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U.S. Route 9 in New Jersey: Map


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U.S. Route 9 is a major U.S. highway in the northeast United Statesmarker. US 9 runs from Laurel, Delawaremarker, to the Canadian border near Champlain, New York, but plays a major role in the state of New Jerseymarker, running from the southern tip of the state in Cape Maymarker to the George Washington Bridgemarker in Fort Leemarker.

Route description

There are two distinct sections of U.S. 9 south of the concurrency, with Toms Rivermarker being the dividing point. South of there, the highway is mostly a two-lane surface road that often closely parallels, and twice joins, the Garden State Parkway. North of Toms River, it moves westward, much farther inland, to serve Freehold and central Monmouth Countymarker, becoming a four-lane commercial strip in the process.

Cape May to Toms River

Cape May County

From the Cape May-Lewes Ferrymarker dock, US 9, now signed as a north-south route, continues its eastward course as Lincoln Boulevard along the south edge of North Cape Maymarker. It becomes Sandman Boulevard as it leaves town. At Cold Springmarker, it meets its first New Jersey state highway where Seashore Road heads off to the left. But drivers are not aware of this, since NJ 162marker is not signed. At the next intersection, Sandman continues as NJ 109, the former route of US 9 into Cape Maymarker prior to the inclusion of the ferry link. 9 itself turns left along Shore Road to begin its northward trek through the low-lying, often swampy, terrain of the cape.

miles (6.4 km) to the north, at Rio Grandemarker it intersects NJ 47, which runs up the west bank of the cape, then NJ 147 another beyond that. Both of these are main roads to the Wildwoods, popular resort communities at the south end of the Jersey Shore, interchanging with the Parkway not too far to the east, and a mile north of 147 9 draws alongside the Parkway as it passes Wildwood Golf and Country Club. Shortly after pulling away from the Parkway once again, the highway meets its first large community, Cape May Court Housemarker, the county seat.

The next state highway junction comes at Clermont, where NJ 83 splits off to the northwest. Five miles (9 km) further on, at Seaville, NJ 50 intersects. Development becomes more constant alongside the road as Route 9 reaches Marmoramarker. In Marmora, through-traffic northbound on US 9 must turn right onto Roosevelt Boulevard and then get onto the Garden State Parkway to cross the Great Egg Harbor Rivermarker on the similarly named bridgemarker. Beyond Roosevelt Boulevard, US 9 continues as a local street (Shore Road) into Beesleys Pointmarker, where it draws closer to the Parkway to a dead end at the Beesley's Point Generating Stationmarker. In the past, Route 9 crossed the Great Egg Harbor Rivermarker next to the bridge of the same namemarker, into Atlantic Countymarker along the privately-owned and tolled Beesley's Point Bridge, which has been closed since 2004 because of a crumbling deck. The pre-2004 alignment is expected to be restored in 2012 after the bridge deck is repaired.

Atlantic County

On the other side of the Great Egg Harbor Rivermarker, US 9 merges on and off the Garden State Parkway at Exit 29. Now called New Road, it intersects NJ 52 and goes through Somers Pointmarker, then Linwoodmarker and Northfieldmarker, suburbs of Atlantic City. At the next, Pleasantvillemarker, it intersects US 40/US 322, main surface routes to nearby Atlantic Citymarker. Almost a mile beyond comes its interchange with the Atlantic City Expressway, the toll road into the city.

The last major east-west artery from Atlantic City to the rest of the state, US 30 (White Horse Pike), crosses US 9 two miles (3 km) ahead in Abseconmarker. A mile north of here, NJ 157, US 9's former alignment into Absecon, comes in from the south as the route drops New Road for first East Wyoming Avenue and then North Shore Road. It at first trends eastward through greener surrounding country, coming further from the Parkway than it has yet and as close to the ocean as it ever will. Then, after Absecon Highlands, it begins a westerly curve once again, and resumes the New Road designation, then becoming North New York Road at Smithvillemarker. The land gets much more forested until, just before the flats around the Mullica River, US 9 merges onto the Parkway. This river crossing takes the two roads into Burlington Countymarker.

Pine Barrens

Shortly before crossing the smaller Bass River, 9 exits the Parkway. This section finds it on the eastern edge of the Pine Barrensmarker, the vast natural area of the interior of South Jersey. While the land around the highway is consistently developed and populated, the presence of the scrubby pines that give the region its name is noticeable despite frequent clearings for buildings.

From the exit, it meanders eastward a few miles, then crosses a small creek into Little Egg Harbor Townshipmarker in Ocean County. Two miles Farther, the roadway enters Tuckertonmarker. After the latter, it resumes a straight north-northeast bearing, following the Parkway, Again into Little Egg Harbor Townshipmarker and then into Eagleswoodmarker and Stafford Townshipmarker. At Manahawkinmarker, the next community along the route, NJ 72, the main route to Long Beach Islandmarker, crosses above at a cloverleaf interchange.

North of Manahawkin, US 9, now North Main Street, comes to first Barnegatmarker, the small town named for the vast nearby baymarker. After Waretownmarker, the road passes the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Stationmarker, one of New Jersey's three nuclear power plants. The island and water around this stretch gave its name to the next town, Forked Rivermarker. The land gets more built up into another Shore community, Lanoka Harbormarker, and US 9 takes the name Atlantic City Boulevard. At Bayville, US 9 turns left and heads more westerly into Beachwoodmarker, where another former routing, NJ 166, heads north. Continuing into South Toms Rivermarker, it again rejoins the Parkway.

