page_title: Garden State Parkway
section_title: 21st century
hierarchical_section_title: Garden State Parkway / History / 21st century
caption_attribution_description: English: An image of the (left to right) Driscoll Bridge, Vieser Bridge, and Edison Bridge from the northbound Garden State Parkway just past the now-removed Raritan Toll plaza. This image was taken before the Edison Bridge was rebuilt, and at this time the Edison Bridge was taking traffic for northbound US 9 and the Veiser Bridge was only taking the southbound traffic for US 9.
context_page_description: The Garden State Parkway is a limited-access highway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May to the New York state line at Montvale. A toll road, its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State". The parkway's official, but unsigned, designation is Route 444. At its north end, the road becomes the Garden State Parkway Connector, a component of the New York State Thruway system that connects to the Thruway mainline in Ramapo. The parkway is the longest highway in the state at approximately 172 miles, and, according to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, was the busiest toll road in the United States in 2006. The highway has a posted speed limit of 65 miles per hour for most of its length, and is primarily for passenger vehicle use; trucks weighing over 10,000 pounds are prohibited north of exit 105.
  The parkway was constructed between 1946 and 1957 to connect suburban northern New Jersey with resort areas along the Atlantic coast and to alleviate traffic on traditional north–south routes running through each town center, such as U.S. Route 1, US 9, and Route 35.
context_section_description: On September 25, 2002, construction began on a new span of the Driscoll Bridge just west of the original spans, consisting of seven lanes and emergency shoulders. On May 3, 2006, all traffic was shifted onto the new span, and the original two were closed for rehabilitation. On May 20, 2009, all northbound traffic was shifted back onto the original spans, and the new one was made exclusively for southbound traffic.
  On July 9, 2003, Governor Jim McGreevey's plan to merge the operating organizations of the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike into one agency, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA), was completed.
  In May 2005, Governor Richard Codey announced plans for a widening of the parkway between exit 63 in Stafford Township and exit 80 in the borough of South Toms River from two to three lanes in both directions. However, the NJTA later made plans to widen the parkway from exit 80 all the way south to exit 30 in the city of Somers Point. The project was divided into three phases. The first phase from exits 80 to 63 was complete in May 2011. The second phase from exits 63 to 48 was complete in November 2014.  The third phase from exits 48 to 30 was completed in 2018, and included construction of new bridges across the Mullica River from the city of Port Republic to Bass River Township.
  In 2008, a $150 million project began to add new ramps at the interchange with I-78, supplying the missing movements between the two highways. Previously, the parkway northbound did not have an exit to I-78 westbound, and the parkway southbound did not have an exit to I-78 eastbound. The lack of connections was due to the cancellation of the extension of I-278 (which would have connected northbound parkway traffic with I-78 westbound) and Route 75 (which would have connected southbound parkway traffic with I-78 eastbound via I-280). In April 2008, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) awarded the project contract to the engineering firm Gannett Fleming for the design, and to Union Paving & Construction Company for building the ramps. The ramp connecting the parkway northbound with I-78 westbound opened on September 16, 2009 with a ribbon cutting ceremony led by Governor Jon Corzine, and the ramp connecting the parkway southbound with I-78 eastbound opened on December 10, 2010.
  As originally built, in Cape May County, the parkway had three traffic lights (at exits 9, 10, and 11), but these were eliminated in 2014–2015, with construction of three overpasses in Cape May Court House and Stone Harbor. Construction began in early 2013, years after the scheduled start date due to a wetland mitigation plan that had not been approved by the federal government. The project cost $125 million, and was complete by September 2015.
  The southbound bridge over the Great Egg Harbor Bay was replaced with a wider span parallel to the older span as part of a $79.3 million project. Construction began in 2013 and continued into 2019. The new southbound bridge temporarily carried both northbound and southbound traffic so the northbound bridge could receive new decking and strengthening. The project also included the addition of a mixed-use walkway along the new southbound span that will allow pedestrian and bicycle connections between Upper Township and Somers Point. However, NJDOT and the city of Somers Point blocked the path from opening until it is linked with an existing path leading to Ocean City. In March 2020, NJDOT announced that the path is set to open on May 6.
  On July 22, 2014, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority filed a federal lawsuit against Jersey Boardwalk Pizza, a pizza chain in Florida, for using a logo too similar to the signs for the Garden State Parkway. Federal Judge William Martini dismissed the suit on March 26, 2015.
  In June 2018, an improvement project began at the interchange with I-280 and CR 508 (Central Avenue). The project involves widening the entrance ramp to the parkway southbound from one to two lanes and adding a second deceleration lane on the parkway northbound. To accommodate the wider roadway, th
caption: Garden State Parkway northbound approaching the Driscoll Bridge in 2002, before the southbound span was built
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