New Jersey Route 27 videos and info

Route 27 was part of the alignment through New Jersey of the Lincoln Highway, the United States' first transcontinental highway that was established in 1913. The route is still referred to as the Lincoln Highway in many municipalities, such as Edison Township. The Lincoln Highway became part of pre-1927 Route 1 between New Brunswick and Elizabeth in 1916 and pre-1927 Route 13 between Trenton and New Brunswick in 1917. In 1927, the Lincoln Highway was renumbered as Route 27 between Trenton and Newark. U.S. Route 1 also followed this portion of road until 1931 and U.S. Route 206 followed the route from Trenton to Princeton. In 1953, the southern terminus of Route 27 was cut back to Princeton to avoid the concurrency with U.S. Route 206.

Route description

Mercer County

Route 27 begins at a traffic light with U.S. Route 206 and County Route 533 in downtown Princeton Borough, Mercer County, heading to the northeast on Nassau Street, the main street of Princeton that runs along the northern edge of Princeton University and is lined with numerous shops and restaurants.^[2] Just past the beginning of Route 27, at mile marker 0.04, County Route 583 heads to the southwest on Mercer Street. The road moves through downtown Princeton, passing by the main gates to Princeton University near Nassau Hall at 0.22 miles and intersecting County Route 571 (Washington Road, also signed as County Route 526) at milepost 0.40. The road leaves the downtown area and continues through residential areas, crossing into Princeton Township at the Snowden Lane/Riverside Drive intersection at 1.43 miles, where the route becomes Princeton-Kingston Road. Route 27 runs parallel to Carnegie Lake before leaving Princeton Township, at which point it crosses over the Millstone River at milepost 3.02 just north of the historic Kingston Bridge.^[1]^[2]

Middlesex/Somerset County border

Upon crossing the Millstone River, Route 27 runs along the border of Franklin Township, Somerset County to the west and South Brunswick Township, Middlesex County to the east, passing through the community of Kingston. It continues northeast through a mix of woodland and residences, intersecting Promenade Boulevard at mile marker 4.67, which heads east and becomes County Route 522 upon crossing U.S. Route 1. Route 27 exists entirely within Franklin Township between 5.06 and 6.14 miles where County Route 618 (Old Road) runs along the Middlesex/Somerset County border. The route continues north to an intersection with County Route 518 (Gateway Boulevard) at milepost 6.90 where it resumes in a northeast direction and heads into Kendall Park as a variable two- to four-lane road, entering more dense suburban development.^[1]^[2] It passes through Franklin Park, intersecting County Route 610 (Henderson Road) at 9.67 miles. At the intersection with County Route 682 (Finnegans Lane)/ Bennington Parkway at mile marker 10.20, Route 27 forms the border of Franklin Township to the west and North Brunswick Township to the east. The route passes through suburban development with some areas of farmland.^[2] The road forms the border of Franklin Township and New Brunswick upon intersecting County Route 680 (How Lane) at milepost 13.41, becoming four-lane Somerset Street. Route 27 follows Somerset Street northeast through residential and commercial areas, passing by the community of Somerset on the west side of the road.^[1]^[2]

Middlesex County

The route splits from Somerset Street at 15.17 miles, heading entirely into New Brunswick in Middlesex County on French Street. At the Sandford Street intersection at milepost 15.38, Route 27 becomes a county-maintained road that is also signed as County Route 644. It intersects County Route 693 (New Jersey Avenue) at mile marker 15.68, which heads to the southwest to become Route 91. Past this intersection, the route becomes a two-lane road that heads into downtown New Brunswick, crossing over the Northeast Corridor rail line at 16.15 miles adjacent to the New Brunswick train station.^[1]^[2] The route turns into a four-lane divided highway and intersects County Route 514 and County Route 527 (Easton Avenue) at milepost 16.22, At this point, County Route 644 ends and Route 27 forms a concurrency with both routes and heads to the east on Albany Street. At mile marker 16.32, the road crosses George Street, which heads to the north as County Route 672 and to the south as Route 171. County Route 527 splits from Albany Street by heading south on Route 171. Route 27 and County Route 514 continue east, interchanging with Route 18 (Memorial Parkway) at milepost 16.55, where the road becomes state-maintained, and crossing the Raritan River on the Albany Street Bridge into Highland Park at 16.65 miles.^[1]

