Route 64 is a state highway in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

. It is a state-maintained bridge over

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

's Northeast Corridor line in West Windsor. Route 64 begins at an intersection with County Route 526 and County Route 571 in West Windsor. It heads along the bridge to an intersection with County Route 615, where Route 64 ends. County Routes 526 and 571, which are concurrent with Route 64, continues to

Hightstown Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,494,U.S. Route 206) from Princeton eastward to Hightstown, where it met State Highway Route 33. The state planned on turning the alignment into a full-fledged expressway for several decades, including constructing the alignment that Route 64 currently uses in 1939. The route was amended in 1941, and was renumbered from Route 31A to Route 64 in the 1953 renumbering. Route 64 was proposed to become part of the Princeton–Hightstown Bypass (later designated Route 92), but completion never occurred. Currently, the route remains the bridge over the Northeast Corridor. However, it is not currently planned that Route 64 will receive an extension of sorts from the proposed Penns Neck Bypass to U.S. Route 1, a proposed realignment of County Routes 526 and 571.

Route description

Route 64 begins at an intersection with County Route 526, County Route 571, and Mercer County Route 615 in the community of West Windsor. From this point, County Routes 526 and 571 continue along the right-of-way towards U.S. Route 130. The route heads north and crosses over

's Northeast Corridor before it passes to the north of a local bus depot. Route 64 continues westward for a short distance, crossing through a local woodland and behind several local homes. The route makes a gradual curve to the west off the railroad bridge and passes behind a couple of homes before heading to the south slightly at an intersection. Route 64 reaches its northern terminus and County Route 526 and County Route 571 make a right turn to head northwest toward

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 ...

and

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

History

Route 31A and the original freeway

In the late-1920s, the state proposed a bypass along the alignment. In 1938, the

New Jersey State Highway Department The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...

and

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

put forth a proposal detailing that a highway from State Highway Route 31 (co-signed with U.S. Route 206) in the city of

eastward through Mercer County onto current-day County Route 571. From there, it would follow an alignment of highway to the intersection with State Highway Route 33 in the community of

Hightstown Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,494, A portion of the highway was constructed in 1939, when a bridge over the Pennsylvania Railroad was constructed from Washington Road's former alignment to the current intersection with Route 615. This new, bridge replaced the at-grade crossing on Washington Road, which is now a dead-end. The state highway law was amended just three years later, with the freeway option removed and the extensions remaining. The new bridge remained in place along Route 31A, however, no new portions of the freeway were constructed in terms of creating the Route 31A Freeway, as proposed in 1938. In 1950, then-governor of New Jersey,

Alfred E. Driscoll Alfred Eastlack Driscoll (October 25, 1902 – March 9, 1975) was an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey Senate (1939–1941) representing Camden County, who served as the 43rd governor of New Jersey, and as ...

, cited the need for the expressway as an important truck and passenger car highway from Trenton to the Jersey Shore. Route 31A itself was decommissioned 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 ...

, and replaced by the designation of Route 64. The route was truncated from both ends toward Princeton and Hightstown, leaving just the bridge in West Windsor.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1953, Chapter 112, Page 1298, Section 1. Route 31A remained in the state highway statutes for several decades after decommissioning, with a bill in 1991 being proposed. The bill passed, and Route 31A was stripped from the statutes on January 18, 1992.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1991, Page 1298, Section 2.

Route 92 and future changes to CR 571

Route 64, after designation in 1953, remained a short bridge along the highway. However, the need for an expressway from Trenton to the Jersey Shore remained, and in the late 1950s, the State Highway Department brought about plans for the Princeton–Hightstown Bypass, a four-lane freeway that would head for from U.S. Route 206 in Montgomery Township to

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, ...

in Hightstown. In the length, the freeway was to interchange with

, U.S. Route 130 and

New Jersey Route 27 Route 27 is a state highway in New Jersey, United States. It runs from U.S. Route 206 (US 206) in Princeton, Mercer County northeast to an interchange with Route 21 (McCarter Highway) and Broad Street in Newark, Essex County. The route p ...

. The route was re-designated as Route 92, and remained a high priority project for several decades. Even after changes in alignment, Route 64 was still an alternative. However, Route 92 was shelved on December 1, 2006 in favor of widening the New Jersey Turnpike mainline, and only

New Jersey Route 133 Route 133 (also known as the Hightstown Bypass) is a short state freeway located entirely in East Windsor Township, Mercer County, New Jersey in the United States. The route runs as a four-lane bypass of Hightstown from County Route 571 (CR& ...

was constructed for the proposal. As part of the proposed

Penns Neck Bypass Penns may refer to: *Penns, Mississippi, a village in Lowndes County *Penns Grove, New Jersey, a borough in Salem County *Penns Hall, a hotel and country club in England *Penns railway station, a former station in the West Midlands, England In Pen ...

on U.S. Route 1, the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transporta ...

plans on realigning County Route 571 and Route 526 from the western terminus of Route 64 to a northerly route to Route 1. Although Route 571 and Route 526 are proposed to be realigned onto the new alignment, there is no designated change proposed for Route 64. On the contrary to this, one state figure shows Route 64 running along Washington Road, where the two county routes currently run.

Major intersections

References

External links

* * * {{good article 064 Transportation in Mercer County, New Jersey State highways in the United States shorter than one mile Articles containing video clips