Only N.J. Turnpike’s Upper 67 Miles Are Portion of I-95, Not the Lower 51

(ED. NOTE: This is the fourth of a multi-part series on toll roads in New Jersey. The author was raised and educated in New York City, spent three years in the Army, and retired after a 34-year career with AT&T. In 2000, Bob joined an ad-hoc committee called Citizens Against Tolls, whose primary goal was the elimination of tolls on the Garden State Parkway.)
Since colonial times, the corridor between New York City and Philadelphia has been heavily traveled; first by stagecoach and later by automobile.
This placed New Jersey as a key link in the East Coast travel chain. After World War II, Delaware officials put into motion a plan to build the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
New Jersey planners quickly recognized the need for a major roadway to serve traffic between the new bridge across the Delaware River and New York City.
Construction of the New Jersey Turnpike was therefore authorized by then Gov. Alfred Driscoll in October 1948, under control of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.
The full length of the turnpike was opened on Jan. 15, 1952, the total length was 118 miles, took 25 months to build and cost $230 million.
Numerous enhancements subsequently made, including an extension to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the widening of the Turnpike from four to six and later to 12 lanes, the building of the western portion of the turnpike to the George Washington Bridge and an extension to the Holland Tunnel.
Total turnpike mileage therefore increased to 148 miles.
The turnpike appears to be part of the interstate highway system’s route I-95, which travels along the eastern part of the United States, from Maine to Florida. However, only the upper 67-mile portion of the turnpike carries the I-95 designation.
The lower 51-mile portion does not. Instead, I-95 continues north in Delaware and enters Pennsylvania. It then goes through Philadelphia and continues over the Delaware River and into New Jersey, just northwest of Trenton. From there it heads east, but does not connect into the northern I-95 portion of the Turnpike.
Instead, I-95 changes its designation to I-295, at the intersection with Route 1.
It then turns south, parallel to the turnpike, and re-joins I-95 in Delaware after crossing the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
This causes a “disconnect” which can be resolved as follows:
That portion of I-295 which crosses the Delaware Memorial Bridge between I-95 in Delaware and the turnpike in New Jersey should be re-designated I-95.
The southern portion of the turnpike should therefore be designated I-95, thus having a natural connection into the northern portion, which is already designated I-95.
This would acknowledge that the entire Turnpike is the logical I-95 link in New Jersey.
The I-95 section which goes past Philadelphia and into New Jersey should be re-designated I-295, thus having a natural connection into I-295 at the intersection with Route 1.
Route I-295 would therefore start west of the Delaware Memorial Bridge in Delaware and travel north along the eastern portion of Pennsylvania, through Philadelphia and into New Jersey.
It would then return south along the western portion of New Jersey and end east of the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
With mounting pressure over the high cost of having each toll road managed by a separate toll authority, a move was made to merge the authorities that run the turnpike and the Garden State Parkway.
On July 9, 2003, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which already managed the turnpike, took control of the Parkway from the New Jersey Highway Authority.
The South Jersey Transportation Authority, which manages the Atlantic City Expressway, was not included in this merger because it also controls the Atlantic City Airport.
But although a 2002 study said that the merger would save $198 million over 10 years, Turnpike Authority expenses were up by $38.9 million.
This represented an operating increase of almost 9 percent, during the first full year after the merger.
(Next week: The Garden State Parkway.)