New Jersey Route 7
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NJDOT, Township of Nutley, and Passaic County | ||||
| Length | 10.16 mi[1] (16.35 km) | |||
| Existed | 1927–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
 CR 508 in Kearny NJ 17 in North Arlington NJ 21 in BellevilleNewark/Belleville border | ||||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New Jersey | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
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 lists Route 7 as a single north-south highway with a small gap between the alignments. The entire highway has a combined length of 10.16 mi (16.35 km)[1]
The southern section of Route 7, which runs from Jersey City to Belleville, passes through industrial areas, the New Jersey Meadowlands, and some residential and business areas.[2] West of the interchange with County Route 508 in Kearny, Route 7 is the Belleville Turnpike, a historic road created in 1759.[3] 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.[4] A portion of the route in Nutley is municipally maintained while the portion within Clifton is maintained by Passaic County.[1] 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.
Route 7 was established in 1927 to run from Jersey City to Paterson, replacing Pre-1927 Route 11 between Belleville and Paterson.[5][6] 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 realigned to follow its current alignment.[5]
Route description
Southern section
The first section of Route 7 begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 1-9 Truck and County Route 645 (Charlotte Avenue) in Jersey City, Hudson County, heading to the west on a four-lane highway that is signed east-west.[1] At milepost 0.42, the route crosses the Hackensack River on the Wittpenn Bridge into Kearny. Route 7 interchanges with County Route 659 (Fish House Road) at 0.56 miles and widens to a six-lane divided highway. The route than passes by industrial areas and a railroad yard and at milepost 1.40, it interchanges with County Route 508.[2][1] Past this interchange, Route 7 becomes the four-lane, divided Belleville Turnpike. The route narrows to a two-lane, undivided road and heads northwest into the New Jersey Meadowlands, passing under the mainline of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) at mile marker 2.20 and the western spur of the New Jersey Turnpike at 2.72 miles.[2][1]
Route 7 continues northwest, widens into a divided highway, and forms the border of Kearny to the south and North Arlington, Bergen County to the north, entering a more residential environment.[2][1] The route is signed north-south along the border of Kearny and North Arlington.[7] At 4.22 miles, it intersects Schuyler Avenue, which runs as County Route 507 to the south of Route 7 and County Route 130 to the north of Route 7. County Route 507 joins Route 7 at this intersection and the two routes continue west, meeting the southern terminus of Route 17 (Ridge Road) and the northern terminus of County Route 697 (Kearny Avenue) at mile marker 4.74. At 5.22 miles, County Route 507 splits from Route 7 by heading north on River Road, County Route 699 heads to the south on Passaic Avenue, and Route 7 continues west, crossing the Passaic River on a drawbridge at milepost 5.32 into Belleville, Essex County, where the first section of Route 7 ends at an intersection with Route 21 at mile marker 5.35.[1]
Northern section
The second section of Route 7, designated a north-south road, heads north on Washington Avenue from the Second River crossing on the Newark/Belleville border at mile marker 6.05, passing through a business district.[4] At milepost 6.40, the route intersects County Route 506 (Belleville Avenue), and that route forms a concurrency with Route 7 that lasts one block to the intersection with Rutgers Street at 6.48 miles, where County Route 506 heads to the east. [1] Rutgers Street is used to connect the two sections of Route 7 and is named for Colonel Henry Rutgers, an American Revolutionary War hero and benefactor of what is now Rutgers University. It is signed as but not officially part of Route 7. Route 7 is not signed on Washington Avenue between the Second River and Rutgers Street except on overhead signs suspended from traffic signals.[8]
From Rutgers Street, Route 7 continues north, crossing into Nutley at mile marker 7.84.[1] At the intersection with County Route 646 (Park Avenue), Route 7 turns into a municipally maintained road and enters a more residential area.[9][1] Upon intersecting County Route 606 (Kingsland Road) at milepost 9.25, Route 7 crosses into Clifton, Passaic County and heads to the west on county-maintained Kingsland Street signed east-west.[1][8] It crosses back into Nutley, Essex County at 9.40 miles and regains state maintenance. At the intersection with County Route 644 at mile marker 10.01, Route 7 turns north onto Cathedral Avenue and comes to its terminus at the Nutley/Clifton border at 10.16 miles less than one-half mile from an interchange with Route 3.[1]
