Interstate 95 (I-95) is a major Interstate Highway that traverses nearly the full extent of the East Coast of the United States, from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

. In the state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, it runs along much of the mainline of the New Jersey Turnpike (exit 6 to exit 18), as well as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension (formerly and still commonly known as the Pennsylvania Turnpike Connector; from exit 6 to the

Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge The Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge is a four-lane, steel through arch bridge crossing the Delaware River between Burlington Township, Burlington County, New Jersey and Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As a part of Interst ...

), and the New Jersey Turnpike's I-95 Extension (from exit 18) to the George Washington Bridge for a total of . Located in the northeastern part of the state near

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 Western Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike, considered to be Route 95W by 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), is also part of I-95. I-95 enters the state from the Pennsylvania Turnpike on the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge, following the length of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension to exit 6 on the New Jersey Turnpike mainline, continuing north along the remainder of the latter road to U.S. Route 46 (US 46), where it continues as the turnpike's I-95 Extension to the George Washington Bridge, on which it enters New York. All of I-95 in New Jersey is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) except for the George Washington Bridge, which is maintained by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). Until 2018, I-95 had been discontinuous within New Jersey. From

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, I-95 entered New Jersey on the

Scudder Falls Bridge The Scudder Falls Bridge is a toll bridge that carries Interstate 295 (I-295) over the Delaware River, connecting Lower Makefield Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with the Scudders Falls section of Ewing Township in Mercer County, ...

and ended at US 1 in Lawrence Township, where the freeway then turned south as I-295. From New York, I-95 continued from the George Washington Bridge southward along the New Jersey Turnpike and west along the Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension to end at the Pennsylvania state line, where

I-276 The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's we ...

continued into that state along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This discontinuity was caused by the 1983 cancellation of the Somerset Freeway, which would have connected the former Trenton segment of I-95 in Hopewell Township northeast to

I-287 Interstate 287 (I-287) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US states of New Jersey and New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey and the counties of Rockland and Westchester in N ...

in Piscataway Township. From here, I-95 would have followed present-day I-287 to exit 10 on the New Jersey Turnpike in Edison. In order to fill the gap, the

Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project The Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project is an ongoing road construction project to build an interchange where Interstate 95 (I-95) crosses the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in the U ...

saw the construction of an interchange between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-95 in

Bristol Township, Pennsylvania Bristol Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 54,582 at the 2010 census, making it the 13th largest municipality in the state. Bristol Township, along with Bristol Borough, is a cultural hub f ...

, with I-95 being rerouted to use the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge. By March 2018, the former I-95 around the north side of Trenton to just across the Scudder Falls Bridge in Pennsylvania became an extension of I-295, with I-295 extended to the interchange by July of the same year. On September 22, 2018, the ramps connecting I-95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened, allowing a direct freeway route from Philadelphia to New York City and finally completing I-95 as a whole.

Route description

Pearl Harbor Memorial Turnpike Extension

I-95 enters New Jersey at the

over the Delaware River in Burlington Township,

Burlington County Burlington County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The county is the largest by area in New Jersey. Its county seat is Mount Holly.

, where the road continues west (south) into Pennsylvania as the Pennsylvania Turnpike. From the river, I-95 follows the six-lane Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike east into New Jersey. Continuing east through a mix of fields and warehouses into Florence Township, the highway passes over NJ Transit's River Line and has an interchange serving US 130. This interchange has a toll plaza on the ramp to southbound I-95. After this interchange, the road comes to a toll barrier that marks the beginning of the turnpike ticket system northbound and the end of the ticket system southbound. The Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension crosses into Mansfield Township and passes under I-295 before merging into the mainline of the New Jersey Turnpike at exit 6.

