Route 3 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 ...

in the northeastern part of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The route runs from U.S. Route 46 (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,

, to US 1/9 in

North Bergen North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 63,361, an increase of 2,588 (+4.3%) from the 2010 census count of 60,773, ...

Hudson County Hudson County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River, the No ...

. The route intersects many major roads, including US 46, which takes travelers to Interstate 80 (I-80) west for commuting out of the city-area, the

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May, New Jersey, Cape May north to the New York ...

and Route 21 in Clifton, Route 17 and the Western Spur of the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although ma ...

(

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

) in

East Rutherford East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,022, an inc ...

, the Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike (also I-95) in Secaucus, and Route 495 in North Bergen, for traffic going 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 the unsigned N ...

into

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Route 3 serves as the main artery to the Lincoln Tunnel from I-80, in conjunction with a portion of US 46 and Route 495. Portions of the route are not up to

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 ...

standards; with driveways serving businesses and bus stops. Despite this, many construction projects have been underway over the years to alleviate this issue. Route 3 also provided access to Hoffmann La Roche's former American headquarters in Nutley, the

Meadowlands Sports Complex The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports complex located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The facility is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). It is named for the New Jersey Meadowlands ...

and

American Dream The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...

in East Rutherford. The road inspired a story in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' in 2004 by

Ian Frazier Ian Frazier (born 1951 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American writer and humorist. He wrote the 1989 non-fiction history ''Great Plains'', 2010's non-fiction travelogue ''Travels in Siberia'', and works as a writer and humorist for ''The New Yorker ...

due to its views of the

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

skyline. Route 3 was originally the Lincoln Tunnel Approach and ended at the state line in the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

, though it was scaled back following the construction of I-495; which is now Route 495 due to also not meeting interstate highway standards. Route 3 was originally established in 1927 to run from the

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

state line on the west shore of

Greenwood Lake Greenwood Lake is an interstate lake approximately long, straddling the border of New York and New Jersey. It is located in the Town of Warwick and the Village of Greenwood Lake, New York (in Orange County) and West Milford, New Jersey (in ...

to Secaucus. In 1929, the western terminus was cut back to

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 ...

when the alignment west of there was planned to become part of Route S4B. Route 3 originally followed present-day Route 20 through Paterson and ran along local streets to East Rutherford, where it followed present-day Route 120 and

Paterson Plank Road Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic, Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen and Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey. The route, originally laid in the colonial era, conn ...

to Secaucus. It was extended east to the Lincoln Tunnel in 1939. The section of Route 3 between US 46 in Clifton and East Rutherford was completed in the 1940s as Route S3 as well as the Secaucus Bypass, which was designated a bypass of Route 3. Route 3 was moved to the Route S3 freeway and the Secaucus Bypass in 1953 and was truncated to US 1/9 in North Bergen in 1959 when the Lincoln Tunnel approach was designated as

I-495 Interstate 495 (I-495) is the designation for the following five Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95: * The Capital Beltway, a beltway around Washington, D.C., running through Virginia, Maryland, and a sliver ...

. The Route 3 freeway has seen many improvements over the years, such as widening and interchange reconstructions. It underwent a major reconstruction, completed in 2016, to modern highway standards with bridge replacements, including a new

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 ...

bridge between Clifton and Route 17 in Rutherford.

Route description

Route 3 heads to the southeast, from an interchange with US 46 and Valley Road ( County Route 621 R 621 as a six-lane

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...

with a

jersey barrier A Jersey barrier, Jersey wall, or Jersey bump is a modular concrete or plastic barrier employed to separate lanes of traffic. It is designed to minimize vehicle damage in cases of incidental contact while still preventing vehicle crossovers resu ...

. It is not up to

standards, as it contains a few businesses with

right-in/right-out Right-in/right-out (RIRO) and left-in/left-out (LILO) refer to a type of three-way road intersection where turning movements of vehicles are restricted. A RIRO permits only right turns and a LILO permits only left turns. "Right-in" and "left-in" r ...

access. The route intersects Grove Street ( CR 623) and Broad Street ( CR 509), then the

, where it passes south of the Allwood Road Park & Ride, a

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

lot serving

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 ...

buses. All interchange movements are present between Route 3 and the Garden State Parkway, except from the southbound Garden State Parkway to westbound Route 3 and from eastbound Route 3 to the northbound Garden State Parkway. Past the Garden State Parkway, Route 3 intersects Bloomfield Avenue ( CR 622), before it passes over

Norfolk Southern 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 and intersects Passaic Avenue ( CR 603), which heads south into Nutley to become Route 7. The next interchange is for Main Avenue ( CR 601). Past that interchange, Route 3 passes over NJ Transit's Main Line and comes to an interchange with Route 21 before passing over the route and becoming a six-lane freeway. Route 3 crosses the

on a fixed bridge, which replaced a double-leaf trunnion

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

in 2013, into Rutherford,

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.CR 507). The freeway continues through a residential area and comes to an exit that provides access to southbound Route 17. Past this interchange, Route 3 is closely paralleled by Route 17 to the south until Route 3 intersects Route 17 again, which continues to the north of Route 3. The route widens to eight lanes and enters the Meadowlands, crossing into

and then passing over NJ Transit's

Bergen County Line The Bergen County Line is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line loops off the Main Line between the Meadowlands and Glen Rock, with trains continuing in either d ...

and

Berrys Creek Berry's Creek (sometimes referred to as Berrys Creek or Berry Creek) is a tributary of the Hackensack River in the New Jersey Meadowlands in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey. The creek drainage basin, watershed contains a div ...

