# Elizabeth River (New Jersey)

The Elizabeth River runs through Essex and Union counties, New Jersey in the United States for 11.9 miles (19.2 km) before draining into the Arthur Kill.

## Course

The headwaters of the Elizabeth are in East Orange in Essex County. The river rises in an urban area at the border between Irvington and the Vailsburg neighborhood of Newark. It flows in a generally southern direction through the center of Irvington in a concrete channel with masonry walls built in the 1920s and 30s passing along the east side of Civic Square. Further south, it forms the west boundary of the 19th century Clinton Cemetery. At the southern end of the cemetery, the river passes under the Garden State Parkway near Exit 143 and disappears as a surface waterway.
The Elizabeth River reemerges just south of the Union County line near Garden State Parkway Interchange 142 between Union and Hillside. After passing under I-78 it runs through the Elizabeth River Parkway. Here, the river is joined on its left bank by its first significant tributary, Lightning Brook. The Elizabeth River then flows under the Garden State Parkway again. After passing under US 22, the river turns eastward and is joined by the West Branch Elizabeth River. The river then flows past historic Liberty Hall and Kean University. Much of the river is contained by levees in this section.
At Trotters Lane, the river enters Elizabeth, where the river runs for 4.0 miles (6.4 km), passes under numerous bridges, and for a greater extent is channelized. At the bridge on the South Front Street it flows into the Arthur Kill.

## Elizabeth River Parkway

The Elizabeth River Parkway is a set of parklands that hugs the river from Hillside through Elizabeth It was designed in for the Union County Parks Commission in the 1920s by the historic firm Olmsted Brothers, and is one of the three "emerald necklaces" in the county park system, the others being Rahway River Parkway and Passaic River Parkway. The firm also designed Warinanco Park

## Elizabeth River Trail

The Elizabeth River Trail is a project to construct a park and riverside trail from South Broad Street in Downtown Elizabeth to the river's outlet into the Arthur Kill, a distance of 2+1⁄2 miles. Phase I, between Broad and Bridge streets near St. John's Parsonage, opened in 2012. Phase II was completed and opened in August 2018.

