U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a U.S. highway stretching from

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

in the west to Newark,

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 Delawa ...

in the east. In New Jersey, the route runs for from the Easton–Phillipsburg Toll Bridge over the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before ...

in Phillipsburg, Warren County to

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 T ...

(I-78), US 1/9, and Route 21 at the Newark Airport Interchange in Newark, Essex County. The road first heads through the Phillipsburg-

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whi ...

area as a surface

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

before running concurrent with I-78 through mountainous and agricultural sections of western New Jersey between Alpha and east of Clinton in

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,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 , lor ...

, Union, and Essex counties. Along this portion, it intersects US 202 and US 206 in Somerville,

I-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 N ...

in Bridgewater Township, and 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 Jerse ...

in Union. What became US 22 in 1926 was first designated as pre-1927 Route 9, a route running from Phillipsburg to Elizabeth, in 1916. In 1927, pre-1927 Route 9 west of Elizabeth 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 * Prov ...

while the portion within Elizabeth became Route 27-28 Link. By 1941, US 22 was moved to its current alignment in the Phillipsburg area, following Route 24 and Route 24-28 Link; Route 28 in Phillipsburg became US 22 Alternate (now Route 122). Also, US 22 was moved off Route 28 east of Bridgewater Township to follow Route 28-29 Link and Route 29 to Newark. In 1953, the long concurrencies with the state highways were removed. In the 1960s, I-78 was constructed close to the US 22 corridor throughout New Jersey. US 22 was moved onto the new Interstate between Alpha and Clinton in 1969 with most of the old route becoming Route 173.

Route description

Phillipsburg to Annandale

US 22 enters

from

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river that joins the Delaware Ri ...

on the Easton–Phillipsburg Toll Bridge over the

and

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

's Portland Secondary line. It heads into Phillipsburg, Warren County as a four-lane undivided road maintained by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC), eventually becoming a

. East of the bridge, the westbound lanes pass through the bridge toll plaza, and the route has an eastbound exit and westbound entrance for Broad and Main Streets. From the previous exit, US 22 runs eastward as a brief limited-access road maintained by 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 transportat ...

(NJDOT) that ends in an interchange with Morris Street and Hillcrest Boulevard. At this point, the route becomes at-grade Memorial Boulevard; a commercial four to six-lane divided thoroughfare with a wide median consisting of

U-turn A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180° rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others, it is treated as a ...

ramps and

jughandle A jughandle is a type of ramp or slip road that changes the way traffic turns left at an at-grade intersection (in a country where traffic drives on the right). Instead of a standard left turn being made from the left lane, left-turning traffic ...

s. The median narrows as the road forms the border between Lopatcong Township to the north and Phillipsburg to the south. The route fully enters Lopatcong Township and comes to an interchange with Route 57, with an eastbound exit and a westbound entrance. After passing the Route 57 junction, US 22 takes a southeasterly turn and passes over the Washington Secondary line that is owned by Norfolk Southern and operated by the

Dover and Delaware River Railroad The Dover and Delaware River Railroad is a short-line railroad operating along of track in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey between Phillipsburg and Newark. It was created in 2019 to take over local freight operations from N ...

before entering an agricultural area. The route forms the border between Pohatcong Township to the west and Greenwich Township to the east as it passes to the east of the Phillipsburg Mall. A short distance later, US 22 intersects CR 519 before heading back into a business district and meeting CR 638. East of

, the route intersects Route 122, which is the final junction of the at-grade section of US 22. Past the Route 122 intersection, US 22 has an interchange with exit 3 of

I-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 T ...

and the western endpoint of Route 173. From there, US 22 is concurrent with I-78 through a mountainous and rural area of western New Jersey. I-78/US 22 follow a six-lane freeway east through Greenwich Township, coming to a westbound exit and eastbound entrance with CR 637. The road turns southeast and has an eastbound exit and westbound entrance with CR 632 in Franklin Township. Within the ramps for this interchange, there are

weigh station A weigh station is a checkpoint along a highway to inspect vehicular weights and safety compliance criteria. Usually, trucks and commercial vehicles are subject to the inspection. Weigh stations are equipped with truck scales, some of which are ...

s in both directions. A short distance after this interchange, I-78/US 22 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 ...

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, with Route 173 closely running to the north of I-78/US 22. The road comes to a bridge over Norfolk Southern's Central Running Track line and has

rest area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names include motorway serv ...

s in both directions before it passes over Norfolk Southern's Lehigh Line and turns southeast to cross 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 ...

. The freeway turns east again and enters Union Township, coming to an interchange with CR 614 and Route 173. From here, I-78/US 22 continue east directly to the south of Route 173, coming to another interchange with that route as well as CR 625. Entering more commercial areas, Route 173 merges onto I-78/US 22 at exit 13. At exit 15, the highway meets an interchange with CR 513, and Route 173 splits from I-78/US 22 by heading north on CR 513. At this point, the freeway runs along the border of Franklin Township to the south and Clinton to the north before entirely entering Clinton and crossing 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 ...

