Route 21 is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

Northern New Jersey North Jersey, also known as Northern New Jersey, comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. As a distinct toponym, North Jersey is a colloquial one rather than an a ...

, running from the

Newark Airport Interchange The Newark Airport Interchange is a massive interchange of Interstate 78 in New Jersey, Interstate 78, U.S. Route 1-9, U.S. Route 22, New Jersey Route 21, and Interstate 95 in New Jersey, Interstate 95 (the New Jersey Turnpike) at the northern e ...

with US 1-9 and US 22 in Newark, Essex County to an interchange with US 46 in Clifton,

Passaic County Passaic County ( or ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,

. The route is a four- to six-lane divided highway known as McCarter Highway on its southern portion in Newark that serves as a connector between the Newark and

Paterson Paterson may refer to: People *Paterson (surname) *Paterson (given name) Places Australia *Paterson, New South Wales * Paterson River, New South Wales *Division of Paterson, an electoral district in New South Wales * Paterson, Queensland, a loc ...

areas, following the west bank of the

Passaic River The Passaic River ( or ) is a river, approximately long, in North Jersey, northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburb ...

for much of its length. It also serves as the main north–south highway through the central part of Newark, connecting attractions in

Downtown Newark Downtown Newark is the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark located at a bend in th ...

with

Newark Airport Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union County, in the U.S. stat ...

. The portion of Route 21 through Newark is a surface arterial that runs alongside the elevated

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

rail line through the southern part of the city and continues north through Downtown Newark while the portion north of Downtown Newark is 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 ...

. Route 21 intersects many major roads including I-78, Route 27, and

I-280 Interstate 280 may refer to multiple highways, all of which are or were related to Interstate 80: * Interstate 280 (California), a north–south freeway running from San Jose to San Francisco * Interstate 280 (Iowa–Illinois), part of the beltwa ...

in Newark, Route 7 in Belleville, and Route 3 in Clifton. Route 21 was created in 1927 to run from Newark to Belleville. In 1948, the route was extended north to Paterson. In the 1950s construction began on the freeway portion of Route 21 and it was completed in stages between Chester Avenue in Newark and Monroe Street in

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality,I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

in Elmwood Park; however, they were opposed by residents living on the east side of the Passaic River. In the 1980s, another northern extension of the Route 21 freeway was proposed to US 46 in Clifton; this section was built between 1997 and 2000. The surface portion of Route 21 through Newark underwent many improvements in the 1990s and 2000s.

Route description

Route 21 heads north from the

with US 1/9 in Newark near

on a six-lane

known as McCarter Highway. This portion of Route 21 serves to connect Newark Liberty with

downtown Newark Downtown Newark is the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark located at a bend in th ...

. The route interchanges with I-78 and

US 22 U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a major east–west route and one of the original United States Numbered Highways, founded in 1926. It runs from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jers ...

and then crosses over

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 Are ...

' Greenville Running Track, Lehigh Line, and

Passaic and Harsimus Line The Passaic and Harsimus Line, part of Conrail Shared Assets Operations, serves freight in Gateway Region, northeastern New Jersey. It takes trains from the Northeast Corridor and Lehigh Line (Conrail), Lehigh Line near Newark Liberty Interna ...

and then

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

rail line on a viaduct, coming to an interchange with Broad Street that provides access to Frelinghuysen Avenue ( Route 27). The route continues north, paralleling the elevated Northeast Corridor tracks that lead up to

Newark Penn Station Newark Penn Station is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, making it the seventh busiest rai ...

, which serves Amtrak and

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...

trains and

PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desir ...

Newark–World Trade Center Newark–World Trade Center is a rapid transit service operated by the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH). It is colored red on the PATH service map and trains on this service display red marker lights. This service operates from Pennsylvania S ...

line. At the intersection with Emmet Street, Route 21 becomes a four-lane surface road and intersects with Murray Street, which provides access to the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark. This section of Route 21 through the southern part of Newark has a high accident rate due to the heavy concentration of businesses and traffic lights along this portion of road. The road widens to six lanes and the route intersects with Market Street ( CR 510) near Newark Penn Station and continues north into

, splitting from the Northeast Corridor rail line. It crosses the intersection with

Raymond Boulevard Raymond Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in Newark, New Jersey. The eastern portion of the road acts as the westbound member of a one-way pair; eastbound traffic uses Market Street and Ferry Street (Newark), Ferry Street. Raymond Boulevard car ...

and the route meets the intersection with Center Street ( CR 508), which it forms a

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

. Route 21 and CR 508 head along the west bank of the

, passing by the

New Jersey Performing Arts Center The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in Downtown Newark in Newark, New Jersey, is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Home to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), more than nine million visitors (incl ...

. CR 508 splits from Route 21 by heading east on Bridge Street, crossing the Passaic River, and Route 21 continues north, passing by the former site of

Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium, originally simply Riverfront Stadium, was a 6,200-seat baseball park in Newark, New Jersey built in 1999. It was the home field of the Newark Bears, who played in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a ...

