List of unused highways in New Jersey

An unused highway may reference a highway or highway ramp that was partially or fully constructed but was unused or later closed. An unused ramp can be referred to as a stub ramp, stub street, stub-out, or simply stub. The following is a list:

New Jersey

Sparta

  • New Jersey Route 15 has two partially built cloverleaf interchanges along the Sparta freeway bypass. One at Blue Heron Drive has obvious ramp stubs and grading 19 , while the other at County Route 517 has only the merge part of the ramp built. 20

Algers Mills

  • New Jersey Route 18 ends suddenly at the interchange with New Jersey Route 138 in Wall Township. The former configuration is here. There were plans to extend New Jersey Route 18 to the Brielle Circle (New Jersey Route 34/35/70) but with the construction of a new ramp through the right of way As of 2003 and A Plan to use the right of way as a bike path, it's unlikely to happen. This is the new configuration.

Burlington

  • There is an unused bridge adjacent to southbound U.S. Route 130 as it passes over the Assiscunk Creek. 21

East Brunswick

  • An unused bridge sits over the Mill Brook adjacent to the off-ramp from Interstate 95 (The New Jersey Turnpike) southbound (exit 9) to New Jersey Route 18 22 23

Freehold

  • New Jersey Route 33 has unused pavement along its route. The first is a ramp from southbound New Jersey Route 79 that has since been demolished. A stub is all that remains. This is the current view and the old configuration can be seen here and here (before the SUPER-2 was finished). Another ramp existed at Howell Road, where the New Jersey Department Of Transportation (NJDOT) kept a ramp from the newly completed bypass closed since 2003. The ramp was a concession with the Howell Road residents and as such, was found to have safety problems, so it has been blocked off on both ends. 24 Also in this area is a small stub of pavement that suggests there was to be a Howell Road on-ramp to westbound New Jersey Route 33. 25 The last is the old alignment of the freeway: the current bypass was rerouted to avoid a turtle bog and left the originally-laid pavement vacant. The NJDOT used the segment as a maintenance yard but the now-completed new alignment has eliminated some of the extra pavement and closed access to the yard, leaving only a shelter. Currently, this is the scene, but it looked like this in 1995 prior to the alignment switch and this during construction of the new alignment, which shows the operational maintenance yard.

Bridgewater

  • The U.S. Route 202 and U.S. Route 206 concurrency has an abandoned ramp north of U.S. Route 22, as can be seen here. 26 It was closed off between 1981 and 1995 to eliminate weaving when the Commons Way interchange was built

Bedminster

  • Interstate 78 has an abandoned clover ramp at the interchange with Interstate 287. The ramp has been replaced with a flyover ramp, and has been barricaded off. 27

Elizabeth

  • Interstate 278 was originally planned to continue past U.S. Route 1, where there is currently a wide median and grading (but no ramp stubs), to Interstate 78 at its interchange with New Jersey Route 124, where until recently there were ramp stubs between I-278 and I-78 to the west. 28
  • On Interstate 278 at exit 13 with Interstate 95 (The New Jersey Turnpike), there are ramp stubs where New Jersey Route 81 was originally planned to continue north. Instead, a new interchange, 13A, was constructed further north, leaving several ramp stubs 29 and wide bridges and shoulders. One exists as a proposed ramp to I-278 eastbound, and the other exists as a proposed left exit from I-278 westbound to the proposed highway. 30
  • On northbound express lanes of U.S. Route 1/9 in front of Newark Airport, there are pavement stubs. Currently, New Jersey Route 81 only connects to the local lanes of U.S. 1/9, which leaves the possibility for a future connection between northbound New Jersey Route 81 and northbound U.S. Route 1/9 express lanes. 31

