freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

Hudson County, New Jersey Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not cons ...

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

Secaucus Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,New York State Route 495 (NY 495) inside the

Lincoln Tunnel The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and unsigned Ne ...

in

Weehawken Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

, providing access to

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The road is owned and operated by the

New Jersey Turnpike Authority The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is a state agency responsible for maintaining the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, which are two toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The agency is headquartered in Woodbridge T ...

(NJTA) between the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 3, the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...

(NJDOT) between Route 3 and Park Avenue near the Union City–Weehawken border, and by the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...

(PANYNJ) east of Park Avenue, including the

helix A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined helic ...

used to descend the

New Jersey Palisades The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...

to reach the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel. Route 495 is mostly a six-lane freeway with a reversible bus lane used during the morning rush hour. The bus lane, which runs the entire length of the freeway, continues into the Lincoln Tunnel's center tube. 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, the section known as The Helix was finished, which is an oval-shaped loop that descends Route 495 down to the Toll Plaza for the tunnel, into the entrance of the tunnel. In that same year, the route’s path 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 1959, the road was incorporated into the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

and was designated as part of Interstate 495 (I-495). Since the

Mid-Manhattan Expressway Interstate 495 (I-495), commonly known as the Long Island Expressway (LIE), is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New York. It is jointly maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the New York City ...

that would have connected the route to New York's I-495 (Long Island Expressway) was canceled, I-495 officially became New Jersey Route 495 in 1979, and the signs were changed in 1989.

Route description

Route 495 officially begins at the exit 16E off-ramp from the northbound lanes of the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not cons ...

near the boundary of

Secaucus Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,North Bergen North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...

. The main roadway heads east through North Bergen as a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

with three lanes in the eastbound and westbound directions, maintained by the NJTA. The route has an interchange with Route 3, with access to eastbound Route 3 and U.S. Route 1/9 (US 1/9) for traffic in the eastbound direction and to westbound Route 3 in the westbound direction, a major intersection for Route 495 and Route 3, as many people use Route 3 to get to Route 495 for the Lincoln Tunnel. Route 3 ends almost immediately after its interchange with Route 495, at US 1/9. The three routes form a triangular-like junction, however, Route 495 doesn’t have direct access to US 1/9; instead drivers must take the Route 3 exit to get there. Past this interchange, Route 495 becomes a six-lane freeway maintained by

NJDOT The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...

that passes over

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in t ...

's New Jersey Subdivision line and

Conrail Shared Assets Operations Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail ( reporting mark CRCX), an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Area ...

'

Northern Branch The Northern Branch is a railroad line that runs from Jersey City to Northvale in northeastern New Jersey. The line was constructed in 1859 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey to connect the New York and Erie Railroad's Piermont Branch te ...

line before intersects US 1/9 at a partial interchange, with a westbound exit and eastbound entrance. Past US 1/9, the freeway has an interchange with County Route 501 (CR 501, John F. Kennedy Boulevard), which uses 30th Street and 31st Street as collector–distributor roads. East of this junction, Route 495 enters Union City and heads through developed residential areas, passing under numerous streets. There is an eastbound exit and westbound entrance for Park Avenue, which provides access to

Weehawken Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

and

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

, where Route 495 becomes maintained by the PANYNJ. It enters Weehawken and comes to a westbound exit and eastbound entrance for Park Avenue. Lincoln Helix Harbor Blvd jeh

At this point, the roadway loops around itself at a section in the roadway locally known as ''The Helix'', descending the

New Jersey Palisades The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...

to reach the entrance to the

Lincoln Tunnel The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and unsigned Ne ...

under the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

. At the start of the Helix, Route 495 passed Weehawken stadium, and would later go under it at the start of the Lincoln Tunnel. The route has a westbound exit for CR 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 A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemente ...

and enters the Lincoln Tunnel. At the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

state line, which is located at the midpoint of the Hudson River, the road continues as NY 495, which is separate from I-495, and heads into

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Since 1970, the left lane of the three westbound lanes is converted during the morning rush hour to a reversible bus lane, known as the "XBL", or Exclusive Bus Lane. The PANYNJ is responsible for daily operation of the XBL, including its opening and closing, removal of disabled vehicles, and response to emergencies. It is used by buses headed east from the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not cons ...

and Route 3, mainly to the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 bus ...

just past the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan, serving over 1,800 buses and 65,000 bus commuters on regular weekday mornings, (6-10 a.m.). This

bus lane A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, often on certain days and times, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadwa ...

