page_title: New Jersey Route 15
section_title: Route description
hierarchical_section_title: New Jersey Route 15 / Route description
caption_attribution_description: English: Route&#160;15 northbound from Route&#160;181 south of Woodruffs Gap, New Jersey.
context_page_description: Route 15 is a state highway in New Jersey, spanning Morris and Sussex counties, which travels for 19 miles from U.S. Route 46 in Dover to an intersection with U.S. Route 206 in Frankford Township. It becomes a divided highway in Wharton Borough until becoming a freeway bypass near Sparta. Route 15 was originally Route 6A from 1927 until 1953, when a renumbering occurred and the route was given its current number. Since the finishing of the Sparta Bypass, the New Jersey Department of Transportation and North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority have considered more bypasses and alignment changes for Route 15.
context_section_description: Route 15 currently exists in two disconnected segments. The southern segment begins in downtown Dover at an intersection with U.S. Route 46 (US 46). It follows Bergen Street south a short distance to Clinton Street, then turns west along Clinton Street through downtown Dover. This segment, which is signed in downtown Dover, was disconnected from the rest of the route when a new intersection between US 46 and Route 15 was constructed just northwest of downtown Dover. Route 15 formerly passed under US 46 along the Morristown and Erie Railway at the location of this new intersection. The southern segment ends at a dead end just southeast of the new intersection, with the northern segment of Route 15 starting again at US 46 almost directly above the rail line.
  From the new intersection with US 46, Route 15 continues north, exiting Dover and entering Rockaway Township. The road remains two lanes past the turn for the Rockaway Townsquare Mall. For a very short distance Route 15 becomes a freeway as it crosses the Interstate 80 (I-80) interchange. A mile north, the road becomes a four lane divided highway with exits for a few businesses and Picatinny Arsenal. At that point, Route 15 leaves Rockaway Township and enters Jefferson Township. In Jefferson Township, the northbound and southbound lanes become about a quarter mile apart as it climbs up a steep mountain. The southbound lanes have businesses, easy access to them, and a speed limit of 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) as these were the original lanes of Route 15 when it was only a two lane highway. The northbound lanes are nearly a freeway with limited access to businesses on the southbound lanes. The northbound lanes have a speed limit of 50 mph as well. These two lanes were built in the late 1960s.
  Slightly farther north, Route 15 becomes a freeway and the northbound and southbound lanes come closer together. At this point, the original two-lane Route 15 breaks off into Route 181, heading through Jefferson Township and into downtown Sparta. Several miles north, the freeway leaves Morris County in Jefferson Township and enters Sussex County and Sparta Township, bypassing downtown Sparta. After bypassing downtown Sparta, Route 181 ends and merges onto Route 15. The freeway then ends and Route 15 becomes a two-lane road before crossing a New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway branch line. After Route 15 leaves Sparta and enters Lafayette Township, it merges with Route 94.  Routes 15 and 94 run as a concurrency until Route 94 turns off to the southeast while Route 15 heads northwest. It continues into Frankford Township and comes to an end at U.S. Route 206 and County Route 565.
caption: Route 15 northbound after Route 181
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