quite nicely and enough has already been written about Robert Moses' plans for New York City, but New Jersey's unbuilt highways seem to have not have gotten as much attention, and there were a lot of them
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1pQrx-ElyI_816Js79GywAYDEEQWk4VaR&usp=sharing

The one that I'm most surprised wasn't built is the 85 Freeway. It would've run between the Holland Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge. Since most of the vehicles using the old West Side Highway were trucks from New Jersey, that would've been a very heavily used road.


jeffandnicole

The completion of Route 55 is incorrect. It was supposed to veer east and go to the GSP near Exit 13, not towards Cape May.

kernals12

Quote from: jeffandnicole on September 23, 2020, 12:58:56 AM
The completion of Route 55 is incorrect. It was supposed to veer east and go to the GSP near Exit 13, not towards Cape May.
Thanks for that. Why does New Jersey have to have so many towns with similar names?

jeffandnicole

Quote from: kernals12 on September 23, 2020, 01:09:27 AM
Why does New Jersey have to have so many towns with similar names?

Because New Jersey!

I suspect a lot may have to do with early settlements, and early settlers has similar ideas in naming the area they were claiming.  Add to that a lack of restrictions (and government, for that matter), and we wound up with what we got.

roadman65

I would have loved to see the Somerset Freeway built, but it is what it is. 

Many NJ routes scrapped could have been useful. It was a shame I-278 never got built west of US 1 & 9 as having the Goethals Bridge have direct freeway connection to the Parkway would have made my dad's commute to work much easier.

Route 55 is the most needed to be continued to the Garden State Parkway to alleviate traffic on Route 47, but that is another story as the environment is top priority there.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

TXtoNJ

Route 55 seems to be about the cost of building with proper mitigation, rather than feasibility. Nobody wants to pay a billion for 19 miles of rural freeway if they don't have to.

kernals12

In the 60s there were plans to build a massive airport on the Pine Barrens. That probably factored into consideration for all these east west routes through South Jersey.

artmalk

An obscure unbuilt highway was the ill-fated Route 178.  it would have been a freeway spur from the unbuilt section of the Route 24 freeway west of Morristown, to I-80.  The intersection probably would have been exit 40 or 41 of I-80.   It would have been parallel to Route 53 and probably very close to my home in Parsippany.  The road was never built because opponents pointed out that it would have destroyed the semi-rural character of the area.  Yet the alignment appeared on some maps even after the road was effectively dead.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: TXtoNJ on September 23, 2020, 12:45:31 PM
Route 55 seems to be about the cost of building with proper mitigation, rather than feasibility. Nobody wants to pay a billion for 19 miles of rural freeway if they don't have to.

Nah...there's no price estimate right now for it. The overwhelming majority of people don't want it built thru parkland and other sensitive areas.

For what its worth, a billion is greatly underestimating the cost. The 1 mile missing moves ramps between 295 and 42 cost about $175 million to build.

BrianP

What's up with the eastern end of unbuilt NJ 90.  I've only heard of it ending at NJ 73 after crossing the NJTPK.

kernals12

Quote from: BrianP on September 23, 2020, 03:16:58 PM
What's up with the eastern end of unbuilt NJ 90.  I've only heard of it ending at NJ 73 after crossing the NJTPK.
NYC roads said that it would terminate in Mount Laurel. I crudely went based on that.

Alps

Quote from: kernals12 on September 23, 2020, 03:26:37 PM
Quote from: BrianP on September 23, 2020, 03:16:58 PM
What's up with the eastern end of unbuilt NJ 90.  I've only heard of it ending at NJ 73 after crossing the NJTPK.
NYC roads said that it would terminate in Mount Laurel. I crudely went based on that.
It would have gone at least to 295, possibly beyond.

interstate73

Quote from: artmalk on September 23, 2020, 02:14:59 PM
An obscure unbuilt highway was the ill-fated Route 178.  it would have been a freeway spur from the unbuilt section of the Route 24 freeway west of Morristown, to I-80.  The intersection probably would have been exit 40 or 41 of I-80.   It would have been parallel to Route 53 and probably very close to my home in Parsippany.  The road was never built because opponents pointed out that it would have destroyed the semi-rural character of the area.  Yet the alignment appeared on some maps even after the road was effectively dead.