Upon entering Highland Park, the road becomes two-lane Raritan Avenue, intersecting County Route 622 (River Road) at mile marker 16.74 and continuing through the downtown area of Highland Park. County Route 514 splits from Route 27 by heading east on Woodbridge Avenue at milepost 17.48.^[1] Route 27 resumes heading northeast past this intersection as a four-lane road that passes by homes and enters Edison Township at 18.04 miles, where the name changes to Lincoln Highway. The route intersects County Route 676 (Suttons Lane/Dulcos Lane) at mile marker 18.23 and County Route 529 (Plainfield Avenue) at milepost 18.86. It continues through a mix of residences and businesses, briefly becoming a divided highway before intersecting Interstate 287 at a partial interchange between 20.82 and 20.84 miles with access to southbound Interstate 287 and from northbound Interstate 287.^[1]^[2] Past this interchange, Route 27 crosses into Metuchen and becomes two-lane Essex Avenue, which turns to the east and heads through residential areas.^[2] The route turns north onto Lake Street and intersects County Route 501 (Amboy Avenue) at mile marker 21.62, forming a concurrency with that route. It passes under the Northeast Corridor at 21.72 miles and comes to Middlesex Avenue at milepost 21.86, where County Route 501 turns to the left and Route 27 turns to the right to resume in a northeast direction.^[1]

Route 27 intersects County Route 531 (Main Street) at mile marker 22.07 and continues northeast on Middlesex Avenue, passing through a residential environment. The route crosses back into Edison Township at 23.26 miles and becomes the Lincoln Highway again, passing over the Rahway River at milepost 23.29.^[1] It heads through business areas and passes near the Thomas Alva Edison Memorial Tower and Museum, which is located on the site of Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory.^[2] The route closely parallels the Northeast Corridor rail line and crosses into Woodbridge Township at the County Route 649 (Wood Avenue) intersection at mile marker 24.33, widening to four lanes. Route 27 passes by the Metropark train station and interchanges with the Garden State Parkway at milepost 24.69, near Iselin.^[1] Past the Garden State Parkway, Route 27 narrows back to two lanes and continues northeast alongside the Northeast Corridor, passing through a mix of residential and commercial development as a three-lane road with two northbound lanes and one southbound lane.^[2]

Union County

At mile marker 27.13, Route 27 crosses into Rahway, Union County and intersects the northern terminus of Route 35 at milepost 27.29, where the route heads north on four-lane St. Georges Avenue.^[1] The route passes through Rahway, encountering residences and businesses.^[2] It continues northeast and crosses into Linden at 29.66 miles, where the route heads through a more commercial setting with businesses lining both sides of the road. At the intersection with County Route 617 (Wood Avenue) at mile marker 30.65, Route 27 forms the border of Roselle to the west and Linden to the east. At milepost 32.73, the route briefly forms the border between Elizabeth to the west and Linden to the east before entirely entering Elizabeth at the Richford Terrace intersection at 32.79 miles, where it narrows to two lanes and becomes Rahway Avenue. Route 27 crosses Route 439 at mile marker 32.98 and continues to the northeast through residential and commercial areas. Between mileposts 33.48 and 34.05, Route 27 splits into a one-way pair with northbound Route 27 following Rahway Avenue east and turning north onto Cherry Street and southbound Route 27 following Westfield Avenue west and turning south onto Chilton Avenue.^[1]^[2] The southbound direction of Route 27 intersects the eastern terminus of Route 28 at 34.00 miles, where that route continues west on Westfield Avenue.^[3] Past the one-way pair, Route 27 resumes east on four-lane Westfield Avenue, turning north onto Broad Street at mile marker 34.34. The route heads into a more urbanized setting and continues northeast onto Newark Avenue at milepost 34.78. It intersects the northern terminus of Route 439 at mile marker 35.29.^[1]

Essex County

Route 27 crosses into Newark, Essex County at the Virginia Street intersection at 35.80 miles, where it becomes Frelinghuysen Avenue, a road that heads north through urban areas of Newark.^[1]^[2] At milepost 37.31, the route interchanges with U.S. Route 22 and immediately following, at mile marker 37.37, it passes under Interstate 78. Route 27 continues north to an intersection with Poinier Street at 38.15 miles, where the route heads east along Poinier Street to its northern terminus at an interchange with Route 21 and Broad Street between mile markers 38.39 and 38.53.^[1]

History

Route 27 follows a portion of the Lincoln Highway, the United States’ first transcontinental highway that was established in 1913 to run from New York City to San Francisco.^[4]^[5] It is still known by that name in a few places along the route, particularly in Edison Township.^[1] In 1916, the Lincoln Highway was legislated as part of pre-1927 Route 1 between New Brunswick and Elizabeth and as pre-1927 Route 13 between Trenton and New Brunswick in 1917.^[6]^[7] In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 27 was designated to run from Trenton to the intersection of Frelinghuysen Avenue and Astor Street in Newark, replacing the portions of Routes 1 and 13 that ran along the Lincoln Highway.^[4]^[8] With the creation of the U.S. Highway System, U.S. Route 206] was designated along the portion of route between Trenton and Princeton and U.S. Route 1 was also designated along the length of Route 27 until 1931, when the U.S. Route 1 designation was moved to Route 26, Route S26, and Route 25 between Trenton and Newark.^[9]^[10] In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, the southern terminus of Route 27 was cut back to Princeton to avoid the concurrency it shared with U.S. Route 206. In Elizabeth, the route was split onto a one-way pair south of the intersection with Route 28, with the southbound direction of Route 27 moved a block to the west.^[4]

Major intersections