Dyl's Roads & Travels: NJ 4

In New Jersey highways, the designation of 4 (and its predecessors, NJH 4 and NJSHR 4) is the gift that keeps on giving.

Today's NJ 4 originates in 1927 as NJH 4, but has ties with pre-1927 NJSHR 4. Pre-1927 NJSHR 4 originally extended from Absecon north to Rahway. Does that sound like a familiar corridor for a future spinoff of Route 4? You'll see.

In 1927, NJSHR 4 became NJH 4, extending the former NJSHR 4 north to the George Washington Bridge and south to Seaville. This led to the creation of the Paterson to Fort Lee segment of NJH 4, which would eventually become the extent of modern NJ 4. Eventually, this corridor became busier, and the Route 4 Parkway was proposed to connect Seaville to Fort Lee. This Route 4 Parkway would evolve to become the Garden State Parkway (NJ 444). There is even a hint of the legacy of original NJSHR / NJH 4 in the Garden State Parkway's internal designation as NJ 444.

In 1953, NJH 4 was cut back to create the current alignment. This is what we currently work with.

Modern NJ 4 is divided into two distinct segments, separated by NJ 208. A surface arterial known as Broadway and a Jersey freeway. If I would do anything, I would delete current NJ 4 and extend NJ 208 along the NJ 4 Jersey freeway to Fort Lee because NJ 208 serves as the "mainline" and the extension of the Jersey freeway.

NJ 4 west of NJ 208 (Broadway):

The western terminus of NJ 4 at NJ 20 in Paterson.

On a bridge with decorative columns over the Passaic River.

Old NJ 20 shields.

NJ 4 east of NJ 208:

The start of NJ 208 at NJ 4. NJ 4 forks onto Broadway to Paterson for historical reasons, as NJ 4 came first. Here, NJ 4 merges into the Jersey freeway that NJ 208 started.