Well good thing they didn't build it! Thanks to that decision the semi-rural character of the area was preserved and is still maintained today!  :spin:
🎶 Man, there’s an opera on the Turnpike 🎶

Morris County if the Route 178 Freeway had been built:

Alps

Quote from: interstate73 on September 23, 2020, 10:02:14 PM
Quote from: artmalk on September 23, 2020, 02:14:59 PM
An obscure unbuilt highway was the ill-fated Route 178.  it would have been a freeway spur from the unbuilt section of the Route 24 freeway west of Morristown, to I-80.  The intersection probably would have been exit 40 or 41 of I-80.   It would have been parallel to Route 53 and probably very close to my home in Parsippany.  The road was never built because opponents pointed out that it would have destroyed the semi-rural character of the area.  Yet the alignment appeared on some maps even after the road was effectively dead.

Well good thing they didn't build it! Thanks to that decision the semi-rural character of the area was preserved and is still maintained today!  :spin:
And Route 53 is a bucolic two-lane with no traffic :D

kernals12

Quote from: artmalk on September 23, 2020, 02:14:59 PM
An obscure unbuilt highway was the ill-fated Route 178.  it would have been a freeway spur from the unbuilt section of the Route 24 freeway west of Morristown, to I-80.  The intersection probably would have been exit 40 or 41 of I-80.   It would have been parallel to Route 53 and probably very close to my home in Parsippany.  The road was never built because opponents pointed out that it would have destroyed the semi-rural character of the area.  Yet the alignment appeared on some maps even after the road was effectively dead.

Many companies that were planning to expand in Morris County complained about 178 being cancelled.

interstate73

Quote from: Alps on September 23, 2020, 10:55:08 PM
Quote from: interstate73 on September 23, 2020, 10:02:14 PM
Quote from: artmalk on September 23, 2020, 02:14:59 PM
An obscure unbuilt highway was the ill-fated Route 178.  it would have been a freeway spur from the unbuilt section of the Route 24 freeway west of Morristown, to I-80.  The intersection probably would have been exit 40 or 41 of I-80.   It would have been parallel to Route 53 and probably very close to my home in Parsippany.  The road was never built because opponents pointed out that it would have destroyed the semi-rural character of the area.  Yet the alignment appeared on some maps even after the road was effectively dead.

Well good thing they didn't build it! Thanks to that decision the semi-rural character of the area was preserved and is still maintained today!  :spin:
And Route 53 is a bucolic two-lane with no traffic :D
Indeed! I have many fond memories of cruising down pastoral country lanes like Speedwell Avenue and 53 with nary another car in sight!  :-D
🎶 Man, there’s an opera on the Turnpike 🎶

Morris County if the Route 178 Freeway had been built:

kernals12

Quote from: interstate73 on September 24, 2020, 01:04:39 AM
Quote from: Alps on September 23, 2020, 10:55:08 PM
Quote from: interstate73 on September 23, 2020, 10:02:14 PM
Quote from: artmalk on September 23, 2020, 02:14:59 PM
An obscure unbuilt highway was the ill-fated Route 178.  it would have been a freeway spur from the unbuilt section of the Route 24 freeway west of Morristown, to I-80.  The intersection probably would have been exit 40 or 41 of I-80.   It would have been parallel to Route 53 and probably very close to my home in Parsippany.  The road was never built because opponents pointed out that it would have destroyed the semi-rural character of the area.  Yet the alignment appeared on some maps even after the road was effectively dead.

