Dyl's Roads & Travels: NJ 7

NJ 7 is one of the stranger highways I've seen in New Jersey. Why? Because NJDOT refuses to make up their mind about the directionality and the route of NJ 7. And the issue of directionality and route are directly related. Per NJDOT, NJ 7 is split into two segments, an east-west segment and a north-south segment. But there is a connector between these, the easternmost segment of CR 506 on Rutgers Street (yes, named after the same colonel Henry Rutgers that the university is named after). However, real-world signage for NJ 7 places NJ 7 on its unofficial alignment along Rutgers Street / CR 506 so that it is one continuous route.

Per most mileposts, NJ 7 is a north-south route, and along the east-west sections, the mileposts increase heading westbound (which changes to north at Essex County). This page will follow the mileposts.

And if I was to fix NJ 7, I would define it as a single north-south route, delete the dangling end, and properly define the northern terminus to be NJ 3.

East-West segment:

NJ 7 begins at US 1-9 Truck in Jersey City. With the reconstruction of the Wittpenn Bridge, NJ 7 is the through route and US 1-9 Truck is the exit. This junction is the former site of the Charlotte Circle.

NJ 7 crosses the rebuilt Wittpenn Bridge.

On the Wittpenn Bridge.

NJ 7 comes to a tangled interchange with CR 659. See that page for a better view of the tangled, multilevel junction.

At the eastern terminus of CR 508. But NJDOT fumbled these new signs royally. While I-280 and the NJ Turnpike are significant routes, it is CR 508 that leads to the aforementioned routes. Also, why is CR 506 signed as concurrent with NJ 7 here, even though there is no CR 506 here. Take special note that this is the only CR 506 sign with Hudson County inside the pentagon.

Here's how I'll fix the sign:

Left side:

WEST CR 508 TO I-280 / NJ Turnpike / I-95

Harrison

Newark

Right side:

WEST NJ 7

Belleville

Maybe some old signs do it better. CR 508 is signed. But still, do not sign CR 506 here!

Now onto the eastbound approach to this junction. NJDOT put up the correct sign for CR 508 but fails to sign NJ 7.

NJ 7 crosses bridges in the Meadowlands.

NJ 7, the Belleville Turnpike, comes to an old alignment at the North Arlington Jewish Cemetery.

This "5" sign is an old milepost with the assumption that NJ 7 is east-west from its northern terminus to its southern terminus.

NJ 7 junctions Schuyler Avenue and starts a concurrency with CR 507.

NJ 7 / CR 507 at the southern terminus of NJ 17.

What is this?! NJ 7 is north-south, but CR 507 is not east-west!

NJ 7 at the Rutgers Street Bridge. CR 507 departs for River Road. Shortly after this bridge, NJ 7 junctions NJ 21 and the designation ends de jure. The road continues west as CR 506, unofficial NJ 7.

Unofficial NJ 7 along CR 506:

To connect the two sections of NJ 7, NJ 7 is signed along the easternmost segment of CR 506 in Belleville.

CR 506 (unofficial NJ 7) comes to Washington Avenue, where de facto NJ 7 turns north and CR 506 turns south onto de jure NJ 7.

North-south NJ 7:

NJ 7 "spur":

There is a segment of de jure NJ 7 along Washington Avenue between the Newark-Belleville border to Rutgers Street (CR 506). While this is signed on some overhead sign blades, ground-level signage does not exist on this segment.

De jure NJ 7 begins after crossing the Second River into Belleville.

De jure NJ 7 has a concurrency with CR 506.

Belleville's town hall is located along de jure NJ 7 / CR 506.

NJ 7 mainline:

After Rutgers Street (CR 506), the de facto mainline joins the de jure NJ 7.

CR 506 departs from de jure NJ 7 to follow a de facto concurrency with NJ 7.

NJ 7 in Clifton. Signage for NJ 7 disappears when it comes to instructing drivers to follow NJ 7 on Kingsland. That's because the municipalities of Nutley and Clifton, as well as Essex County, maintain this portion of NJ 7 as opposed to NJDOT.

That is true. And isn't that also NJ 7?

State maintenance resumes when NJ 7 turns onto Cathedral Avenue. The route officially ends at Orange Street, but the state maintenance and de facto NJ 7 continue all the way to NJ 3.