state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in
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 ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
that is a designation for an old section of
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 Interchange ...
(US 22). The route runs from
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 ...
Hunterdon County
Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,Route 31. Route 173 parallels I-78 and US 22 for its entire length through rural areas of Warren and Hunterdon counties, passing through the towns of
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
and
Clinton
Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...
along the way. At one point just to the west of Clinton, Route 173 runs
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with I-78 and US 22.
The route was originally part of pre-1927 Route 9 from 1916 until 1927, when it became part of US 22 and
Route 28
Highway 28 may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland Highway
* Mountain Highway (Victoria)
* - NT
Canada
* Alberta Highway 28
* British Columbia Highway 28
* Nova Scotia Trunk 28
* Ontario Highway 28
* Saskatchewan Highway 28
China Taiwan
* Provi ...
. The Route 28 designation was removed from this portion of road in 1953. When I-78 was being built between exits 11 and 13 in the 1950s and 1960s, it was decided that part of US 22 would be used for the new highway. The eastbound lanes of US 22 became the westbound lanes of the new highway, the eastbound lanes of the new highway were newly constructed, and the westbound lanes of US 22 were turned into a two-lane road. In 1969, US 22 was moved to the alignment of I-78 between Pohatcong Township and Clinton Township and Route 173 was designated along most of the former alignment of US 22.
Route description
Route 173 begins at an interchange 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 ...
and
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 Interchange ...
in Pohatcong Township, Warren County, where the route continues to the northwest as part of U.S. Route 22, a six-lane, divided highway that heads towards Phillipsburg. From this interchange, Route 173 heads east on a two-lane, undivided road that parallels Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 to the south, immediately entering Greenwich Township and passing through farmland and some suburban residential developments. County Route 644 (Greenwich Church Road) loops to the north of Route 173 as the route features three crossings of the
Pohatcong Creek Pohatcong Creek (also called the Pohatcong River) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in northwestern New Jersey in the United ...
. Route 173 intersects County Route 637 (Main Street/Maple Drive), County Route 639 (Warren Glen Road), and the northern terminus of County Route 579 (Church Street). Past the County Route 579 intersection, the route parallels the Musconetcong River and intersects County Route 632 (Asbury Road), which provides access to westbound Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22.
Route 173 crosses the Musconetcong River into
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
,
Hunterdon County
Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,Bethlehem Township and passes under Norfolk Southern's Central Running Track line, continuing east through farmland The route parallels Norfolk Southern's Lehigh Line for a short distance, running farther to the north of Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22, before intersecting County Route 643 (West Portal-Asbury Road). Past this intersection, Route 173 heads south and then east through the
Musconetcong Mountains
Musconetcong Mountain is a ridge in the Highlands region of New Jersey running south of and parallel to the Musconetcong River. The ridge travels through Alexandria, Holland, Bethlehem and Lebanon Township.
Prominent Features
*Point Mountain, 935 ...
as a five-lane road with a center left-turn lane. The route crosses into Union Township, where it becomes Old Highway 22.
The route becomes a divided highway and meets County Route 614 (Little York Road) at a
traffic circle
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection (road), intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The N ...
near an interchange with Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22. Route 173 has direct ramps to and from the westbound direction of the interstate with access to and from the eastbound direction provided by way of County Route 614. Route 173 narrows back to a two-lane, undivided road and closely follows Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 to the north, meeting County Route 625 (Mechlin Corner Road) and County Route 635 (Charlestown Road) near another interchange with Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22. There is direct access to and from the westbound direction of Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 while access to and from the eastbound direction of Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 is provided by County Route 625. The route continues east and splits into a
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 ...
. At this point, eastbound Route 173 crosses over Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 and makes a left turn to merge onto eastbound Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22. The westbound direction of Route 173 splits from Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 and continues west to join back with eastbound Route 173.
Route 173 follows Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 for a little over a mile in Franklin Township until an interchange County Route 513 (Pittstown Road), where the eastbound direction merges onto this route and heads into
Clinton
Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...
. It meets the westbound direction of Route 173, which splits at this point and heads west on West Main Street to merge into westbound Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 in Union Township. In Clinton, Route 173 crosses over the
South Branch Raritan River
The South Branch Raritan River is a tributary of the Raritan River in New Jersey.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002.
Description
The source of the South Branch is the outflow from Budd Lake, a glacial remnant locate ...
and splits from County Route 513 where that route heads north on Leigh Street. The route crosses into Clinton Township and it features ramps connecting to Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22, with access from westbound Route 173 to westbound Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 and from eastbound Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 to eastbound Route 173. Route 173 turns north to interchange with Route 31 and end at County Route 626 (Beaver Avenue).
1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering
In 1927, New Jersey's state highways were renumbered. The old system, which had been defined in sequence by the legislature since 1916, was growing badly, as several routes shared the same number, and many unnumbered state highways had been d ...
, the route became
Route 28
Highway 28 may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland Highway
* Mountain Highway (Victoria)
* - NT
Canada
* Alberta Highway 28
* British Columbia Highway 28
* Nova Scotia Trunk 28
* Ontario Highway 28
* Saskatchewan Highway 28
China Taiwan
* Provi ...
.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319. In addition, it was also designated as part of
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 Interchange ...
. In the
1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering
On January 1, 1953, the New Jersey Highway Department renumbered many of the State Routes. This renumbering was first proposed in 1951 in order to reduce confusion to motorists. A few rules were followed in deciding what to renumber:
*No state ro ...
, which eliminated long concurrencies between U.S. and State Routes, the Route 28 designation was removed along this portion of the route, leaving U.S. Route 22 the sole number along the route. In the late 1950s, construction began on
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 ...
through the area. Construction of the portion of Interstate 78 built between Exit 11 (County Route 614) and Exit 13 in Union Township, completed in 1962, modified the alignment of U.S. Route 22 between these two points. It involved the creation of new eastbound lanes for Interstate 78 and conversion of the eastbound lanes of U.S. Route 22 into the westbound lanes of Interstate 78. The westbound lanes of U.S. Route 22 were turned into a two-lane frontage road. In 1969, U.S. Route 22 was moved to the Interstate 78 alignment between Exit 3 in Pohatcong Township and Exit 18 in Clinton Township. The former U.S. Route 22 became Route 173 between Exit 3 and Route 31 in Clinton Township, with the remainder of the former U.S. Route 22 alignment becoming county-maintained Beaver Avenue (currently County Route 626).
173
Year 173 ( CLXXIII) 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 Year of the Consulship of Severus and Pompeianus (or, less frequently, year 926 ''Ab urbe ...