. I-78/US 22 turns northeast and leaves Clinton for Clinton Township, where it has an eastbound exit and westbound entrance for Route 173 that also provides access to Route 31. Immediately after is the interchange with Route 31. At the next interchange near the community of Annandale, US 22 splits from I-78, heading closely to the south of that route.

Annandale to Somerville

Upon splitting from I-78, US 22 becomes a four-lane at-grade divided highway that runs through rural areas with some development and crosses

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

’s

Raritan Valley Line The Raritan Valley Line is a commuter rail service operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) which serves passengers in municipalities in Union, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties in the Raritan Valley region in central New Jersey, United States. ...

. It enters

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, passing to the north of the town center. Upon leaving Lebanon, the route heads back into Clinton Township. In the community of Potterstown, US 22 enters Readington Township and takes a southeasterly turn away from I-78. Here, the road passes to the southwest of the

Merck Headquarters Building The former Merck & Co. headquarters building is a modernist office building located in the Whitehouse Station section of Readington Township, New Jersey, United States. It was designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates, LLC in the l ...

before reaching the community of Whitehouse Station, where it has a short concurrency with CR 523. Past Whitehouse Station, US 22 continues through a mix of residential and commercial areas. US 22 continues into Branchburg Township, Somerset County, where development near the road increases but remains mostly rural. CR 614 parallels US 22 to the north to pass through the community of North Branch before US 22 intersects CR 637 and crosses the

North Branch Raritan River The North Branch Raritan River is a tributary of the Raritan River in central 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 ...

into Bridgewater Township. In Bridgewater Township, the route comes to an interchange with the eastern terminus of CR 614 and the western terminus of

. Past this interchange, US 22 passes business parks and the Raritan Valley Country Club, widening to six lanes in the process. Afterwards, it comes to an interchange with US 202 and US 206. Past this interchange, US 22 quickly transitions from a rural to a more suburban setting and heads east along the border of Somerville to the south and Bridgewater Township to the north, passing near the Bridgewater Commons shopping mall. The median of the route widens as it runs immediately to the south of

, fully entering Bridgewater Township again as it comes to an interchange with I-287 at exits 14A and 14B.

I-287 to Newark Airport Interchange

East of I-287, US 22 continues east as a four-lane divided highway passing to the south of the Watchung Mountains. The road comes to an interchange with CR 675, where it also passes under Norfolk Southern's Middle Brook Industrial Track line. The route then has an interchange with CR 525, where the wide grassy median narrows to a Jersey barrier. The road continues through wooded surroundings and passes through a portion of Bound Brook, widening back to six lanes before meeting CR 527 at an interchange. From here, the route takes a northeasterly course, entering Bridgewater Township again and narrowing to four lanes before crossing into Green Brook Township while designated a short distance north of the

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

-Somerset County border. US 22 continues through business areas as a highway with jughandles, crossing CR 529. In North Plainfield, the route widens to six lanes and has an interchange with CR 531. Past this interchange, the road continues along the border of Watchung to the west and North Plainfield to the southeast before crossing Green Brook. At this crossing, US 22 heads north-northeast into Scotch Plains, Union County, coming to an interchange with CR 655. The route continues northeast as a four- to five-lane highway, passing near the former

Bowcraft Amusement Park Bowcraft Amusement Park or Bowcraft Playland was a small amusement park located on U.S. Route 22 West in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. At the time of its closing, it contained 21 rides appropriate for both children and adults. Bowcraft Amusement Par ...

. The road continues east through Mountainside, turning northeast before entering Springfield, where it has an interchange with CR 577. Past this interchange, for 1.8 miles US 22 has a wide median that contains commercial businesses and numerous

ramps. In this area, the road comes to a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

with the abandoned

Rahway Valley Railroad The Rahway Valley Railroad (RVRR) was a short-line railroad in the Northeastern United States which connected the Lehigh Valley Railroad in Roselle Park and the Central Railroad of New Jersey in Cranford with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western ...

. It crosses the

Rahway River The Rahway River is a river in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex, Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex, and Union County, New Jersey, Union Counties, New Jersey, United States, The Rahway, along with the Elizabeth River (New Jersey), Elizabeth ...

into Union, where the wide median continues. The route briefly forms the northern border of

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...

before the median narrows back into a Jersey barrier. US 22 splits into two carriageways at the intersection with exits 140 and 140A of the

and Route 82, site of the Union Watersphere. Past this interchange, the route comes to an exit for CR 630 before crossing the Elizabeth River into Hillside, where it heads east through more urban areas. The road has an interchange at Bloy Street before passing over CR 509 and

Conrail Shared Assets Operations Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail ( reporting mark CRCX), an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Area ...

