New Jersey Route 7

Route 7
Two segments of Route 7 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT, Township of Nutley, and Passaic County
Length	9.46 mi[1] (15.22 km)
Existed	1927–present
Southern section
Length	5.35 mi[1] (8.61 km)
East end	US 1-9 / US 1-9 Truck / Route 139 in Jersey City
Major intersections	CR 508 in Kearny Route 17 in North Arlington
West end	Route 21 / CR 506 in Belleville
Northern section
Length	4.11 mi[1] (6.61 km)
South end	Broadway in Belleville
North end	Route 3 in Nutley
Location
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Counties	Hudson, Bergen, Essex, Passaic
Highway system
New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← Route 6 → Route 8

Route 7 is a state highway in the northern part of New Jersey in the United States. It has two sections, an east–west alignment running from U.S. Route 1/9 Truck in Jersey City to Route 21 in Belleville, and a north–south alignment running from the Newark/Belleville to the Nutley/Clifton border. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) lists Route 7 as a single north–south highway with a small gap between the alignments. The entire highway has a combined length of 9.46 mi (15.22 km).

The southern section of Route 7, which runs from Jersey City west-northwest to Belleville, passes through industrial areas, the New Jersey Meadowlands, Arlington Memorial Park, and some residential and business areas. West of the interchange with County Route 508 in Kearny, Route 7 is the Belleville Turnpike, a historic road created in 1759. The northern section of Route 7 runs north through residential and business areas of Belleville and Nutley into Clifton, where it turns west and crosses back into Nutley, briefly turning to the north to come to its northern terminus. A portion of the route in Nutley is municipally maintained while the portion within Clifton is maintained by Passaic County. The two separate sections of Route 7 are linked by County Route 506 (Rutgers Street) in Belleville, which is signed as Route 7 despite the fact it is not officially part of the route. There is inconsistency between the official NJDOT diagram and what is signed on the road; the signage suggests that Route 7 is really one continuous route that also extends even further north to Route 3 via Kingsland Road and Cathedral Ave, and many navigation systems also indicate this. However, the NJDOT has not updated the definition of Route 7 past a 2-segment highway.

Route 7 was established in 1927 to run from Jersey City to Paterson, replacing pre-1927 Route 11 between Belleville and Paterson. The routing was amended in 1929 to head to Route 3 in Wallington and was extended north to Route 6 (now U.S. Route 46) in East Paterson in 1949. In 1953, the route was modified to follow its current alignment.