is the busiest in the United States. Route 495 is a busy route that carries approximately 74,571 vehicles at its western terminus and approximately 119,432 vehicles by the time it reaches the Lincoln Tunnel. Each of the travel lanes in the Lincoln Tunnel's center tube is reversible. In general, both of the lanes, including the exclusive bus lane, serve Manhattan-bound traffic during the weekday morning rush hour, both of the lanes serve New Jersey-bound traffic during the weekday evening rush hour, and one lane is provided in each direction during other time periods. New Jersey-bound traffic normally uses both lanes of the north tube and Manhattan-bound traffic normally uses both lanes of the south tube. According to the American Highway Users Alliance, Route 495 is considered one of the most congested corridors on the East Coast of the United States; , drivers spent a cumulative 3.4 million hours per year sitting in congestion on Route 495.

History

The road was built as an approach to the

Lincoln Tunnel The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and unsigned Ne ...

, 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 Boulevard East (officially John F. Kennedy Boulevard East, and sometimes referred to as JFK Boulevard East) is a two-way, mostly two lane, scenic county road in the North Hudson, New Jersey municipalities of Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg ...

. Marginal Street, providing access from Hudson County Boulevard East west over Park Avenue to 32nd Street and the

Bergen Turnpike Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

, was also opened at that time. 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. The final section of today's Route 495 opened on January 15, 1952, with the completion of the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not cons ...

. The turnpike interchange (exit 16) only served Route 3 traffic to and from the south; exit 17 served Route 3 traffic to and from the north. Lincolntunnel-1955

With the creation of the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

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 Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway to ...

. However, the Lincoln Tunnel approach was included in the Interstate Highway System and in 1959, it was renumbered from Route 3 to I-495 despite the fact it does not meet Interstate Highway standards. Shortly after the road became I-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. I-495 was intended to connect with New York's I-495 by way of the

Mid-Manhattan Expressway Interstate 495 (I-495), commonly known as the Long Island Expressway (LIE), is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New York. It is jointly maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the New York City ...

; however, this proposed

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

through Manhattan was canceled in 1971 due to strong opposition to the road running through the heart of

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

. Because New Jersey's I-495 would not be connected to New York's, NJDOT started referring to the route as Route 495 in 1979. The

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United ...

(AASHTO) approved the decommissioning of I-495 between I-95 and Pleasant Avenue/Park Avenue in Union City in 1980. In 1986, AASHTO approved the decommissioning of the rest of the I-495 designation in New Jersey. Starting with the

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

, which passes over the

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do bus ...

rail lines just west of US 1/9, the roadway going east is listed as being eligible for state registry in the

New Jersey Register of Historic Places The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the New Jersey's state historic preservation office with ...

for its engineering, architecture and history. The designations for eligibility were given in segments between 1991 and 2003 and include the Lincoln Tunnel Approach and Helix, as well as the tunnels, toll booths, and ventilation towers. The Helix has traditionally been known for offering a panoramic view of the

Manhattan skyline Manhattan Skyline is a Norwegian mathcore band based in Oslo, Norway. They are influenced by metal, hardcore, contemporary music, jazz, fusion and electronica. After their performance at the 2005 Bodø Hardcore festival, The Faceless Masses ...

. While local zoning laws prohibit the construction of high-rise buildings that would obstruct sight-lines from higher points in town, construction of a new residential building partially blocked the view from the lower portion of the roadway. , the Helix is considered by the PANYNJ to have a working life-span of ten years. Alternatives to its replacement include tunnels under the Palisades directly to the Lincoln Tunnel portals. In June 2018, the New Jersey Department of Transportation announced that it would renovate the North Bergen Viaduct (the section passing over US 1/9 and Conrail) over the course of more than two years. During that time, one travel lane in each direction would be closed, reducing the number of travel lanes in each direction from 4 to 3.

Exit list

References

External links

Kurumi – I-495 New Yorknycroads.com – NJ 495 FreewayNJ 495 (Greater New York Roads)
{{3di, 95 Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey

495 __NOTOC__ Year 495 (Roman numerals, CDXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Viator without colleague (or, less frequen ...

Limited-access roads in New Jersey Freeways in the United States Historic districts in Hudson County, New Jersey New Jersey Turnpike Authority Interstate 95 Lincoln Tunnel Roads with a reversible lane

Route description

History

Exit list

See also

References

External links