Interstate 95 in New Jersey

Interstate 95 marker
Interstate 95
Map
I-95 highlighted in red and the Western Spur highlighted in blue
Route information
Maintained by NJTA and PANYNJ
Length97.76 mi[1][2][3] (157.33 km)
Existed1959–present
NHSEntire route
Main section
Length77.96 mi[2] (125.46 km)
South end
Major intersections
North end I-95 / US 1-9 at the New York state line in Fort Lee
Western Spur
Length11.03 mi[3] (17.75 km)
South end
Major intersections
North end
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Jersey
CountiesBurlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Union, Essex, Hudson, Bergen
Highway system
Route 94 Route 100
I-676I-695 Route 700

Interstate 95 (I-95) is a major Interstate Highway that runs along the East Coast of the United States from Miami, Florida, north to the Canada–United States border at Houlton, Maine. In New Jersey, it runs along much of the mainline of the New Jersey Turnpike (exit 6 to exit 18), as well as the Pearl Harbor Memorial Turnpike Extension (formerly and still commonly known as the Pennsylvania Turnpike Connector; from exit 6 to the Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge), and the New Jersey Turnpike's I-95 Extension (from exit 18) to the George Washington Bridge for a total of 77.96 miles (125.46 km). Located in the northeastern part of the state near New York City, the 11.03-mile (17.75 km) Western Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike, considered to be Route 95W by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (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 Turnpike 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, I-95 entered New Jersey on the Scudder Falls Bridge 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 Turnpike Extension to end at the Pennsylvania state line, where I-276 continued into that state along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This discontinuity was caused by the 1983 cancelation of the Somerset Freeway, which would have connected the former Trenton segment of I-95 in Hopewell Township northeast to I-287 in Piscataway. 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 saw the construction of an interchange between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-95 in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, 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.

  1. ^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  2. ^ a b New Jersey Department of Transportation. "Interstate 95 straight line diagram" (PDF). Trenton: New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  3. ^ a b New Jersey Department of Transportation. "Interstate 95W straight line diagram" (PDF). Trenton: New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 17, 2020.