. Route 3 passes to the south of the

, which contains

MetLife Stadium MetLife Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States, 5 mi (8 km) west of New York City. It opened in 2010, replacing Giants Stadium, and serves as the home for the ...

(the home stadium of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

and the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

), and the

Meadowlands Racetrack The Meadowlands Racetrack (currently referred to as Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment) is a horse racing track at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The track hosts both tho ...

. The route narrows back to six lanes and comes to a ramp which provides access to the Western Spur of the

(

). Route 3 intersects Route 120 and the

carriageway A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) is a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of traffic lane ...

s separate. The route passes under the Western Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) and becomes eight lanes again. The Route 3 Bridge crosses the

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, about 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban ar ...

into

Secaucus Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 census count of 16,264, which in turn reflected an in ...

. It intersects the Meadowlands Parkway and continues southeast into a residential area with the carriageways joining back together. At the interchange with

(CR 681), Route 3 widens into a local-express lane configuration with three express lanes and three local lanes each in the eastbound direction and two express lanes and three local lanes in the westbound direction. The route passes by the Mill Creek Mall and crosses under the Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95). Route 3 comes to an eastbound exit and entrance with Harmon Meadow Boulevard and features a

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange (road), interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passe ...

with Paterson Plank Road. The route crosses the Penhorn Creek into

. In North Bergen, the route comes to a truck-restricted eastbound ramp for eastbound Route 495. Route 3 then intersects Route 495, which provides access to the New Jersey Turnpike and the

. Past this interchange, the local-express lane configuration ends and Route 3 heads southeast as a four-lane highway. The route meets a westbound exit and entrance for the North Bergen Park & Ride serving NJ Transit buses and passes over

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also referred to as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna, and formerly the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, is an American Railroad classes#Class II, Class II Rail freight transport, freight r ...

'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 Are ...

Northern Branch The Northern Branch is a railroad line that runs from Jersey City to Northvale in northeastern New Jersey, and formerly extended further into New York State. The line was constructed in 1859 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey to connect ...

line before it comes to its terminus at a traffic light with US 1/9 south, with no direct access from Route 3 east to US 1/9 north.

History

Route 3 roughly follows the course of the Paterson and New York Plank Road (more commonly known as the

) legislated in 1851 to run from Paterson to a ferry at Hoboken. The portion of this road running east from Passaic was legislated as an unnumbered state route in 1926. 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 ...

, Route 3 was legislated to run from the

line on the west shore of

to Route 1 (now US 1/9) in

.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319. In 1929, the route west of Paterson was designated to become part of Route S4B, a spur of Route 4, and Route 3 was modified to end at Route S4B north of Paterson. Route S4B was never built west of Paterson while the portion that was built became Route 208 in 1953.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1929, Chapter 126. Following the 1929 amendments, Route 3 ran from

along today's Route 20, through Clifton,

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,Wallington, Carlstadt, and East Rutherford along local streets, and finally down

(part of which is today's Route 120) to Secaucus. Before 1938, a bypass around the original Paterson Plank Road bridge over the Hackensack River was built, parts of which were later incorporated into today's Route 120. As of this point, plans were in place to bypass the Plank Road to the north, going north of Wood Ridge and Wallington and replacing River Road up to Route 6, where it would rejoin the old alignment. In 1939, Route 3 was extended east along present-day Route 495 to the

into

. The section of what is now Route 3 from US 46 in Clifton to Route 120 in

was planned to be built as a

in the mid-1930s designated as Route S3, a spur of Route 3. Construction started in 1940, but it was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It would resume, with the first section of freeway opening between Route 17 to Route 3 (now Route 120) in 1942. The freeway was completed by 1949, including a bypass of Secaucus that was designated as a bypass of Route 3. The freeway had cost a total of $10 million to build and cut commuting times between Northern New Jersey and Manhattan. Before the freeway was completed, Route S3 was designated to follow Allwood Road between Hepburn Road and Bloomfield Avenue in Clifton; the road was later returned to Passaic County and is currently CR 602. In 1942, a spur of Route S3 in Clifton was commissioned; this became Route S3 Spur in 1948 and Route 161 in 1953.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1942, Chapter 77.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1948, Chapter 221. In the

1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering On January 1, 1953, the New Jersey Highway Department renumbered many of the State Routes. This renumbering was first proposed in 1951 in order to reduce confusion to motorists. A few rules were followed in deciding what to renumber: *No state ...

