# County Route 501 (New Jersey)

County Route 501 (CR 501) is a county highway in New Jersey in two segments spanning Middlesex, Hudson, and Bergen counties. The southern segment runs from South Plainfield to Perth Amboy, the northern segment runs from Bayonne to Rockleigh, and the two segments are connected by NY 440 across Staten Island.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation lists CR 501 as a single highway with a length of 53.0 miles (85.3 km), which includes both road sections and the connection along NY 440.

## Route description
### Middlesex County

CR 501 is signed east-west in Middlesex County. The western (southern) terminus of CR 501 is at the intersection of Stelton Road (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 (Kennedy Boulevard)

The northern section of CR 501 begins in Hudson County, New Jersey and is known as Kennedy Boulevard. It starts at the intersection of Route 440/Bayonne Bridge in Bayonne, making its way north to Route 63 in North Bergen. The highway crosses over Route 139 to the Holland Tunnel and Route 495 to the Lincoln Tunnel.
At its intersection of Route 63 in North Bergen, CR 501 begins a concurrency with Route 63 into Bergen County, while Kennedy Boulevard loops around the northern end of the county and heads south through Guttenberg, West New York and Weehawken, where it is known as Boulevard East.
Major points on 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 Hudson 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 crosses over 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.
The boulevard continues north through Jersey City Heights, passing Dr. Leonard J. Gordon Park. In the area once known as Transfer Station, it enters North Hudson.

