 U.S. Route 9 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 9 mainline highlighted in red, currently unsigned Beesley's Point segment in blue | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NJDOT, DRBA, NJTA, PANYNJ, and Cape May County | ||||
| Length | 166.80 mi[1] (268.44 km) | |||
| Existed | 1926–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  Pine Barrens Byway | |||
| Restrictions | No trucks on the Pulaski Skyway | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   US 9 via the Cape May–Lewes Ferry in Lower Township | |||
 Route 47 in Rio Grande
| ||||
| North end |   I-95 / US 1-9 at the New York state line in Fort Lee | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New Jersey | |||
| Counties | Cape May, Atlantic, Burlington, Ocean, Monmouth, Middlesex, Union, Essex, Hudson, Bergen | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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U.S. Route 9 (US 9) is a United States Numbered Highway in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, running from Laurel, Delaware, to Champlain, New York. In New Jersey, the route runs 166.80 miles (268.44 km) from the Cape May–Lewes Ferry terminal in North Cape May, Cape May County, where the ferry carries US 9 across the Delaware Bay to Lewes, Delaware, north to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, Bergen County, where the route along with Interstate 95 (I-95) and US 1 continue into New York City. US 9 is the longest U.S. Highway in the state.
From North Cape May north to Toms River in Ocean County, US 9 is mostly a two-lane undivided road that closely parallels the Garden State Parkway (GSP) and runs near the Jersey Shore. Along this stretch, it passes through the communities of Rio Grande, Cape May Court House, Somers Point, Pleasantville, Absecon, Tuckerton, Manahawkin, Beachwood, and Berkeley Township. In Toms River, US 9 runs along the GSP for a short distance before heading northwest away from it and the Jersey Shore into Lakewood Township.
Upon entering Monmouth County, the route transitions into a multilane suburban divided highway, as it continues through Howell Township, Freehold Township, Manalapan Township, Marlboro Township, Old Bridge Township, Sayreville, and South Amboy. This section of the route serves as an important commuter artery from these bedroom communities into North Jersey and New York City, along with providing those from New York and North Jersey access to popular destinations such as the Freehold Raceway and Freehold Raceway Mall, along with seasonal festivities such as various beach activities at the Jersey Shore during the summer and activities such as apple picking and hayrides at various farms during the fall.[2][3] In Woodbridge Township, US 9 then merges with US 1 and the two routes run concurrently through northern New Jersey as US 1/9 to the George Washington Bridge, where they continue into New York.
Prior to 1927, the current alignment of US 9 had been legislated as parts of several New Jersey state highways, including the original Route 14 that when from Cape May to Seaville, Route 19 between Seaville and Absecon, the original Route 4 between Absecon and Lakewood and South Amboy and Rahway, Route 7 Spur between Lakewood and Freehold, and the original Route 1 between Rahway and Jersey City. US 9 was initially only signed through New Jersey in 1926 to run from US 30 in Absecon north to the New York border in Alpine, where it became US 9W; it ran more to the east of its current alignment between Lakewood and South Amboy. In 1927, US 9 became Route 4 between Absecon and Lakewood and South Amboy and Rahway, Route 35 between Lakewood and Belmar and Eatontown and South Amboy (now Route 88 south of Point Pleasant), Route 4N (now Route 71) between Belmar and Eatontown, Route 27 between Rahway and Newark, Route 25 between Newark and Jersey City, and Route 1 north of Jersey City.
By the 1940s, US 9 had been extended south on Route 4 to Cape May and rerouted to current Route 4 between Lakewood and South Amboy. In addition, the route was moved to its current alignment between South Amboy and Jersey City, following Route 35 and Route 25, and routed to cross the Hudson River on the George Washington Bridge, using a part of Route 6. The state highway concurrencies were removed in 1953, and two realignments occurred to the route as a result of the construction of the GSP in the 1950s. Once the GSP was opened in 1954, its traffic temporarily concurred to the Beasley's Point bridge. This concurrency would be removed in 1955, with the completion of the Little Egg Harbor Bridge. In the 1970s, US 9 was extended across the Cape May–Lewes Ferry to continue into Delaware with the former route into Cape May becoming Route 109. Also around this time, two freeways were proposed for US 9 in Atlantic and Monmouth counties but never built. The Beesley's Point Bridge over Great Egg Harbor Bay was closed in 2004, with US 9 rerouted to use the Great Egg Harbor Bridge along the GSP in 2013.
- ^ "US 9 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- ^ Tarabour, Brooke (January 10, 1993). "New Jersey-Bound: The Staten Island Migration". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. OCLC 1645522. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ Loyer, Susan (January 31, 2022). "NJ Transit, Old Bridge could benefit from Route 9 development study over 21-mile stretch". My Central Jersey. Archived from the original on February 1, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2024.