New Jersey Turnpike mainline

At this point, I-95 continues northeast on the mainline of the New Jersey Turnpike, with twelve lanes featuring six inner lanes exclusively for cars separated from six outer lanes for cars, trucks and buses. It soon reaches an exit for US 206 in Bordentown Township. Continuing north through mostly rural areas, the road heads into Mercer County and comes to the I-195 interchange in Robbinsville Township. In East Windsor Township, I-95 comes to the exit for Route 133/ Route 33, located to the east of Hightstown. Heading into Middlesex County, development near the highway increases. At this point, an interchange serves Route 32 in Monroe Township. Continuing north into more dense suburban development, I-95 intersects Route 18 in East Brunswick Township near the city of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. After crossing the Raritan River, the New Jersey Turnpike heads northeast to the

/ Route 440 junction in Edison. In Woodbridge Township, the highway comes to a large interchange accessing both the Garden State Parkway and US 9. From this point, the road enters areas of heavy industry and comes to the CR 602 exit in Carteret. In Union County, I-95 comes to the

I-278 Interstate 278 (I-278) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York in the United States. The road runs from US Route 1/9 (US 1/9) in Linden, New Jersey, northeast to the Bruckner Interchange in the New York ...

exit on the border of Linden and Elizabeth at the western approach to the Goethals Bridge. In the northern part of Elizabeth, the New Jersey Turnpike comes to Route 81 which provides access to the Newark Liberty International Airport before the road runs to the east of the airport. After the airport, I-95 intersects

I-78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland T ...

in Newark, Essex County. At US 1-9 Truck, the New Jersey Turnpike splits into two alignments and enters the

New Jersey Meadowlands New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States, a few miles to the west of ...

. The mainline of I-95 officially follows the Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike, which has exits to I-280 in Kearny, Hudson County and the Secaucus Junction train station and Route 3/ Route 495 in

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, The Western Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike is also signed as I-95 but is officially known as Route 95W. This road has interchanges serving I-280 in Kearny and Route 3 in East Rutherford, Bergen County, the latter connecting to Route 120 and CR 503, serving the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The ticket system on the Western Spur ends at a barrier in Carlstadt, following which the road comes to a northbound exit and southbound exit and entrance for the Meadowlands Sports Complex and the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex. In Ridgefield, the two segments of the New Jersey Turnpike merge again, with the road continuing north into Ridgefield Park.

George Washington Bridge approach

In Ridgefield Park, I-95 continues north as a toll-free highway co-signed with the New Jersey Turnpike and maintained by NJTA. It has a large interchange serving US 46, part of which was the original northern terminus of the turnpike. From this point, it has the appearance of a local-express lane configuration carrying three local lanes and two express lanes (3-2-2-3) in each direction, but the northbound "express" lane only leads to I-80 west while the northbound local lanes continues as the main trunk of I-95. (On the southbound side, the "express" lanes function as the main trunk of I-95 south while the southbound local lanes lead from I-80 east.) The road runs near suburban neighborhoods before entering Teaneck and intersecting with the eastern terminus of I-80. From here, I-95 turns northeast and splits into an actual local-express lane configuration with a 3-2-2-3 lane count, soon interchanging with CR 56 as it passes northwest of Overpeck County Park. The highway turns east as it skirts the border between Englewood to the north and Leonia to the south. After crossing

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

Northern Running Track Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

, the highway enters inhabited areas as it passes over Route 93 and has a northbound exit and southbound entrance serving Broad Avenue. I-95 makes a turn to the southeast into Fort Lee, and heads due south to

Route 4 Route 4, or Highway 4, may refer to several highways in the following countries: International * AH4, Asian Highway 4 * European route E04 * European route E004 * Cairo – Cape Town Highway Albania * SH-4 road in Albania from Durres to Kakav ...

. At this point, I-95 runs in between the travel lanes of Route 4 as the freeway comes to a large interchange with southbound exits and northbound entrances for Route 4, US 1-9, US 46, and a full interchange with the southern terminus of

US 9W U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the states of New Jersey and New York. It begins in Fort Lee, New Jersey, as Fletcher Avenue crosses the US 1–9, US 46, and the Interstate 95 (I-95) approaches ...