Well good thing they didn't build it! Thanks to that decision the semi-rural character of the area was preserved and is still maintained today!  :spin:
And Route 53 is a bucolic two-lane with no traffic :D
Indeed! I have many fond memories of cruising down pastoral country lanes like Speedwell Avenue and 53 with nary another car in sight!  :-D

Who can forget John Denver's Song?
Country Roads
Take Me Home
To the place, I belong
New Jersey

artmalk

My Route 53 song parody:

🎼🎵If you're planning a trip somewhere,  don't take this highway.  It doesn't go anywhere!
Not much to see on Route 53!
Well it's a short trip in N.J. Only 4.66 miles all the way!
Not much to see on Route 53!
Well it goes through Denville, Parsippany and Morris Plains.
And that's it.
Not much to see on Route 53!🎶

1995hoo

Quote from: kernals12 on September 24, 2020, 08:04:33 AM
Quote from: interstate73 on September 24, 2020, 01:04:39 AM
Quote from: Alps on September 23, 2020, 10:55:08 PM
Quote from: interstate73 on September 23, 2020, 10:02:14 PM
Quote from: artmalk on September 23, 2020, 02:14:59 PM
An obscure unbuilt highway was the ill-fated Route 178.  it would have been a freeway spur from the unbuilt section of the Route 24 freeway west of Morristown, to I-80.  The intersection probably would have been exit 40 or 41 of I-80.   It would have been parallel to Route 53 and probably very close to my home in Parsippany.  The road was never built because opponents pointed out that it would have destroyed the semi-rural character of the area.  Yet the alignment appeared on some maps even after the road was effectively dead.

Well good thing they didn't build it! Thanks to that decision the semi-rural character of the area was preserved and is still maintained today!  :spin:
And Route 53 is a bucolic two-lane with no traffic :D
Indeed! I have many fond memories of cruising down pastoral country lanes like Speedwell Avenue and 53 with nary another car in sight!  :-D

Who can forget John Denver's Song?
Country Roads
Take Me Home
To the place, I belong
New Jersey


Earlier this year, I misspelled the name of that song as "Country Toads."
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

froggie

Quote from: kernals12 on September 23, 2020, 12:29:03 AM
Kurumi has covered Connecticut's unbuilt highways quite nicely and enough has already been written about Robert Moses' plans for New York City, but New Jersey's unbuilt highways seem to have not have gotten as much attention, and there were a lot of them

From this statement, I'm guessing you're not familiar with Steve Anderson's websites, specifically nycroads.com and phillyroads.com

kernals12

Quote from: froggie on September 24, 2020, 09:09:35 AM
Quote from: kernals12 on September 23, 2020, 12:29:03 AM
Kurumi has covered Connecticut's unbuilt highways quite nicely and enough has already been written about Robert Moses' plans for New York City, but New Jersey's unbuilt highways seem to have not have gotten as much attention, and there were a lot of them

From this statement, I'm guessing you're not familiar with Steve Anderson's websites, specifically nycroads.com and phillyroads.com

Where do you think I found out about all these routes?

froggie

Your statement "seem to have not gotten as much attention" suggests you didn't know.  Steve has given plenty of attention to them.

kernals12

Quote from: froggie on September 24, 2020, 09:37:34 AM
Your statement "seem to have not gotten as much attention" suggests you didn't know.  Steve has given plenty of attention to them.

He didn't make any maps.

froggie

He has links to regional maps.  Furthermore, for many of those unbuilt highways, maps showing their actual alignment are either hard to come by, or the alignment was never finalized.

1995hoo

Somewhere on this forum, somebody embedded an image of an old pamphlet about the New Jersey Turnpike that showed proposed routes for several (certainly not all) of the unbuilt highways. I found it interesting to view, and it was easier to view on my iPad due to the easier ability to zoom an image on there, but I simply don't remember who posted it, when, or in what thread, and I don't remember any of the text terms in the post to help me search for it.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.



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