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County Route 501 (New Jersey) facts for kids

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County Route 501 marker

County Route 501
CR 501 highlighted in red
Route information
Length 40.24 mi (64.76 km)
Existed January 1, 1953–present
Middlesex County section
Length 10.12 mi (16.29 km)
West end CR 529 in South Plainfield
Major
junctions
East end NY 440 in Richmond Valley, NY
Hudson / Bergen County section
Length 30.12 mi (48.47 km)
South end NY 440 in Elm Park, NY
Major
junctions
North end NY 340 in Rockleigh
Location
Counties: Middlesex, Hudson, Bergen
Highway system
County routes in New Jersey
500-series
CR 585 CR 502

County Route 501 (CR 501) is a county highway in New Jersey in two segments spanning Middlesex, Hudson and Bergen Counties. The southern section runs from South Plainfield to Perth Amboy, the northern section runs from Bayonne to Rockleigh, and the two sections are connected by New York State Route 440 (NY 440) across Staten Island.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation lists CR 501 as a single highway with a length of 53.07 miles (85.41 km), which includes both road sections as well as the connection along NY 440.

Route description

Middlesex County

2018-05-20 12 39 34 View east along Middlesex County Route 501 (New Durham Road) at Middlesex County Route 529 (Stelton Road) on the border of Piscataway Township and South Plainfield in Middlesex County, New Jersey
View east at the west end of CR 501 at CR 529 in South Plainfield

County Route 501 is signed east-west in Middlesex County. The western (southern) terminus of County Route 501 is at CR 529 in South Plainfield. From there, the route heads east to Metuchen, where it has a short concurrency with Route 27. It then continues east, crossing the Garden State Parkway between Exits 127 and 129 in Woodbridge, following concurrencies with Route 184 and Route 440 to the southern section's eastern terminus at the Outerbridge Crossing.

Hudson County (John F. Kennedy Boulevard)

The northern section of CR 501 starts at the Route 440/Bayonne Bridge junction in Bayonne, making its way north to Route 63 in North Bergen. The highway crosses Route 139 to the Holland Tunnel and Route 495 to the Lincoln Tunnel.

At its junction with Route 63 in North Bergen, CR 501 begins a concurrency with Route 63 into Bergen County, while John F. Kennedy Boulevard loops around the northern end and heads south to Guttenberg, West New York and Weehawken.

2018-07-07 13 47 51 View north along Hudson County Route 501 (John F Kennedy Boulevard) just north of 63rd Street in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey
CR 501 northbound on John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City

Major points on CR 501/Kennedy Boulevard include Marist High School, New Jersey City University, Saint Dominic Academy, Saint Peter's University, Journal Square, Union City High School, North Bergen High School, and four County parks: Stephen R. Gregg (Bayonne) Park and Mercer Park in Bayonne, Lincoln Park in Jersey City and James J. Braddock (North Hudson) Park in North Bergen.

Immediately northeast of Journal Square, CR 501/Kennedy Boulevard crosses over Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) railroad tracks on an open-spandrel concrete arch bridge completed in 1926. The bridge is a pared-down version of a more ambitious elevated plaza scheme proposed by consulting engineer Abraham Burton Cohen. Cohen's office constructed a model using slot cars to demonstrate traffic flow through the plaza.

2018-07-22 13 35 12 View north along Bergen County Route 501 (Central Boulevard) at 5th Street in Palisades Park, Bergen County, New Jersey
CR 501 in Palisades Park as Central Boulevard

Bergen County

In Bergen County, CR 501 leaves its concurrency with Route 63 in Palisades Park, using Central Boulevard to connect to the US 1/9/46 concurrency and Route 93. It is then concurrent with Route 93 until it reaches that route's northern terminus at Route 4 in Englewood. CR 501 continues north from this junction through Rockleigh, crossing the New York State Line and becoming New York State Route 340.

History

In 1808, the Perth Amboy Turnpike was legislated to run from Perth Amboy to Bound Brook. The company struggled to complete their road, having petitioned in 1820 to the state legislature to extend the time to complete the road. They were unsuccessful, as the road was only completed as far as Piscataway.

2020-10-11 16 55 18 View south along Hudson County Route 501 (John F. Kennedy Boulevard) at the exit for Bergen Avenue in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey
CR 501 (JFK Boulevard) southbound at Bergen Avenue in Jersey City

Prior to being renamed in honor of John F. Kennedy in the 1960s, the John F. Kennedy Boulevard was known as Hudson Boulevard. While there was discussion of building a county long road as early as the 1870s, parts of Hudson County Boulevard were officially opened in 1896. By 1913 it was completed, and considered to be fine for "motoring", and included the road's eastern section, Boulevard East, into which Kennedy Boulevard forks at 91st Street. (The fork that continues north merges with Bergen Boulevard.) Taken as a single road, the circuitous route of west and east sections of the entire boulevard runs from the southern tip of the county at Bergen Point to its northern border with Bergen County and south again to the Hoboken city line.