, where the New Jersey Turnpike officially ends and the jurisdiction changes from NJTA to the PANYNJ. Here, US 1-9 / US 46 all join I-95 and the road continues southeast containing four local lanes and four express lanes in each direction, passing numerous high-rise buildings. The road has a southbound exit and northbound entrance to Route 67 from the express lanes before coming to the eastbound-only toll plaza for the George Washington Bridge. Past the toll plaza, there is a southbound exit and northbound entrance for the Palisades Interstate Parkway, also from the express lanes. After the Palisades Interstate Parkway, the road crosses 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 ...

on the George Washington Bridge, which has eight lanes total on the upper deck (the express lanes) and six lanes total on the lower deck (the local lanes).

History

What became I-95 and I-295 around the northern part of Trenton was first legislated as part of Route 39, a route that was to run from the

Yardley–Wilburtha Bridge The Yardley–Wilburtha Bridge was a bridge spanning the Delaware River. A majority of the bridge was washed away by severe flooding in 1955 and was later demolished in 1961 after the completion of the nearby Scudder Falls Bridge. History Origi ...

around Trenton south to Hammonton.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319. Seven northeastern states from Virginia to Massachusetts including New Jersey proposed a limited-access highway in 1942 called the 7-State Highway; this was never built. The New Jersey State Highway Department proposed Federal Aid Interstate Route 103 in 1956, and it was approved in 1957 by the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR). At that time, the New Jersey Turnpike (mainline and Pennsylvania Extension) and George Washington Bridge had been completed; US 46 connected the north end of the New Jersey Turnpike to the bridge. The BPR approved the planned alignment north of the Trenton area, which would have run generally northeast to exit 9 ( Route 18) of the New Jersey Turnpike. From there it would use the New Jersey Turnpike to its north end (exit 18, US 46) and a proposed freeway north to the planned I-80, then head east to the George Washington Bridge. The road was designated as part of I-95 in 1958. In the 1960s, the I-95 approach to the George Washington Bridge was completed, connecting to I-80 in Teaneck. The portion of I-95 between the north end of the New Jersey Turnpike and I-80 opened in 1971. Originally maintained by NJDOT, ownership of I-95 north of US 46 in Ridgefield Park was transferred to NJTA in 1992 in order to balance the state budget, thus incorporating it as an extension of the turnpike.

Routing through Central New Jersey: Somerset Freeway

I-95 SB at CSX Trenton Subdivision bridge

The location of I-95 in the Trenton area had not been finalized when the route was first designated. The BPR preferred using the

Trenton Freeway U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a United States highway which parallels the East Coast of the United States, running from Key West, Florida in the south to Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border in the north. Of the entire length of the route, of it r ...

(US 1 and Route 174), which was completed to Whitehead Road, but New Jersey and Pennsylvania proposed using the

and its approach (Route 129), opened in 1961 to Scotch Road, due in part to low design standards of the Trenton Freeway. As a result, I-95 was routed to use the Scudder Falls Bridge approach. The approach to the Scudder Falls Bridge was extended in 1974, northeast to the planned interchange with the new I-95 freeway, and then east to US 1 as I-295. From the I-95/I-295 loop around Trenton, the free routing of I-95 in New Jersey, was to divert from the loop between the Route 31 and Federal City Road exits in Hopewell Township. Then, the highway was to intersect County Route 546 (CR 546) and US 206 before coming to

in Piscataway Township. There was also meant to be a small connector roughly one mile in length connecting I-95 with I-287 from the north and designated I-695. (The I-695 designation, along with I-95's alignment in Piscataway Township, was dropped when I-695's own alignment became the preferred routing for I-95 to a full 3-way interchange with I-287 in Franklin Township.) At this point, the freeway would have continued northeastward through the western parts of Elizabeth and Newark, then terminate at the northern terminus of the New Jersey Turnpike at Ridgefield, but it was instead decided to route I-95 along the New Jersey Turnpike through North Jersey. The truncated route, known as the Somerset Freeway, was intended to terminate in Piscataway Township at I-287, and I-95 would have continued east along present day I-287 until it intersected with the New Jersey Turnpike in Edison Township. The I-287 designation would probably have been truncated to begin at the junction with the Somerset Freeway. Both the Somerset Freeway and I-695 were projected to cost $55 million in 1967, with the cost increasing to $375 million in 1979. At this point, residents in Hopewell Township,