, Route 3 was realigned to follow the entire length of the Route S3 freeway. In addition, Route 3 in Secaucus was shifted off the Paterson Plank Road to the newly built Secaucus Bypass. The original alignment of Route 3 through Secaucus (partly now known as Flanagan Way) became Route 153; the entire route was eliminated by the late 1980s. The remaining sections under state maintenance were designated as Route 20, still under the assumption that they would be joined in the future. In the mid-1950s, Route 3 was planned as one of the original routes of the

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

; however, the

New Jersey State Highway Department 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 transport ...

had deemed it 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 t ...

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 ...

was favored instead. In 1959, the Lincoln Tunnel approach was designated as

and Route 3 was truncated back to US 1/9 in

. Many improvements have been made to the Route 3 freeway. In the 1970s, the interchanges with Route 17, the

Western Spur, and Route 120 were improved with the construction of the

in the area. The bridge over the

, originally built in 1948, was reconstructed in the mid-1990s and Route 3 was widened to eight lanes in the area near the bridge. In 2003, the interchange with Route 495 and the intersection with US 1/9 was improved at a cost of $16 million. Plans were made to improve Route 3 near the Meadowlands Sports Complex with the construction of the

shopping and entertainment complex. An overpass between eastbound Route 3 and northbound Route 120 was completed in May 2009 at a cost of $38.1 million, a flyover from southbound Route 120 to eastbound Route 3 was completed in early 2010 at a cost of $13 million, and improvements to the New Jersey Turnpike interchange was completed in the later part of 2010 at a cost of $49 million. Route 3 underwent a major reconstruction to modern highway standards with noise walls installed and bridge replacements, including the new

bridge that is now functional, between Main Avenue in Clifton and Route 17 in Rutherford. All work was completed by 2016. In a separate project, the roadway was resurfaced in 2013 from just west of the Route 17 north interchange to US 1/9 in

. The New Jersey Department of Transportation is rebuilding the interchange at US 46 and Valley Road in Clifton. This project will reconfigure ramps, bring bridges up to standard, and will provide for three-lane connections between Route 3 and US 46. It is projected to cost more than $250 million. Construction on the first contract began in December 2015 with completion by October 2019. Construction on the second contract began in February 2020. In January 2022, the officials announced funding of a project to replace the 1934 eastbound bridge over the Hackensack River. The new bridge structure will be able to support adding

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

over the bridge in the future. The plan is to have a new light rail line from

Secaucus Junction Secaucus Junction (signed as Secaucus) is an intermodal transit hub served by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) and Metro-North Railroad in Secaucus, New Jersey, Secaucus, New Jersey. It is one of the List of b ...

and

, but funding for the light rail is not immediately available.

In popular culture

Route 3 was the inspiration for a story in ''

'' in 2004 by

, for its iconic views of the

skyline. In this story, Frazier describes a bus journey along the route, mentioning scenes along the road such as traffic congestion, the

, and the Tick Tock Diner off Route 3 in Clifton. He also described a walking journey he once took into

along Route 3, encountering heavy, noisy traffic speeding by and debris along the side of the road. In a ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

sketch Sketch or Sketches may refer to: * Sketch (drawing), a rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not usually intended as a finished work Arts, entertainment and media * Sketch comedy, a series of short scenes or vignettes called sketches Fil ...

featuring

Horatio Sanz Horacio Sanz (born June 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Horatio Sanz, is an American comedian and actor. Sanz was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1998 to 2006. Early life Sanz was born on Ju ...

and

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974), nicknamed "the Captain", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) caree ...

, the fictional business "Derek Jeter's Taco Hole" is on Route 3 in

Nutley, New Jersey Nutley is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 30,143, an increase of 1,773 (+6.2%) from the 2010 United ...

between Kinko's and "El Duque's Shoe Repair". (Route 3 does not actually pass through Nutley.)

Exit list

References

External links

An enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the confluence of NJ 3 and NJ 46 in CliftonAn enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the confluence of NJ 3 and NJ 17 in RutherfordAn enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the confluence of NJ 3, NJ 120 and I 95 in East RutherfordAn enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the confluence of NJ 3, NJ 495, I 95 / NJ Turnpike, US 1 in Secaucus and North BergenNew Jersey Roads: Route 3Police Scanner Frequencies for Route 3Speed Limits for State Roads
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Jersey Route 003 Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey Transportation in Bergen County, New Jersey Transportation in Passaic County, New Jersey

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: * 003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) * 1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway * ''O03 (O2)'' and other related blood type alleles in the AB ...

Limited-access roads in New Jersey Freeways in the United States

Route description

History

In popular culture

Exit list

See also

References

External links