New Jersey Route 18

Route 18
WWII War Veterans Memorial Parkway
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT
Length	40.16 mi (64.63 km)
Existed	1953 (1927 as Route S28)–present
Major junctions
Major intersections	NJ 33 in Neptune NJ 36 in Eatontown File:GSPkwy Shield.png GSP in Tinton Falls NJ 34 in Colts Neck NJ 79 in Marlboro US 9 in Old Bridge I-95 (NJTP) in East Brunswick US 1 in New Brunswick
Location
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Highway system
New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← Route 17 → Route 18N

Route 18 is a state highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It begins at an intersection with State Route 138 in Tinton Falls and ends when the road disseminates into Hoes Lane in Piscataway. The road is 40.16 miles long, most of it freeway. The road is the second-longest freeway in the state behind State Route 55, which runs in southern New Jersey. The highest speed limit on Route 18 is 65 mph (105 km/h) in Monmouth County.

Route description

New Jersey State Route 18 begins at a partial-cloverleaf interchange with State Route 138 in Tinton Falls. The road begins by going to the north and parallels a local street for a short time. The second exit going northbound on 18 is for Monmouth Boulevard, a local road in New Bedford. Route 18 runs under Monmouth County Route 18 in the time between New Bedford and Glendola. The road continues to the north, interchanging with Brighton Avenue going southbound and Marconi Road going northbound. Brighton Avenue then begins to parallel 18 as the road continues into Neptune. In Neptune, State Route 33 and Monmouth County Route 17 interchange at Exit 8. The exit is split into 8A and 8B going southbound. The parallel with Brighton Avenue comes to an end as Route 18 continues into Ocean Township.

Route 18's southern terminus

Monmouth County Route 17 crosses over at 9.22 miles as 9 enters Ocean Township. State Route 66 interchanges with 18 at Exits 10A and B at 9.54 miles. Exits 11A and B are in Ocean Township as well, and are for Deal Road. The next exits on Route 18 comes at 12 miles for West Park Avenue in Ocean Township. The exits are only southbound however. Route 18 enters Eatontown and interchanges with County Route 547 at Exit 13A. Exit 13B, an exit a little further north, is for State Route 36 in Tinton Falls.

Route 18 crosses over the Garden State Parkway afterwards, at 14.25 and 14.4 miles. Exit 15A going northbound is for Monmouth County Route 38 northbound, also known as Wayside Road. Exit 15B going southbound is for the same road in the other direction. Route 18 for a short time parallels County Route 537 in Colts Neck. Exit 19A comes up at 19.02 miles for State Route 34 northbound. Exit 19B, which is for 34 southbound, interchanges a quarter-mile later. The next interchange on 18 is for County Route 537 at Exits 22A and B in Colts Neck. Just after the interchange with 537, Route 18 leaves Colts Neck for Freehold. About .5 miles later, the road leaves Freehold for Marlboro and crosses under Monmouth County Route 46.

Communities
Tinton Falls Marlboro Old Bridge East Brunswick New Brunswick Piscataway

The next interchange on Route 18 is for State Route 79 in Marlboro. Comprised of Exits 25A and 25B, the exits make a complete cloverleaf interchange. Exit 29 is for County Route 520 and Monmouth County Route 3 in Marlboro. The final interchange on the freeway is for U.S. Route 9 in Old Bridge Township. After this point, Route 18 continues the rest of the way in Middlesex County. Route 18's freeway segment ends as Route 18 becomes a divided highway. The first interchange in this segment is for Spring Valley Road, which brings you back to Route 9. Marlboro Road and Foxborough Drive are at the first traffic light on Route 18. Ferry Road is at the second traffic light, which leaves to the right.

Middlesex County Route 700 leaves to the right in Old Bridge at 32.32 miles. Route 700 parallels Route 18 for a short distance until it comes to an end near the interchange with County Routes 516 and 527. The interchange, which is a partial cloverleaf, is located in south Old Bridge. Just after the interchange, Route 18 leaves Old Bridge for East Brunswick. The intersection after the town border is for Middlesex County Route 615 and County Route 527.

Hillsdale Road begins to the left at an interchange going southbound. Going northbound, Middlesex County Route 617 crosses just before its terminus at CR 527. For a distance after the CR 617 intersection, Route 18 parallels Brunswick Square Mall and CR 527. The next interchange on Route 18 is for Race Track Road at 36.21 miles. Arthur Street, a connector from Middlesex CR 613 to CR 527, interchanges soon after. County Routes 535 has a short concurrency with 18 in East Brunswick, until an interchange with Summerhill Road, where Middlesex CR 613 ends and CR 535 continues. Middlesex County Route 606, Milltown Road, crosses soon after at an interchange. At this point, CR 527 is still paralleling 18.

West Ferris Street, a connector to CR 527, is at the next traffic light. West Prospect Street, also known as Middlesex CR 677 is at the next traffic light. Tices Lane, a one-way road, interchanges with Route 18 at 38.38 miles. Less than a mile later, CR 527 merges into Route 18 and the two roads become concurrent. Also present at the merge is Edgeboro Road, which begins to the right. Route 18 crosses over the New Jersey Turnpike at 39.58 miles and interchanges with it at 39.94 miles. Route 18 leaves East Brunswick at 40.3 miles and enters New Brunswick.

