County Route 527 (CR 527) is a

county highway A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...

in the U.S. state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. The highway extends from Main Street ( Route 166 and CR 549) in Toms River Township to Pompton Avenue ( Route 23) in Cedar Grove. It passes through more counties (six) than any other county route in New Jersey. CR 527 is also the second longest 500-series county route in New Jersey after Route 519. The county route traverses through the northernmost stretches of the

Pine Barrens Pine barrens, pine plains, sand plains, or pineland areas occur throughout the U.S. from Florida to Maine (see Atlantic coastal pine barrens) as well as the Midwest, West, and Canada and parts of Eurasia. Perhaps the most well known pine-barre ...

, much of the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions (the route provides access to

Monmouth Battlefield State Park Monmouth Battlefield State Park is a New Jersey state park located on the border of Manalapan and Freehold Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. This park preserves the historical battlefield on which the American Revolutio ...

Rutgers University–New Brunswick Rutgers University–New Brunswick is one of three regional campuses of Rutgers University, New Jersey's public research university. It is located in New Brunswick and Piscataway. It is the oldest campus of the university, the others being in ...

Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park is a New Jersey state park along the Delaware and Raritan Canal. History In 1974, most of the canal system was declared a New Jersey state park. It remains one today, and is used for canoeing, kayaking, an ...

Watchung Reservation Watchung Reservation is the largest nature reserve in Union County, New Jersey, United States. Covering 1,945 acres, it is bounded by the city of Summit, the borough of Mountainside, and the townships of Berkeley Heights, Scotch Plains, and ...

, and

South Mountain Reservation South Mountain Reservation, covering 2,110, 2,112, 2,000, 2,100, or 2,047 acres (8.539, 8.546, 8.094, 8.498, or 8.284 km2) depending on who you ask, is a nature reserve on the Rahway River that is part of the Essex County Park System, New Jersey, ...

), and the First and Second Watchung Mountains. It passes through

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, and

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

counties on the eastern side of the state. It has a 2.48 mile concurrency with Route 18 in Middlesex County in addition to other minor state highways and county roads. The route interchanges with the

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jersey ...

and Interstates 195, 95 (

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not consi ...

287 Year 287 (Roman numerals, CCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequ ...

, 78, and

280 __NOTOC__ Year 280 ( CCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Gratus (or, less frequently, year 1033 '' ...

. It was first given the number 527 in 1954.

Route description

CR 527 begins at a traffic light with New Jersey Route 166 in Toms River. Passing some local roads at the beginning, CR 527 crosses an interchange with the

at .53 of a mile (). More than a mile later,

New Jersey Route 37 Route 37 is a state highway located in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The route runs from Lakehurst at a traffic circle with Route 70 to an interchange with Route 35 in Seaside Heights. A two– to six–lane divided highway ...

crosses 527 at a traffic light. Continuing through Toms River Township,

CR 571 County Route 571 (CR 571) is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from Route 37 in Toms River Township to Route 27 in Princeton. Though it is designated a north–south county route by the New Jersey Department ...

merges into 527 for about 3/4 of a mile. At , State Route 70 crosses CR 527. Just past ten miles (16 km), CR 547 crosses in Jackson Township. Further in Jackson Township, CR 527 joins CR 528 for a concurrency. At the end of the concurrency, CR 527 continues straight while CR 528 leaves to the left and CR 626 (Bennetts Mills Road) leaves to the right. At , CR 526 and CR 527 intersect. Less than a mile later, Interstate 195 interchanges with CR 527. Past this interchange, the route passes east of the Jackson Township Park & Ride, a

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...

facility serving

Academy Bus Lines Academy Bus Lines is a bus company in New Jersey providing local bus services in northern New Jersey, line-run services to/from New York City from points in southern and central New Jersey, and contract and charter service in the eastern United ...

. At , CR 527 leaves Ocean County and enters Monmouth County. In Smithburg (the

Freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple *Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...

Millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

/ Manalapan township border), County Routes 524 and

537 __NOTOC__ Year 537 ( DXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Second year after the Consulship of Belisarius (or, less frequently, year 1290 ...

cross. Past at Carrs Corner, CR 527 turns to the right heading northeast while an

alternate route An official alternate route is a special route in the United States that provides an alternate alignment for a highway. They are loop roads and found in many road systems in the United States including the U.S. Highway system and various state an ...

to 527, CR 527A begins straight ahead. At ,

New Jersey Route 33 Route 33 is a state highway in the central part of the US state of New Jersey. The highway extends , from an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (US 1) and Route 129 in Trenton, Mercer County, east to an intersection with Route 71 in Neptune, ...

crosses at a traffic light in Manalapan. CR 527 heads north enters Englishtown. In Englishtown, CR 527 reaches the northern terminus of CR 527A at South Main Street and later forms a concurrency with CR 522. At , CR 527 re-enters Manalapan for a short distance. At , CR 527 enters Monroe Township which is in Middlesex County. 527 spends a short time in Monroe as it soon enters the township of Old Bridge. At , CR 520 crosses at a traffic light. After passing local roads in Old Bridge, CR 527 forms a brief concurrency with CR 516 as they cross over Route 18. CR 527 leaves to the left at Old Matawan Road, crosses the South River, and enters the Old Bridge section of East Brunswick. After the intersection with CR 615, it continues on Old Bridge Turnpike into East Brunswick and South River. Just before , CR 535 crosses 527 at a traffic light. Entering East Brunswick again, Route 18 and CR 527 merge for 2.48 miles (6 km). In this section, there are exits for Interstate 95 (the New Jersey Turnpike) and

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...