The Boulevard was named the fifth most dangerous road for pedestrians in New Jersey, and the most dangerous road in Hudson County for pedestrians in a February 2011 report by the non-profit Tri-State Transportation Campaign. The road was the location of six pedestrian fatalities between 2007 and 2009, which account for a little more than a fifth of Hudson County's 29 pedestrian deaths in the three-year period. In November 2017 county officials launched a safety campaign for Kennedy Boulevard's five most dangerous intersections, based on accident data:

  • 25th Street in Bayonne
  • Lexington Avenue in Jersey City
  • 36th Street in Union City
  • 51st Street in West New York
  • 91st Street in North Bergen

County officials had expressed interest in building a pedestrian bridge that crosses Kennedy Boulevard at 32nd Street, at the Union City-North Bergen border since at least. The two cities contracted a company to build the bridge for just over $4 million in November 2010. Construction plans began in May 2011, and field work began later that August.

Major intersections

County Location Mile Roads intersected Notes
Middlesex South Plainfield 0.00 0.00 CR 529 (Stelton Road) Western terminus of Middlesex County segment
Edison 2.03 3.27 I-287 north Exit 3 on I-287
Metuchen 3.36 5.41 Route 27 north (Middlesex Avenue) – Rahway Western terminus of concurrency with Route 27
3.61 5.81 Route 27 south (Lake Avenue) – Highland Park Eastern terminus of concurrency with Route 27
3.81 6.13 CR 531 (Main Street)
Edison 4.68 7.53 US 1 to N.J. Turnpike – Newark, New Brunswick Interchange
5.70 9.17 CR 514 (Woodbridge Avenue) to N.J. Turnpike
6.23 10.03 CR 616 east (New Brunswick Avenue) Western terminus of CR 616
Woodbridge Township 6.99 11.25 Route 184 Western terminus of Route 184
7.10 11.43 G.S. Parkway north Exit 129 on Garden State Parkway
7.33 11.80 US 9 – Rahway, South Amboy Interchange
Perth Amboy 7.74 12.46 CR 655 (Florida Grove Road)
8.22 13.23 Route 184 east to Route 35 / Amboy Avenue (CR 653) Eastern terminus of concurrency with Route 184
Western terminus of freeway section
Route 440 south to US 9 south / G.S. Parkway south / N.J. Turnpike Western terminus of concurrency with Route 440
8.38 13.49 Route 35 south Westbound exit only
8.65 13.92 Amboy Avenue (CR 653) Northbound exit is via Route 440 exit
9.23 14.85 State Street (CR 611) / High Street – Perth Amboy Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Arthur Kill 9.45 15.21 Outerbridge Crossing (toll plaza on Staten Island)
10.12 16.29 NY 440 north – Staten Island Eastern terminus of Middlesex County segment; continuation into New York at the river's center
Connection made via NY 440 (12.73 miles or 20.49 kilometres)
22.85 NY 440 south – Staten Island Southern terminus of Hudson/Bergen County segment; continuation from New York at river's center
23.24 37.40 Bayonne Bridge (toll plaza on Staten Island)
Hudson Bayonne 23.71 38.16 Avenue A Southbound exit and entrance
23.73 38.19 Route 440 north to N.J. Turnpike – Jersey City Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 440
Northern terminus of freeway section
27.12 43.65 abbr= West 63rd Street to Route 440
Jersey City 29.37 47.27 Communipaw Avenue (CR 612) to N.J. Turnpike
31.11 50.07 US 1-9 (Tonnele Circle) One-way ramp to Tonnele Circle
31.15 50.13 Route 139 east – Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel Western terminus of the upper level of Route 139
North Bergen 34.03 54.77 Route 495 to N.J. Turnpike – Lincoln Tunnel Interchange
Union City 34.35–
34.39
55.28–
55.35
CR 505 north (37th / 38th Streets) Southern terminus of CR 505
North Bergen 37.21 59.88 Route 63 Southern terminus of Route 63
Bergen Fort Lee 39.13 62.97 Route 5 – Ridgefield, Edgewater Interchange via local roads
Palisades Park 39.62 63.76 Route 63 north / Central Avenue east – George Washington Bridge Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 63
39.90 64.21 US 1-9 / US 46 Interchange via 5th and 6th Streets
40.52 65.21 Route 93 south (Grand Avenue) – Ridgefield, Fairview Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 93
Englewood 42.78 68.85 Route 4 – New York, Paterson Interchange
42.86 68.98 Route 93 / CR 501 south (Van Nostrand Avenue) Northern terminus of Route 93; one-way pair begins
43.86 70.59 CR 505 (Palisades Avenue) – Teaneck, Bergenfield
45.05 72.50 CR 501 south (Hudson Avenue) Northern terminus of one-way pair
Closter 49.61 79.84 Old Closter Dock Road (CR 502) to US 9W – Westwood, Alpine
Rockleigh 53.07 85.41 NY 340 north – Sparkill Northern terminus of Hudson/Bergen County segment; continuation into New York
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

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