## Crossings

This list is for the crossings in Union County
| Mile Point | Crossing | Carries | Coordinates | References |
| 0.0 | South Front Street Bridge | | 40°38′40″N 74°11′27″W﻿ / ﻿40.64437°N 74.19083°W﻿ / 40.64437; -74.19083﻿ (South Front Street Bridge) | |
| 0.4 | South First Street/Amboy Avenue | | 40°38′32″N 74°11′54″W﻿ / ﻿40.64222°N 74.19834°W﻿ / 40.64222; -74.19834﻿ (South First Street Bridge) | |
| 0.7 | Elizabeth River Bridge Conrail (CRCX) | Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad Garden State Secondary | 40°38′43″N 74°12′10″W﻿ / ﻿40.64514°N 74.20268°W﻿ / 40.64514; -74.20268﻿ (Elizabeth River Bridge (CRCX)) | |
| 0.9 | New Jersey Turnpike | I-95 / N.J. Turnpike | 40°38′44″N 74°12′13″W﻿ / ﻿40.64555°N 74.20359°W﻿ / 40.64555; -74.20359﻿ (I-95 bridges) | Baltic Street eliminated in 1959 |
| | Trenton Avenue/Atlantic Street | | 40°38′51″N 74°12′18″W﻿ / ﻿40.64756°N 74.20509°W﻿ / 40.64756; -74.20509﻿ (Trenton Avenue Bridge) | |
| 1.7 | South Fifth Street/Summer Street | | 40°39′00″N 74°12′35″W﻿ / ﻿40.65005°N 74.20968°W﻿ / 40.65005; -74.20968﻿ (South Fifth Street Bridge) | |
| | Elizabeth River Viaduct | US 1-9 | 40°39′30″N 74°12′34″W﻿ / ﻿40.65836°N 74.20937°W﻿ / 40.65836; -74.20937﻿ (Elizabeth River Viaduct (U.S. Route 1/9)) | |
| | South Street | | 40°39′29″N 74°12′38″W﻿ / ﻿40.65812°N 74.21045°W﻿ / 40.65812; -74.21045﻿ (South Street Bridge) | |
| 2.1 | Bridge Street | | 40°39′40″N 74°12′42″W﻿ / ﻿40.66103°N 74.21157°W﻿ / 40.66103; -74.21157﻿ (Bridge Street Bridge) | |
| | South Broad Street | | 40°39′40″N 74°12′55″W﻿ / ﻿40.66098°N 74.21519°W﻿ / 40.66098; -74.21519﻿ (South Broad Street Bridge) | |
| | Rahway Avenue | | 40°39′42″N 74°13′03″W﻿ / ﻿40.6616°N 74.2175°W﻿ / 40.6616; -74.2175﻿ (Rahway Avenue Bridge) | |
| | Elizabeth River Bridge | Northeast Corridor Amtrak (Northeast Regional) New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor Line North Jersey Coast Line | 40°39′43″N 74°13′05″W﻿ / ﻿40.66203°N 74.21797°W﻿ / 40.66203; -74.21797﻿ (Elizabeth River Bridge (Northeast Corridor)) | |
| | Murray Street | | 40°39′48″N 74°13′08″W﻿ / ﻿40.66325°N 74.21879°W﻿ / 40.66325; -74.21879﻿ (Murray Street Bridge) | |
| | West Jersey Street | | 40°39′53″N 74°13′08″W﻿ / ﻿40.66464°N 74.21885°W﻿ / 40.66464; -74.21885﻿ (West Jersey Street Bridge) | |
| | West Grand | | 40°39′59″N 74°13′07″W﻿ / ﻿40.66632°N 74.21852°W﻿ / 40.66632; -74.21852﻿ (West Grand Street Bridge) | |
| | Central Railroad of New Jersey ROW | | 40°40′01″N 74°13′07″W﻿ / ﻿40.66701°N 74.21868°W﻿ / 40.66701; -74.21868﻿ (Jersey Central Bridge) | |
| | Westfield Avenue | Route 27 | 40°40′05″N 74°13′10″W﻿ / ﻿40.66805°N 74.21943°W﻿ / 40.66805; -74.21943﻿ (Westfield Avenue Bridge) | |
| | Morris Avenue | CR 629 | 40°40′12″N 74°13′09″W﻿ / ﻿40.66997°N 74.21906°W﻿ / 40.66997; -74.21906﻿ (Morris Avenue Bridge) | |
| | Orchard Street | | 40°40′16″N 74°13′10″W﻿ / ﻿40.67115°N 74.21951°W﻿ / 40.67115; -74.21951﻿ (Orchard Street Bridge) | |
| 3.7 | Trotters Lane | | 40°40′30″N 74°13′20″W﻿ / ﻿40.67502°N 74.22219°W﻿ / 40.67502; -74.22219﻿ (Trotters Lane Bridge) | |
| 3.8 | Ursino Dam | | 40°40′31″N 74°13′21″W﻿ / ﻿40.67536°N 74.22246°W﻿ / 40.67536; -74.22246﻿ (Ursino Dam) | |
| | North Avenue | Route 439 | 40°40′39″N 74°13′32″W﻿ / ﻿40.67752°N 74.22552°W﻿ / 40.67752; -74.22552﻿ (North Avenue Bridge) | |
| | Kean University Footbridge | | 40°40′51″N 74°13′37″W﻿ / ﻿40.68091°N 74.22708°W﻿ / 40.68091; -74.22708﻿ (Kean University Footbridge) | |
| | Conrail New Jersey Transit | Lehigh Line Raritan Valley Line | 40°41′10″N 74°14′04″W﻿ / ﻿40.68617°N 74.23439°W﻿ / 40.68617; -74.23439﻿ (Lehigh Line/Raritan Valley Line Bridge) | |
| | Liberty Avenue/Salem Road | CR 509 | 40°41′23″N 74°14′16″W﻿ / ﻿40.68979°N 74.23772°W﻿ / 40.68979; -74.23772﻿ (Liberty Avenue Bridge) | |
| | Salem Dam | | 40°41′24″N 74°14′16″W﻿ / ﻿40.69010°N 74.23773°W﻿ / 40.69010; -74.23773﻿ (Salem Dam) | |
| | U.S. Route 22 | US 22 | 40°41′52″N 74°14′48″W﻿ / ﻿40.69785°N 74.24654°W﻿ / 40.69785; -74.24654﻿ (U.S. Route 22 Bridge) | |
| | Garden State Parkway | G.S. Parkway | 40°42′04″N 74°14′57″W﻿ / ﻿40.70108°N 74.24930°W﻿ / 40.70108; -74.24930﻿ (Garden State Parkway Bridge) | |
| | Phillipsburg-Newark Expressway | I-78 | 40°42′20″N 74°14′50″W﻿ / ﻿40.70556°N 74.24719°W﻿ / 40.70556; -74.24719﻿ (I-78 Bridge) | |
| | Union Avenue | | 40°42′26″N 74°14′49″W﻿ / ﻿40.70726°N 74.24707°W﻿ / 40.70726; -74.24707﻿ (Union Avenue Bridge) | |
| | Garden State Parkway Interchange 142 | G.S. Parkway | 40°42′34″N 74°14′46″W﻿ / ﻿40.70949°N 74.24600°W﻿ / 40.70949; -74.24600﻿ (Garden State Parkway Interchange 142 bridges) | |
| Elizabeth River becomes sub-surface waterway |||||
This list is for the crossings in Essex County from Union County line to source
| Crossing | Carries | Coordinates |
| Elizabeth River runs as sub-surface waterway under the Garden State Parkway ||||
| Mill Road | | |
| Chancellor Avenue | CR 601 | |
| Yale Avenue | | |
| Lyons Avenue | CR 602 | 40°43′44″N 74°14′02″W﻿ / ﻿40.728822°N 74.233985°W﻿ / 40.728822; -74.233985 |
| Nye Avenue | | |
| Springfield Avenue | CR 603 | |
| Bridge at Civic Square | | |
| Bridge at Civic Square | | |
| Clinton Avenue | CR 605 | 40°43′44″N 74°14′02″W﻿ / ﻿40.728822°N 74.233985°W﻿ / 40.728822; -74.233985 |
| Madison Avenue | | |
| Valley Street | | |
Download coordinates as:
* KML
* GPX (all coordinates)
* GPX (primary coordinates)
* GPX (secondary coordinates)