### Bergen County

In Bergen County, CR 501 leaves its concurrency with Route 63 in Palisades Park, using Central Boulevard to connect to the concurrency with US 1/9/46 and Route 93. It is then concurrent with Route 93 until it reaches that route's northern terminus at the interchange with Route 4 in Englewood. CR 501 continues north from this interchange through Rockleigh, crossing the New York State Line and becoming NY 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.
Prior to being renamed in honor of John F. Kennedy in the 1960s, 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 | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| Middlesex | South Plainfield | 0.0 | 0.0 | CR 529 (Stelton Rd) | Western terminus |
| Middlesex | Edison | 2.0 | 3.2 | I-287 north | Exit 3 (I-287) |
| Middlesex | Metuchen | 3.3 | 5.3 | Route 27 north (Middlesex Ave) – Rahway | Western end of the concurrency with Route 27 |
| Middlesex | Metuchen | 3.6 | 5.8 | Route 27 south (Lake Ave) to I-95 Toll / N.J. Turnpike – Highland Park | Eastern end of the concurrency with Route 27 |
| Middlesex | Metuchen | 3.8 | 6.1 | CR 531 (Main St) | |
| Middlesex | Edison | 4.6 | 7.4 | US 1 to I-95 Toll / N.J. Turnpike – Newark, New Brunswick | Interchange |
| Middlesex | Edison | 5.7 | 9.2 | CR 514 (Woodbridge Ave) to I-95 Toll / N.J. Turnpike | |
| Middlesex | Edison | 6.2 | 10.0 | CR 616 east (New Brunswick Ave) | Western terminus of CR 616 |
| Middlesex | Woodbridge Township | 6.9 | 11.1 | Route 184 begins | Route 184 begins |
| Middlesex | Woodbridge Township | 7.1 | 11.4 | To I-95 Toll / N.J. Turnpike / G.S. Parkway north | Partial cloverleaf interchange |
| Middlesex | Woodbridge Township | 7.3 | 11.7 | US 9 – Rahway, South Amboy | Partial cloverleaf interchange |
| Middlesex | Perth Amboy | 7.7 | 12.4 | CR 655 (Florida Grove Rd) | |
| Middlesex | Perth Amboy | 8.2 | 13.2 | Route 35 CR 653 (Amboy Ave) Route 184 ends | Eastern terminus of Route 184 |
| Western end of the freeway section ||
| Middlesex | Perth Amboy | 8.2 | 13.2 | Route 440 south to I-95 Toll / N.J. Turnpike / G.S. Parkway south / US 9 south | Western end of the concurrency with Route 440 |
| Middlesex | Perth Amboy | 8.3 | 13.4 | Route 35 south | Westbound exit only |
| Middlesex | Perth Amboy | 8.6 | 13.8 | Amboy Ave | Eastbound exit is via Route 440 exit; access via CR 653 |
| Middlesex | Perth Amboy | 9.2 | 14.8 | State St / High St – Perth Amboy | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; access via CR 611 |
| Arthur Kill | Arthur Kill | 10.1 | 16.3 | Outerbridge Crossing (eastbound toll on Staten Island) | Outerbridge Crossing (eastbound toll on Staten Island) |
| Arthur Kill | Arthur Kill | 10.1 | 16.3 | NY 440 north – Staten Island Route 440 ends | Continuation into New Yorknorthern terminus of Route 440 |
| Connection made via NY 440 (12.7 mi or 20.44 km) ||||||
| Kill van Kull | Kill van Kull | 22.85 | 36.77 | NY 440 south – Staten Island Route 440 begins | Continuation into New York; southern terminus of Route 440 |
| Bayonne Bridge (southbound toll on Staten Island) ||
| Hudson | Bayonne | 23.7 | 38.1 | Avenue A | Southbound exit and entrance |
| Hudson | Bayonne | 23.7 | 38.1 | Route 440 north to I-78 Toll / Newark Bay Extension – Jersey City | Northern end of the concurrency with Route 440 |
| Northern end of the freeway section ||
| Hudson | Bayonne | 27.1 | 43.6 | To Route 440 | Access via West 63rd Street |
| Hudson | Jersey City | 29.3 | 47.2 | CR 612 (Communipaw Ave) | |
| Hudson | Jersey City | 31.1 | 50.1 | US 1-9 (Tonnele Circle) | |
| Hudson | Jersey City | 31.1 | 50.1 | Route 139 east – Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel | Western terminus of the upper level of Route 139 |
| Hudson | North Bergen | 34.0 | 54.7 | Route 495 to I-95 / N.J. Turnpike – Lincoln Tunnel | Interchange; former I-495 |
| Hudson | Union City | 34.3– 34.3 | 55.2– 55.2 | CR 505 north (38th St) | Southern terminus of CR 505 |
| Hudson | North Bergen | 37.2 | 59.9 | Route 63 begins | Route 63 begins |
| Bergen | Fort Lee | 39.1 | 62.9 | Route 5 – Ridgefield, Edgewater | Northbound access via Bergen Boulevard; southbound access via Aurora Avenue and Bergen Boulevard |
| Bergen | Palisades Park | 39.6 | 63.7 | Route 63 north – G.W. Bridge | Northern end of the concurrency with Route 63 |
| Bergen | Palisades Park | 39.9 | 64.2 | US 1-9 / US 46 | Interchange; southbound access via 5th Street and northbound access via 6th Street |
| Bergen | Palisades Park | 40.5 | 65.2 | Route 93 south (Grand Ave) – Ridgefield, Fairview | Southern end of the concurrency with Route 93 |
| Bergen | Englewood | 42.7 | 68.7 | Route 4 – New York, Paterson | Interchange; northbound access via Rockwood Place |
| Bergen | Englewood | 42.8 | 68.9 | CR 501 south (Van Nostrand Ave) Route 93 ends | Northern terminus of Route 93; one-way pair begins |
| Bergen | Englewood | 43.8 | 70.5 | CR 505 (Palisades Ave) – Teaneck, Bergenfield | |
| Bergen | Englewood | 45.0 | 72.4 | CR 501 south (Hudson Ave) | Northern terminus of one-way pair |
| Bergen | Closter | 49.6 | 79.8 | CR 502 (Old Closter Dock Rd) to US 9W – Westwood, Alpine | |
| Bergen | Rockleigh | 53.0 | 85.3 | NY 340 north – Sparkill | Continuation into New York |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Electronic toll collection Incomplete access ||||||