. After passing under NJ Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line/

Morris & Essex Lines The Morris & Essex Lines are a group of former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W) railroad lines in New Jersey now owned and operated by NJ Transit. The lines include service offered on the Morristown Line and the Gladstone Branch. Pr ...

and interchanging with

, the route intersects with Clay Street ( CR 506 Spur). Past the intersection with 3rd Avenue, Route 21 becomes a six-lane

again. After about a quarter mile, the northbound side swings under the southbound side and the freeway becomes double-decker, passes by Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, and returns to single-decker configuration. It then interchanges with Chester Avenue and Riverside Avenue with a southbound exit and northbound entrance before passing over

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

's Newark Industrial Track line. Route 21 comes to a northbound exit and southbound entrance for Grafton Avenue and Mill Street; this interchange actually connects with the original McCarter Highway, a street that retains this name and acts as a service road to Route 21 for a few blocks in this area, near several industries. Route 21 briefly becomes a double-decker freeway again past the latter interchange and passes under Norfolk Southern Railway's Boonton Line, before crossing into Belleville at the Second River crossing. The freeway features a southbound exit for Mill Street and a northbound exit for Rutgers Street/Belleville Turnpike ( Route 7 and CR 506) as it passes by houses on the left side of the freeway. Route 21 features an interchange with Main Street that has a southbound exit and an entrance in both directions. It enters Nutley where the freeway interchanges with County Route 646 (Park Avenue), continuing north through residential areas along the Passaic River. As Route 21 crosses into Clifton,

, it passes under NJ Transit's Main Line and comes to an interchange with Route 3. North of this point, the freeway comes to a northbound exit and southbound entrance for southbound River Road ( CR 624), passing through residential neighborhoods, and enters

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality,CR 608), Van Houten Avenue ( CR 614), and River Drive (CR 624). The route features an interchange with River Drive (CR 624) and Main Avenue ( CR 601) and meets State Street at a partial interchange with a northbound exit and southbound entrance. This interchange provides access to the Union Avenue Bridge over the Passaic. Route 21 heads farther to the west of the Passaic River, passing through industrial and residential areas of Passaic. The freeway briefly enters Wallington and comes to an interchange that provides access to Market Street ( CR 619), Dayton Avenue, and Monroe Street. Route 21 continues to the north and resumes along the west bank of the Passaic River, narrowing to four lanes and crossing back into Clifton. Upon entering Clifton, the route comes to an interchange with Ackerman Avenue. The freeway heads to the northwest, passing by a park and featuring a southbound exit and northbound entrance for Lexington Avenue before ending at an interchange with US 46.

History

Route 21 history starts in 1927 with the New Jersey highway renumbering plan. At that time it was set up as a surface roadway running through Newark and Belleville, with at-grade interchanges with local streets. This surface road eventually extended to Paterson. From the late 1950s through the early 1970s, much of the highway north of Newark was rebuilt as a limited-interchange freeway., through most of its portion in the City of Passaic. The remaining portion through downtown Passaic and the Botany Village portion of Clifton was not constructed until the last four years of the 20th century. Further improvements to the remaining surface portion were made to the Newark portion, though most of it remains as city streets.

Original surface road

Route 21 was first defined in the

1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering In 1927, New Jersey's state highways were renumbered. The old system, which had been defined in sequence by the legislature since 1916, was growing badly, as several routes shared the same number, and many unnumbered state highways had been ...

to run from Route 25 (now US 1/9) and Route 29 (now US 22) in Newark north to Belleville.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319. The surface portion of Route 21 in Newark, which follows the Northeast Corridor rail line, was commissioned in 1934 between Routes 25 and 29 and Market Street and the portion through downtown Newark was commissioned in 1936 between Market Street and Clay Street. Route 19 was designated in 1939 from Paterson to Belleville.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1939, Chapter 200. In 1948, the Route 21 designation was extended north to

, replacing Route 19 (which has since been reassigned elsewhere).State of New Jersey, Laws of 1948, Chapter 235. By Joint Resolution No. 4, approved March 22, 1934, the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

designated Route 21 as the McCarter Highway, in memory of Newark financier and philanthropist Uzal Haggerty McCarter.

Freeway

Plans for a freeway along the Route 21 corridor between Newark and Paterson date back to the early 1930s and became official in 1951. In 1958, the highway was extended northward as a freeway along the west bank of the Passaic River to an interchange with Park Avenue in Nutley. Route 21 was extended to the Passaic Park interchange in 1962, Main Avenue in 1968, and Monroe Street in 1973. 1970s legislation stopped the further extension northward until environmental impact could be assessed, leaving a two-mile city street portion in place to connect to Routes 20, 46, and

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

in Paterson for over 25 years. With the completion of the freeway to Monroe Street, a portion of the former route was briefly known as Route 21A. According to the original freeway plans, the portion north of Monroe Street was to cross over the Passaic River and terminated in Elmwood Park at the interchange of I-80 and CR 507. This routing would have allowed the highway continue with six full lanes. However, the proposal was opposed by residents who lived on the east side of the Passaic River, and for a quarter-century, traffic headed for Paterson had to use local streets in Passaic. In the 1980s, plans were resurrected for completing the Route 21 freeway along the west bank of the Passaic River to US 46 in Clifton, avoiding the earlier objections. Official plans were made in 1996, and in late 1997, construction began on this portion of the freeway. It opened on December 20, 2000 at a cost of $136 million. However, this new route was limited mostly to four lanes (three lanes at the very northern end), utilizing the right of way of the Dundee Canal. A wider highway would have encroached on private property or the Passaic River, entailing much greater costs.

Newark section improvements

Sections of Route 21 through Newark were improved in the 1990s and the 2000s. The four-lane viaduct over the Northeast Corridor, which was built in the 1920s, was replaced between 1997 and 2003 at a cost of $253 million. A major reconstruction occurred at the interchange with I-280 at the William A. Stickel Memorial Bridge in Newark from 2015 to 2018. On April 27, 2018, the portion of Route 21 between mileposts 3.90 and 5.83 was dedicated the "Roberto Clemente Memorial Highway" after the late baseball legend

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...

, who wore number 21 for his entire career with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Major intersections

References

External links

New Jersey Roads: Route 21NJ 21 FreewaySpeed Limits for Route 21
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Jersey Route 021 Transportation in Essex County, New Jersey Transportation in Passaic County, New Jersey

021 069 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...

Limited-access roads in New Jersey