Route information | ||||
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Maintained by NJDOT and Union County | ||||
Length | 26.44 mi[1] (42.55 km) | |||
Existed | 1927–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | US 22 in Bridgewater Township | |||
East end | Route 27 in Elizabeth | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | New Jersey | |||
Counties | Somerset, Middlesex, Union | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Route 28 is a state highway in the central part of New Jersey, United States that is 26.44 mi (42.55 km) long. Its western terminus is at U.S. Route 22 (US 22) in Bridgewater Township, Somerset County, while its eastern terminus is at Route 27 in Elizabeth, Union County. From its western terminus, Route 28 heads east through Raritan, intersecting County Route 567 (CR 567) and then US 202 and US 206 at the Somerville Circle before heading through the central part of Somerville. Past Somerville, the route has interchanges with Interstate 287 (I-287) in Bridgewater Township before intersecting many 500-series county roads including CR 525 and CR 527 in Bound Brook, CR 529 in Dunellen, Middlesex County, CR 531 in Plainfield, Union County, and CR 509 in Westfield. Route 28 continues east, intersecting Route 59 and the Garden State Parkway in Cranford before heading to Elizabeth, where it crosses Route 439 before ending at Route 27. Route 28 is a two- to four-lane road its entire length that passes through suburban areas and runs within a close distance of New Jersey Transit’s Raritan Valley Line for much of its length.
Prior to 1927, Route 28 was known as Route 9, which was designated in 1917 to run from Phillipsburg east to Elizabeth. With the creation of the U.S. Highway System in 1926, US 22 was designated along with Route 28. In 1927, most of pre-1927 Route 9 became Route 28, with the exception of the route through Elizabeth, which became Route 27-28 Link as Route 28 followed present-day Route 439 to the Goethals Bridge. Also legislated at this time was a spur of Route 28 called Route S28, which became Route 18 in 1953. By 1941, US 22 was moved off the Route 28 alignment in Phillipsburg, and US 22 Alternate (US 22 Alt., now Route 122) took its place, as well as east of Bridgewater Township, where it was realigned to follow Route 28-29 Link and Route 29 to Newark. In 1953, the western terminus of Route 28 was moved to the intersection of the current CR 614 and Route 22, in Branchburg Township. Sometime after 1990 it was moved east to its current location to allow for more local control of speed limits along Easton Turnpike, and the de-designated stretch was designated CR 614. A portion of the route in Elizabeth was realigned to replace Route 27-28 Link, with the former route becoming Route 439.