' (CSAO) Irvington Industrial Track line. After an interchange with Broad Street, US 22 turns northeast as a limited-access roadway. It heads into Newark in Essex County, where the highway crosses under CSAO's Lehigh Line, which also carries NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line, and passes through wooded Weequahic Park parallel to the railroad tracks. Past the park, US 22 turns to the east into urban areas and closely runs to the south of I-78, where it comes to an eastbound exit and westbound entrance for Empire Street, which provides access to Route 27. A short distance later, the freeway has a direct westbound exit and eastbound entrance with Route 27. Past this interchange, US 22 continues parallel to I-78, passing 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 The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...

before reaching the Newark Airport Interchange; south of

downtown Newark Downtown Newark is the Central Business District of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark located at a bend in the Passaic River. The first settlers, led by Robert ...

and northwest of

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Cou ...

. US 22 eastbound merges with US 1-9, with one southbound ramp and two northbound ramps (one for local and another for express lanes). The main line follows the US 1-9 local northbound ramp for another , with an intermediate exit for Route 21. The official eastern terminus of US 22 is at the ramp split for I-78 and northbound US 1-9.

History

The portion of US 22 between Phillipsburg and Somerville roughly follows the alignment of the Jersey Turnpike, which was chartered in 1806 to run from New Brunswick to Philipsburg. This was originally built on a branch of the Great Minisink Trail that ran from what is now Metuchen to Lopatcong village in what is now Phillipsburg. The portion of the modern route that now enters Philipsburg was originally part of the Washington Turnpike, before being incorporated into the William Penn Auto Trail by 1916. What became US 22 across New Jersey was originally designated as pre-1927 Route 9 in 1916, a route that ran from Phillipsburg east to Elizabeth. When the U.S. Highway System was established in 1926, US 22 was designated through New Jersey from the

Northampton Street Bridge The Northampton Street Bridge is a bridge that crosses the Delaware River, connecting Easton, Pennsylvania, and Phillipsburg, New Jersey, United States. It is maintained by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission despite not being a tol ...

in Phillpsburg and followed Route 9 east to US 1/9 in Elizabeth. A year later, in the

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 ...

, Route 9 was replaced by Route 28, which itself was rerouted to continue to the Goethals Bridge. As a result, the alignment of US 22 in Elizabeth was designated Route 27-28 Link.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319. By 1941, US 22 underwent two significant realignments within the state. In Phillipsburg, the route was moved from Route 28 to follow its current alignment on what was Route 24 between the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge and present-day Route 57 (then a part of Route 24) and Route 24-28 Link between there and Route 28. The approach to the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge, which opened in 1938, had been planned to be designated Route 24N, but instead became a part of Route 24.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1938, Chapter 85. With the realignment of US 22 in Phillipsburg, the old alignment was designated as US 22 Alternate (now Route 122). In addition, US 22 was moved off from Route 28 east of Bridgewater Township to follow Route 28-29 Link and Route 29 to Newark; Route 29 had been legislated in the 1927 renumbering while Route 28-29 Link was legislated in 1938.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1938, Chapter 17. 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 ...

, the state highways running concurrent with US 22 were removed. With the planning of the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

in the 1950s, an Interstate Highway connecting the

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in ...

area to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

was planned to run roughly along the US 22 corridor in New Jersey. This interstate was designated as I-78 in the final plans in 1958. The new interstate roughly followed the alignment of the unconstructed Route 11, which had been legislated in 1927 to run from US 22 between White House and Warrenville. Between the Alpha area and Annandale, I-78 was to directly follow US 22; the portion between exits 11 and 13 involved the creation of new eastbound lanes for I-78 and conversion of the eastbound lanes of US 22 into the westbound lanes of I-78. The westbound lanes of US 22 were turned into a two-lane frontage road. This construction took place during the 1960s. US 22 was moved to the I-78 alignment between these two points in 1969. The former alignment between Alpha and Clinton became Route 173 while the portion east of there became county-maintained Beaver Avenue (currently designated CR 626). Originally, I-78 had been planned to use the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge across the Delaware River and follow US 22 through Phillipsburg and along the Lehigh Valley Thruway west through the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

of Pennsylvania. However, opposition within Phillipsburg led to the cancellation of this routing, and I-78 was rerouted to head to the south of the Lehigh Valley. In addition to the construction of I-78 along the US 22 corridor, US 22 itself evolved into a multilane divided highway from a two-lane road.

Major intersections

References

External links

New Jersey Roads - US 22
{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 022 in New Jersey 22 New Jersey Transportation in Essex County, New Jersey Transportation in Hunterdon County, New Jersey Transportation in Somerset County, New Jersey Transportation in Union County, New Jersey Transportation in Warren County, New Jersey Limited-access roads in New Jersey