. CR 527 follows Route 18 into

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

and exits the concurrency with Route 18 and forms one for the entire length of Route 172 through

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

's Douglass Campus. Heading northwest along New Brunswick's George Street, CR 527 then merges into a concurrency with

Route 27 Route 27, or Highway 27, may refer to: Australia * Burke Developmental Road (Queensland) * Zeehan Highway (Tasmania) Canada * Alberta Highway 27 * British Columbia Highway 27 * Manitoba Highway 27 * Prince Edward Island Route 27 * Saskatchew ...

on Albany Street. CR 527 turns off Route 27 at Easton Avenue. At Hamilton Street (unsigned CR 514), CR 527 continues past numerous businesses towards the outskirts of New Brunswick. At , CR 527 enters Franklin Township, Somerset County and approximately a half-mile later, CR 527 splits into a four-lane highway, known locally as Easton Avenue. The stretch does not last long as it ends at about . At , the roads split again and soon reach

Interstate 287 Interstate 287 (I-287) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US states of New Jersey and New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey and the counties of Rockland and Westchester in ...

. At , CR 527 crosses the town border and enters

South Bound Brook South Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,563,Bound Brook, the road divides again into a divided highway at . The divided highway merges again at about . At , Route 28 crosses. After the intersection with Route 28, CR 527 enters Bridgewater and crosses with

U.S. Route 22 U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a west–east route and is one of the original United States highways of 1926, running from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jersey, at U.S. Route 1/9 in the Newark Airport Intercha ...

. In Watchung, CR 529 leaves to the right. Just past the mark, the road divides again for a short time. In between this divided stage, CR 531 merges in. 531 leaves as the highways merge again. Now in Union County, CR 527 has two partial interchanges with

Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland Tunn ...

as it skirts the

. In the city of

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

, CR 527 and the easternmost section of CR 512 split into

one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...

s through an interchange with Route 24 and a concurrency with Route 124. CR 527 enters Essex County after the concurrency ends. CR 527 enters Millburn and splits into one-way pairs again, concurrent with CR 577 as it enters downtown. At , CR 577 leaves to the right. Just before , CR 510 crosses. The road passes by St. Barnabas Medical Center. At , CR 508 crosses at a traffic light as the route enters

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

New Jersey Route 10 Route 10 is a state highway in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It runs from an intersection with U.S. Route 46 (US 46) in Roxbury Township, Morris County east to County Route 577 (CR 577)/CR 677 (Prospect Avenue) in Wes ...

crosses at and then

I-280 Interstate 280 may refer to multiple highways, all of which are or were related to Interstate 80: * Interstate 280 (California), a north–south freeway running from San Jose to San Francisco * Interstate 280 (Iowa–Illinois), part of the beltway ...

crosses at . In Caldwell, CR 527 merges with CR 506 for about .62 of a mile (). CR 527 ends at an intersection with Route 23 in Cedar Grove.

History

From the New-East Brunswick Line to Old Bridge, the road was once maintained by the East Brunswick and New Brunswick Turnpike Company, chartered in 1865. It was once part of State Route S-24, now Route 18, though this was bypassed. The New Brunswick section of CR 527 was known as County Route 3R11 back in 1947. The parts south of that in Middlesex County was known as County Route 3R10.1947 Map of Middlesex County
/ref> By 1954, the road was known as County Route 527, part of the 500-series county roads adopted by the state of New Jersey.Front of a 1953 Map of Middlesex County
/ref> Two former spur routes of CR 527 existed. The first CR 527 Spur in Somerset County ran along what is now Somerset CR 651, CR 512, and Somerset CR 613. The second CR 527 Spur ran along what is now Essex County Routes 608 and 649.

Major intersections

CR 527A

County Route 527A (also known as County Route 527 Alternate or CR 527A) is a

in Monmouth County,

. The highway extends about from Sweetmans Lane (County Routes 527 and 1) in Carrs Corner, New Jersey, on the border of

and Manalapan townships, following Woodville Road, Iron Ore Road, High Bridge Road, and South Main Street to Park Avenue / South Main Street in Englishtown. It crosses Route 33 about halfway between its two termini. The section of the highway named Iron Ore Road was once part of the Manalapanville and Englishtown Turnpike, chartered in 1863 to run from Englishtown to Manalapanville, on the border of Millstone, including High Bridge Road and Main Street into Englishtown and Dugan's Grove Road. Near its northern terminus, CR 527A formerly followed Iron Ore Road to its end at Millhurst Road (CR 527) in Manalapan, but in late 2015, a jurisdiction swap between Monmouth County and Manalapan / Englishtown routed the county road on a straighter course into the borough. Major intersections

References

External links

{{commons cat, County Route 527 (New Jersey)
NJ State Highways: CR 515-530CR 527 pictures