Sign at the northern end of Route 18

Just after leaving East Brunswick, U.S. Route 1 interchanges with Route 18. 18 becomes known as Burnet Street in New Brunswick and intersects with Paulus Boulevard and State Route 172 soon after. Commercial Avenue, a commuter road in New Brunswick, leaves to the left at 41.7 miles. State Route 27 interchanges at 42.29 miles. Bishop Place interchanges with Route 18 near Rutgers University. Route 18 parallels Middlesex CR 672 for a short distance before leaving to the north on the John A. Lynch, Sr. Memorial Bridge over the Raritan River. At the end of the bridge, in Piscataway, was Route 18's former terminus at Middlesex CR 622. The road now continues north for another mile, intersecting with Metlars Lane and Avenue E before dissipating into Hoes Lane in Piscataway.

History

Route S28: 1927-1953

The NJDOT had anticipated upgrading the section of Route 18 through New Brunswick to freeway (or Jersey freeway) status. They even proposed an extension of the freeway from New Brunswick, through Piscataway and finally terminating at U.S. Route 22 in Bound Brook. However, tight funding in the 1970s caused both of these plans to fall through.

Prior to the 1953 renumbering, Route 18 was Route S28, and split from Route 28 near Bound Brook. It was signed east-west for a while even after it became Route 18.

Old 1960 photo of Route 18 sign

Route 18 was extended north from River Road, just across the Raritan River from New Brunswick, around 2004. Plans are in place to rebuild Route 18 south to U.S. Route 1 and the New Jersey Turnpike, but not as a full freeway. There are also plans to extend Route 18 north from Hoes Lane to Interstate 287; this too may not be built as a freeway. To the south, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) had plans to extend the southern terminus to the Brielle Circle, which is why Route 138 is exit 6 rather than 0 or 1. A portion of the right-of-way that NJDOT owns has been converted into a multi-use trail that links the Wall Township Municipal complex to the existing Edgar Felix Bikeway that runs from Manasquan to Allaire State Park.

The north-south portion east of the Garden State Parkway (south of exit 13B in Eatontown) was initially planned as a replacement of Route 35, but those plans were canceled and it instead became part of Route 18. Only the part south of exit 11 was built as Route 35.

Future developments

Template:Future road There are several future projects to work on Route 18. The first is route 18 through downtown New Brunswick is being upgraded to a local/express format. The project will allow for an inner freeway and an outer connector road. The project is currently under construction and will last until at least 2009. The limits of the upgrade are from Route 27 to U.S. Route 1. The interchange with CR 527 in Old Bridge Township will provide for missing movements and a bridge replacement, as well as potential widening. The current northern terminus with Hoes Lane will be extended further north as an arterial boulevard to Interstate 287. Traffic signals will be modified and upgraded, as well as consolidated. The project will be pedestrian friendly and most likely feature bike paths that will tie into the existing ones that parallel the freeway portion. The project is currently in design and will likely see construction in 2008. The NJDOT is in planning to create a Park & Ride at the terminus of the current Route 18 freeway. It will be placed along the four lane right of way just south of Route 138. Residents are in opposition to this proposal for fear of loitering and vandalism that may accompany the parking lot.

The interchange of CR 516 and CR 527 in Old Bridge is to realign the faulty geometric designs there. Improvements include adding inside shoulders and widen County Routes 516 and 527 and a new signalized ramp for access to 516 and 527. After these are complete, CR 516's intersection with Old Matawan Road is to be relocated. The project will cost over $28 million and is slated to begin in 2009. The project is slated to end in 2010.

Major junctions

Freeway (Route 9 and south)

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Monmouth	Wall Township	5.14	6B	NJ 138 West	First exit going north
		5.72	6C	Monmouth Boulevard	Northbound exit;Southbound enterance
		7.19	7	Marconi Road; Shark River Hills
	Neptune Township	8.28	8	NJ 33
	Ocean Township	9.84	10	NJ 66
		11.37	11A	Deal Road East
		11.50	11B	Deal Road West; Wayside
			12	West Park Avenue	Southbound exit only
	Eatontown Township	13.46	13A	County 547; Wayside
	Tinton Falls	14.51	15A	Wayside Road North	Southbound exit also has ramp to GSP
			15B	; CR 38 Wayside Road South	Southbound exit;Northbound enterance
	Colts Neck Township	19.02	19A	NJ 34 North; Matawan
		19.27	19B	NJ 34 South; Pt.Pleasant
		22.31	22A	County 537 East; Colts Neck
		22.56	22B	County 537 West; Freehold
	Marlboro Township	25.20	25	NJ 79
		28.40	29	County 520
Middlesex	Old Bridge Township	30.35	30	US 9
Route 18 freeway disseminates into road

Route 18 (Between 9 and Turnpike)

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Middlesex	Old Bridge Township	31.08	50.02	Spring Valley Road	Southern terminus
		34.41	55.38	County 516, County 527; Matawan Road	Begin concurrency. Begin
	East Brunswick Township	34.90	56.17	County 615, County 527; Main Street	End concurrency
		35.57	57.24	County 617; Rues Lane
		37.14	59.77	County 535 Cranbury Road
		38.89	62.59	County 527	Begin second concurrency.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Route 18 freeway (North of Turnpike)

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Middlesex	East Brunswick Township	39.94		New Jersey Turnpike
	New Brunswick City	40.61		US 1
		41.79		NJ 172; County 527; George Street
		42.29		NJ 27;Highland Park, Princeton
		43.18		George Street; Rutgers University
	Piscataway	43.86		CR 622; River Road
		44.80		CR 609; Metlars Lane	Final exit on Route 18
Road disseminates into Hoes Lane (End Route 18) (Northern terminus)

External links

• 1964 plans for roads in the New York City area, including Route 18 and Route 35
• Monmouth County Functional Classification Map (also shows the proposed extension of Route 18)
• New Jersey Roadtrips - New Jersey 18 Photos