History
The Belleville Turnpike was created in 1759 as a turnpike made out of cedar logs and was chartered in 1808.[3][10] It served as a part of the Underground Railroad route for escaped slaves to get to Jersey City.[11] The northern segment of Route 7 was originally a part of Pre-1927 Route 11, which was legislated in 1917 to run from Newark to Paterson.[12] In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 7 was designated to run from Jersey City to Paterson, replacing Pre-1927 Route 11 between Belleville and Paterson.[5][6]
In 1929, the routing was amended to run from Route 25 (now U.S. Route 1/9 Truck) in Jersey City to Route 3 in Wallington .[5] Route 7 was extended north in 1949 to continue to Route 6 (now U.S. Route 46) in East Paterson (now Elmwood Park).[5] In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 7 was legislated onto its current alignment, with the northern terminus moved to the Nutley/Clifton border.[5] The route was also realigned to head south on Washington Avenue between the Newark border and Rutgers Street in Belleville on what was Route 11N, a remnant of Pre-1927 Route 11, making Route 7 discontinuous.[13] County Route 506 used to follow the southern portion of Route 7 but has been truncated to the intersection with Routes 7 and 21 in Belleville.[14][15]
Major intersections
| County | Location | Mile[1] | Road(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson | Jersey City | 0.00 |     US 1-9 Truck / CR 645 north (Charlotte Avenue)
|
Eastern terminus | |
| 0.42 | Wittpenn Bridge over Hackensack River | ||||
| Kearny | 0.56 |   CR 659 west (Fish House Road)
|
Interchange | ||
| 1.40 |  CR 508 west (Harrison Street)
|
Interchange | |||
| Hudson/Bergen | Kearny/North Arlington | 4.22 |     CR 507 south / CR 130 north (Schuyler Avenue)
|
South end of CR 507 overlap | |
| 4.74 |   Route 17 north (Ridge Road) / CR 697 south (Kearny Avenue)
|
||||
| 5.22 |  CR 507 north (River Road) / CR 699 south (Passaic Avenue)
|
North end of CR 507 overlap | |||
| Essex | Belleville | 5.35 |  Route 21
|
Interchange; Northern terminus of first section | |
| 6.05 | Newark/Belleville border | Southern terminus of second section | |||
| 6.40 |  CR 506 west (Belleville Avenue)
|
South end of CR 506 overlap | |||
| 6.48 |  CR 506 east (Rutgers Street)
|
North end of CR 506 overlap | |||
| Nutley | 10.16 | Nutley/Clifton border | Northern terminus | ||
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Route 7 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ a b c d Map of Kearny area (Map). Google Maps. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ a b "Town of Kearny History". Town of Kearny. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ a b Map of Belleville area (Map). Google Maps. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ a b c d e f Alpert, Steve. "New Jersey Roads – NJ State Highways – 5-10". Alps’ Roads. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ a b Williams, Jimmy and Sharon. "1927 New Jersey Road Map". 1920s New Jersey Highways. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ Belleville Turnpike and Schuyler Avenue, North Arlington, NJ (Map). Cartography by TeleAtlas. Google Street View. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- ^ a b Alpert, Steve. "New Jersey Roads – NJ 7/CR 506". Alps' Roads. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ Map of Nutley area (Map). Google Maps. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- ^ Murphy, John L. "Index of Colonial and State Laws Between the Years 1663 and 1877 Inclusive". Retrieved 2008-11-11.
{{cite web}}: Text "publisherGoogle Book Search" ignored (help) - ^ Wiggins, Genene P. (March 14, 1994). "Danger-filled path to freedom led slaves through Jersey City". Jersey Journal. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Williams, Jimmy and Sharon. "NJ 1920s Route 11-". 1920s New Jersey Highways. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ^ Alpert, Steve. "New Jersey Roads – NJ State Highways – 11-24". Alps’ Roads. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ Alpert, Steve. "New Jersey Roads – NJ State Highways – CR 200-514". Alps’ Roads. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ Hudson County Road Map – Sheet 2 (Map). Rutgers University Cartography Services. 1965. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
External links
