New Jersey Route 81
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| Route 81 |
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| Maintained by NJDOT and NJTA | |||||||||
| Length: | 1.18 mi[1] (1.90 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1970 | ||||||||
| South end: |   I-95/NJTP in Elizabeth |
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| North end: |  US 1-9 in Elizabeth |
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Route 81 is a state highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the unsigned connector between Exit 13A of the New Jersey Turnpike and the concurrency of U.S. 1-9 near Newark Airport. It runs for 1.18 miles (1.90 km), entirely within the City of Elizabeth.
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[edit] Route description
Route 81 is a freeway for its entire length. It southern terminus is at the toll plaza for exit 13A of the New Jersey Turnpike, near Jersey Gardens and Elizabeth Center. Exit and entrance ramps just north of the toll plaza serve North Avenue and the aforementioned malls. From there, the freeway heads northwest, interchanging with Dowd Avenue, before reaching its terminus at U.S. Routes 1 and 9. South of the terminus, ramps allow Route 81 traffic to access either the local or express lanes of US 1/9, as well as having direct access to Newark International Airport.
The northern terminus of Route 81 is located just south of the Elizabeth–Newark city line.
[edit] History
The original plan for what is now Route 81, floated about 1965, was to connect the airport with Elizabeth Seaport, bypassing Humboldt Avenue, which at the time was designated as Route 164. (Humboldt Avenue is no longer a state highway.) The road would run parallel to the Turnpike from Exit 13 north to the vicinity of North Avenue, and then head west along the southern edge of the airport to U.S. 1 & 9, which was already being upgraded into a freeway. There are still ramp stubs standing that would have accommodated this alignment.
The city of Elizabeth had already been split by the Turnpike and resisted the notion of a parallel highway tearing the city up further. As a compromise, the Turnpike Authority built interchange 13A as a connection to a shorter Route 81, which opened in June 1982. The only designation of the road on state signage is an overhead traffic light sign at Dowd Avenue and one of the highway's ramps.
Exit 13A, in turn, revitalized the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal area. A retail center has arisen on the east side of the Turnpike, accessible via North Avenue, one of the exits off Route 81.
Route 81 was initially numbered Route 76, but was renumbered when Interstate 80S became Interstate 76.
[edit] Exit list
| County | Location | Mile[1] | Roads intersected | Notes |
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| Union | Elizabeth | 0.00 | I-95 / NJTP |
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| 0.20 | North Avenue east – Elizabeth Seaport, Jersey Gardens | |||
| 0.44 | North Avenue west, Dowd Avenue | |||
| 0.49 | Newark Airport | |||
| 0.7 | US 1-9 south – Elizabeth, Trenton |
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| 1.18 | US 1-9 north – New York City |
[edit] References
- ^ a b NJ 81 Straight Line Diagram PDF file from the New Jersey Department of Transportation
