New Jersey Route 20

Route map:
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Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

US 46 in Clifton
Major intersections
North end CR 504 in Paterson
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Jersey
CountiesPassaic
Highway system
Route 19 Route 21

Route 20, known locally as McLean Boulevard, is a

divided highway for most of its length that runs through residential and commercial areas of Paterson, intersecting with Interstate 80 and Route 4 at interchanges. The northernmost part of the route is a county-maintained one-way pair
that follows 1st and 2nd Avenues.

Route description

View north along Route 20 just north of I-80 in Paterson

Route 20 begins at an interchange with

divided highway.[1] The route runs in between the Passaic River to the east and two large cemeteries to the west before coming to an interchange with Interstate 80 and Market Street. Past Interstate 80, Route 20 becomes a six-lane divided highway that heads under New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway's New Jersey Subdivision line and through a mix of residential and commercial areas.[1][2]

Route 20 northbound past Fair Lawn Avenue in Paterson

The next interchange along the route is for Route 4 (Broadway), with access to both eastbound Route 4 and westbound Broadway from both directions.[1] The road continues further north as a four-lane divided highway, heading through more urbanized areas of Paterson. It crosses County Route 651 (East 33rd Street/Morlot Avenue), which crosses the Passaic River to become County Route 78 (Morlot Avenue) in Bergen County.[1][2]

Route 20 continues to follow the Passaic River as a 45 mph (72 km/h) road through commercial areas, featuring an intersection with County Route 652 (5th Avenue). Past this intersection, the route proceeds through urban areas, turning west and splitting into a one-way pair. Here, the route becomes county maintained, with the northbound direction following 1st Avenue and the southbound direction following 2nd Avenue before coming to an end at County Route 504 (River Street).[1][2]

History

Route 20 southbound at the Market Street exit in Paterson

The present-day routing of Route 20 north of Market Street was legislated in 1927 as part of

Route S3 freeway that was built between East Rutherford and Clifton.[7]
By this point, the Paterson Plank Road was no longer in the state highway system.

Another

freeway routing of Route 20 was planned in 1959.[8] This road, which was to be a six-lane freeway called the Paterson Peripheral, was to run from Clifton north to the existing Route 20 in downtown Paterson. This road was completed between the Garden State Parkway and Valley Road by 1969 and north to Interstate 80 in 1975.[9][10] Upon completion, this road received the Route 20 designation.[9] In 1972, the state once again took over maintenance of the Paterson Plank Road from Route 3 to Route 17 in East Rutherford and made it a part of the route.[11] As it became clear that these three sections of Route 20 would not be connected, especially after the designation of the Great Falls Historic District, they received three different route designations by the 1990s. The freeway section of Route 20 from the Garden State Parkway to Interstate 80 was designated Route 19, the section between Route 3 and Route 17 was designated Route 120, and the Route 20 designation was retained along McLean Boulevard through Paterson.[12][13] The unfinished section of Route 20 that was to connect McLean Boulevard to Paterson Plank Road was built as a northern extension of the Route 21 freeway in 2000.[14][15]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Passaic County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
US 46 west – Clifton
Interchange
0.080.13

CR 630
)
Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
Delaware Water Gap, New York City
Interchange
0.811.30Market Street (
CR 56) – Elmwood Park, Paterson
Interchange
1.862.99
New York
Interchange; no northbound entrance
4.156.68 CR 504 (River Street)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Route 20 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Google (2009-03-11). "overview of New Jersey Route 20" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  3. ^ a b State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.
  4. ^ 1927 New Jersey Road Map (Map). State of New Jersey. Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  5. ^ State of New Jersey, Laws of 1929, Chapter 126.
  6. ^ Map of Passaic County N.J. (Map). Rutgers University Cartography Services. 1936. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  7. ^ "1953 renumbering". New Jersey Department of Highways. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2009. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ^ State of New Jersey, Laws of 1959, Chapter 4.
  9. ^ a b "Route 19 Straight Line Diagram" (PDF). Internet Archives WayBack Machine. New Jersey Department of Transportation. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2006. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  10. Chevron Oil Company
    . 1969.
  11. ^ State of New Jersey, Laws of 1972, Chapter 209.
  12. State Farm Insurance
    . 1983.
  13. ^ United States-Canada-Mexico Road Atlas (Map). Rand McNally. 1996.
  14. ^ Gohlke, Josh (December 27, 2000). "Route 21's Final Leg Is Opened Officially". The Bergen Record.
  15. ^ Page, Jeffrey (December 21, 2000). "Missing Link Is Finished After 28 Years". The Bergen Record.

External links

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