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

, and Montgomery Township raised opposition out of the fear the Somerset Freeway would bring unwanted development to area farmland. NJTA joined environmental and community groups in opposing the Somerset Freeway, as it would provide a toll-free alternative to the New Jersey Turnpike. Due to this opposition, New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne announced in 1980 that the state would not build the Somerset Freeway. The United States Congress officially cancelled the Somerset Freeway by way of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, rerouting I-95 south on the New Jersey Turnpike to exit 6, and onto its Pennsylvania Extension to end at the state line on the

, pending the construction of an interchange where the Pennsylvania Turnpike crossed existing I-95 in Pennsylvania. As a result of this cancellation, the federal government gave New Jersey $246 million for road projects in the area where the Somerset Freeway was to be built. In 1995, increasing truck traffic on US 206 and Route 31 motivated officials in Mercer County to have the state reconsider building the Somerset Freeway as a way to alleviate traffic on area roads. This option was ruled out due to a $700 million price tag. Also around this time, I-95 was extended east along I-295 between the site of the Somerset Freeway interchange and US 1 in Lawrence Township.

Filling the I-95 gap

Due to the cancellation of the Somerset Freeway in 1983, a gap existed on I-95 within New Jersey for roughly 35 years. Northbound I-95 ended at US 1 in Lawrence Township where the road became I-295. Meanwhile, southbound I-95 entered New Jersey on the George Washington Bridge and continued along its present-day routing down the New Jersey Turnpike and across the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge, where the road became I-276 at the Pennsylvania state line. Until this gap was filled, traffic from Pennsylvania was directed along I-95 northbound (to the Scudder Falls Bridge), then on its continuation as I-295 southbound until its interchange at I-195, which leads eastward to the New Jersey Turnpike. In order to close the gap, an interchange was constructed between I-95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania. The interchange was first planned in the 1980s after the Somerset Freeway's cancellation. As a result of this project, I-95 was rerouted from its former alignment in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the easternmost part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, replacing I-276 between the interchange and the Delaware River. In addition, I-295 was extended from its former northern terminus at US 1 westward (highway north) to the Scudder Falls Bridge, and southward (highway west) through Pennsylvania to the new interchange. I-295 was initially chosen to be extended in this manner, but in 2005 the plans were modified to extend I-195 from its current western terminus at I-295 and then north along I-295 and I-95 (bypassing Trenton) to the Scudder Falls Bridge and the new interchange. On May 20, 2015, the plans were reverted to extend I-295 to the interchange. The multi-phased construction began in late 2010, and the approved design calls for Stage 1 to tentatively end in 2020. Groundbreaking for the interchange took place on July 30, 2013, with Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett in attendance. In March 2018, I-95 was renumbered to I-295 between US 1 in Lawrence Township, New Jersey and Taylorsville Road in Lower Makefield Township, Pennsylvania. The re-designation that officially bridged the I-95 gap was made official on September 22, 2018, before the completion of Stage 1.

Exit list

References

External links

I-95, N.J. Turnpike - West Alignment
straight line diagram (PDF)
An enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the Fort Lee approaches to the George Washington Bridge

An enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the confluence of 95M, NJ 29 and NJ 175 in Ewing Township
*Rose, Joel.
At Last, I-95's Missing Link Hits The Road
. National Public Radio, NPR, 2010-08-21.
History of the Interstate 95 "Missing Link" of central New JerseyThe Roads of Metro New York - New Jersey Turnpike (I-95)The Roads of Metro New York - Interstate 95 (Trenton Section)Exitlists.com Interstate 95Speed Limits for New Jersey State Roads: Interstate 95
{{New Jersey Turnpike Authority Interstate Highways in New Jersey, 95 Interstate 95, New Jersey Transportation in Burlington County, New Jersey, 095 Transportation in Mercer County, New Jersey Transportation in Middlesex County, New Jersey Transportation in Essex County, New Jersey Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey Transportation in Bergen County, New Jersey, 95 New Jersey Turnpike