Ewing

  • Interstate 95 north of Trenton has three ramp stubs as part of the unbuilt Somerset Freeway, all of which were not completed. One from New Jersey Route 31 northbound to Interstate 295 southbound 32; the ramp from the Somerset portion to the current I-95 mainline 33 (the white portion adjacent to the New Jersey Route 31 on-ramp) 34, most likely a collector/distributor road set-up with the exit 4 on- and off-ramp; and from I-295 northbound to I-95 northbound 35, which also shows grading for a ramp for I-95 to turn north on the unbuilt freeway in the median. There is also grading for the freeway coming south to meet the existing roadway, seen here. Here is current look.
  • Just to the west of the proposed Somerset Freeway interchange, grading remains from an old configuration of exit 4. It is the remains of the off-ramp from Interstate 95 north to New Jersey Route 31 north. 36
  • The Ewingsville Bypass was proposed and to be signed New Jersey Route 31. It would have connected U.S. Route 1/the Trenton Freeway at the current Business U.S. Route 1 (Brunswick Pike) and U.S. Route 206 (Lawrenceville Road) exit with County Route 546, intersecting Interstate 95 near the current New Jersey Route 31 exit. While the plans were eventually cancelled, the New Jersey Department of Transportation did go so far as to buy the right-of-way (ROW) for the freeway, which remains an empty corridor of land today. A small example of the ROW is here.

Lacey

  • Exit 74 on the Garden State Parkway used to be a partial Diamond interchange. Recently, the interchange was upgraded to build toll booths and the southbound exit ramp onto Lacey Rd. was replaced with a cloverleaf ramp on the other side, leaving grading and a clearance where the old ramp was. The current view can be seen here 37.

Newark

  • Interstate 280 was meant to connect with a Newark freeway at exit 13, New Jersey Route 75. New Jersey Route 75 was never built, leaving an unused on-ramp from Gould Place and six-lane ramp stub out of the center of I-280 and straight into the city, although it has since been reconfigured to an exit. 38 Pre reconstruction shot I-280 still follows a pair of two-lane ramps to connect to the old New Jersey Route 58 section. New Jersey Route 75 was also proposed to intersect Interstate 78 at exit 56. The large flyover ramps constructed were converted to exit ramps to surface streets. 39
  • There is a unused bridge over some railroad tracks in northern Newark that once carried New Jersey Route 58 before it was extended and upgraded to interstate standards, eventually becoming Interstate 280. It connects to Orange St., but trees obstruct view and entry from the street. 40

Ridgefield

  • Interstate 95 (New Jersey Turnpike) originally ended at U.S. Route 46, interchange 68, in a trumpet interchange. The original U.S. 46 westbound to the I-95/Turnpike southbound ramp was mostly demolished, but an underused bridge exists over U.S. 46 as I-95 north to U.S. 46 west. 41

Bayonne

  • New Jersey Route 440 was meant to continue around the west side of Bayonne as a freeway. It originally existed as a trumpet interchange, with traffic forced to exit onto New Jersey Route 169. 42 43 When New Jersey Route 169 was redesignated New Jersey Route 440 on May 14, 2001, the trumpet was reconfigured to a U-shaped curve, removing paved ramp stubs but leaving some clearing and extra land in the Port of Bayonne. 44

Beesleys Point

  • The Garden State Parkway crossed the Great Egg Harbor River on the Beesley's Point Bridge on U.S. Route 9 while the Great Egg Harbor Bridge was being built. Once the Egg Harbor Bridge was completed, the ramps from the Parkway to U.S. 9 on the south end were left as stubs. 45 Related to this, the Beesley's Point Bridge is now closed as of June, 2004 due to expensive maintenance that has not yet begun.

Swain

  • A piece of the Garden State Parkway used to begin just north of Cape May Court House. It came out of U.S. Route 9 and went south. The dual carriageway configuration from US 9 was reconfigured as a southbound on-ramp to the Parkway, but the northbound ramp feeding into US 9 still exists as a stub. 46

Madison

  • Eisenhower Parkway, or Triborough Road, was never fully realized as planned. It was supposed to run from Passaic Avenue just north of Bloomfield Avenue in West Caldwell on the north end to New Jersey Route 124 at the south end, although there is right-of-way clearing as far south as Centerville, southeast of U.S. Route 202 and Hunterdon County Route 629. 47 The route built is only from South Orange Avenue in Livingston (southern terminus) to just north of Interstate 280 (New Jersey) (northern terminus), serving an office park. At the north end, there is a small pavement stub hidden behind a fence and right-of-way clearing most of the way to the intended northern terminus. 48 The southern end has Cit Drive on its right-of-way for 1/2 mile with a clearing continuing further south. 49 Further south, there is a full unused cloverleaf interchange with Route 24, which was built in 1974, in anticipation of the southern extension. 50 It is currently being used as an all-terrain vehicle trail.

Green Grove

  • There is a gated-off road between New Jersey Route 33 and New Jersey Route 66 that will eventually be Victoria Boulevard. It is awaiting striping. 51

See also