Toms River to US 1

Joined with the Parkway, US 9 intersects the busy regional artery NJ 37 at Exit 82, then leaves the Parkway again at the next exit, just before the Toms River toll barrier. This will be the last the two roads see of each other for 40 miles (64 km).

Route 9 heads north along Lakewood Road, trending westward, then resumes a due northward course into the intersection with NJ 70, main route between the Shore and the Philadelphia area. After this junction, it takes the name River Avenue as it gradually comes into Lakewoodmarker, where NJ 88 reaches its western terminus at the road. In Lakewood, Route 9 is known as Madison Avenue. Just past the busy downtown and shopping centers, US 9 enters Monmouth Countymarker when it crosses the North Branch of Metedeconk Creek.

The road widens to a four-lane divided route here, similar to those found elsewhere in New Jersey, in growing Howell Townshipmarker. This strip is interrupted first by US 9's interchange with Interstate 195, where 9 begins a marked northwestward slant, then the interchange with the NJ 33 freeway and NJ 79 at Freeholdmarker, Monmouth's county seat.

The intersection with Business 33 was formerly the location of the Freehold Circle. It was eliminated, like many of New Jersey's traffic circles. It is now a 6 lane road with traffic lights for Business 33, Manalapan Ave and the Freehold Raceway Mallmarker. Past it, Route 9 runs west of Freehold and trends further west as development alongside the highway becomes almost constant, a sign it is entering the southern extents of the New York metropolitan areamarker.

Manalapanmarker and Marlboromarker give way, just before the junction with the NJ 18 freeway, to Middlesex Countymarker and Old Bridgemarker. Route 9 begins running due north again as it picks up NJ 34 and comes into Sayrevillemarker, where the Parkway returns at its Exit 123. US 9 does not join it here, continuing instead for almost a mile to its junction with NJ 35, beginning a 1.5-mile (3 km) concurrency as it continues into South Amboymarker.

The twin spans of the Driscollmarker and Edisonmarker bridges loom ahead as 35 leaves at the former Victory Circle. US 9 continues via the Edison Bridge, just east of the Parkway again, over the Raritan River into Woodbridgemarker. A complicated routing through the interchange with Interstate 287/NJ 440 has the Parkway's lanes in the middle of US 9's, until the latter breaks to the northeast after a mile. Following a cloverleaf junction with minor route NJ 184, the highway crosses over the Parkway-New Jersey Turnpike access road just east of the toll plaza and then the Turnpike itself. A mile (1.6 km) beyond, past several office parks and residential neighborhoods including the Woodbridge Center, US 9 reaches and joins US 1.

The US 1/9 concurrency

While concurrent with U.S. Route 1, the two highways run along the west side of Newark Liberty International Airportmarker and over the Pulaski Skywaymarker to Jersey Citymarker. From there, they run north on surface streets to Palisades Parkmarker and merge with an old freeway served by U.S. Route 46. The three U.S. highways run concurrently east from there to Interstate 95 and the George Washington Bridgemarker toll plaza. US 46 ends at the state line in the middle of the bridge, whereas I-95 and US 1 and 9 continue over the bridge into New York. US 9 exits I-95 just after entering Manhattanmarker to head north on Broadwaymarker.


The southern terminus of U.S. Route 9 has changed several times in its history. When it was first designated in 1926, its terminus was at its junction with U.S. Route 30 in Abseconmarker. In 1932, it was extended to Cape Maymarker, and the section near Absecon was rerouted. (The original alignment is now Route 157, and US 9's original southern terminus is now the terminus of Route 157.) From 1932 to 1979, US 9 followed what is now Route 109 to downtown Cape May, and terminated there. In 1979, US 9 was routed over the Cape May-Lewes Ferry – its original alignment into Cape May became Route 109, and U.S. Route 9 was extended west to Laurel, Delawaremarker.

New York City did not sign U.S. Routes within its limits until 1934, which leads to some confusion regarding US 9's historical northern terminus. When the U.S. highways were first signed in 1926, US 9 east of the Hudson River in New Yorkmarker was signed as U.S. Route 9E. Because US 9E did not continue south through New York City to reconnect with US 9, the state of New Jersey signed its section of U.S. Route 9W as US 9, putting its northern terminus at the state line near Sparkill, New Yorkmarker at present day New York State Route 340. (In 1928, current US 9W was completed, and the northern terminus became the state line at Alpine, New Jerseymarker.) In 1931, the state of New Jersey began signing U.S. Route 9 through the Holland Tunnelmarker via present-day Route 139, putting its northern terminus at Jersey Citymarker (and extending US 9W south to Jersey City). In 1934, the City of New York began to sign U.S. Routes through the city, and signed US 9 along the George Washington Bridge, thus New Jersey shifted US 9 and US 9W onto their present alignments.

Major intersections

Related routes

There is one remaining bannered spurof US 9 in the state of New Jersey:

The following state highways were also formerly designated as bannered spurs of US 9:

Additionally, the following state highways are former alignments of U.S. Route 9:


External links

U.S. Route 9 continues south over the Cape May-Lewes Ferrymarker into Delaware
U.S. Route 1/9 continues northward through New Jersey

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