Interstate 280 (New Jersey)

**Interstate 280** (**I-280**) is a 17.85-mile (28.73 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It provides a spur from I-80 in Parsippany-Troy Hills, Morris County to Newark, and I-95 (the New Jersey Turnpike) in Kearny, Hudson County. In Kearny, access is provided toward the Holland Tunnel and Lincoln Tunnel to New York City. The western part of the route runs through suburban areas of Morris and Essex counties, crossing the Watchung Mountains. Upon reaching The Oranges,
 the setting becomes more urbanized and I-280 runs along a depressed alignment before ascending again in Newark. I-280 includes a lift bridge, the William A. Stickel Memorial Bridge over the Passaic River between Newark and East Newark/Harrison. The highway is sometimes called the **Essex Freeway**. I-280 interchanges with several roads, including the Garden State Parkway in East Orange and Route 21 in Newark.

A part of present-day I-280 in Newark west of the Stickel Bridge was legislated as Route 25A in 1939, a spur of Route 25 (U.S. Route 1/9) that was to run from Jersey City west to Newark. This portion of road would become Route 58 in 1953 (the Route 58 designation was removed in the 1990s). When the Interstate Highway System was being planned, the Route 3 freeway was planned to become an Interstate. The New Jersey State Highway Department
 favored the Essex Freeway instead between I-80 in Parsippany-Troy Hills
 to I-95 in Kearny. The latter would become the Interstate and be
designated I-280. This road was built in the 1960s and completed west
from Newark in 1973. The portion east of Newark to the New Jersey
Turnpike opened in 1980. I-280 was once planned to continue east to I-78
 near the Holland Tunnel but never was extended east of the New Jersey
Turnpike. In the 2000s, the Stickel Bridge was reconstructed after the
original structure was determined to be structurally deficient.
Interstate 280 is one of two 3 digit interstate designations to appear
on opposite coasts. Interstate 110 in California and Florida is the other one.

## Route Description

I-280 begins at I-80 and US 46 in Parsippany-Troy Hills, Morris County and heads southeast into wooded surroundings as a four-lane freeway. The road comes to its first interchange with New Road before crossing the Whippany River into East Hanover. The freeway runs near some fields before heading back into woods and entering Roseland, Essex County at the crossing of the Passaic River. Shortly after the Passaic River, I-280 has a cloverleaf interchange with the Eisenhower Parkway (CR 609). At this point, the roadway widens to six lanes and runs near wooded suburban areas, passing over the Morristown and Erie Railway's Whippany Line before reaching CR 527 at another cloverleaf interchange. Past CR 527, I-280 makes a turn to the east before heading southeast into Livingston and intersecting CR 634. Following this exit, the road enters West Orange and passes through Second Watchung Mountain in a rock cut. Past the mountain, the road heads back into suburban areas
and comes to the exit for CR 636, where the highway widens to eight
lanes here and heads east to an interchange with CR 577. After CR 577, I-280 makes a sharp turn to the south and goes through First Watchung Mountain in another cut, resuming into suburbs again and heading south-southeast as it comes interchanges at CR 660 (New Jersey Route 10) and CR 508 Spur.

The terrain becomes urban soon after exit 10, when it enters Orange.
 Here, I-280 narrows back to six lanes and heads onto a depressed
alignment with frequent overpasses, running a short distance to the
south of NJ Transit’s Morristown Line. Along this portion, the roadway has ramps to Essex Avenue, Day Street, and Center Street. Continuing into East Orange, the freeway passes under more streets as it runs next to the Morristown Line, passing south of Brick Church station and interchanging with Harrison Street and Clinton Street. Near East Orange station, I-280 comes to a full interchange with the Garden State Parkway, which also has access to CR 509 and Oraton Parkway. Following this junction, the highway widens to eight lanes before becoming ten lanes at the border with Newark.

After
 crossing under more city streets, the roadway comes to exit 13, a
left-side exit and entrance to and from the west accessing First Street
and a ramp from the east to Orange Street.
 At this point, the total number of lanes on the road decreases from ten
 to four and I-280 eastbound heads up and over the exit 13 ramps,
rejoining the westbound lanes on a bridge over First Street, Orange
Street and the Newark City Subway. As the road returns to surface level and begins to parallel the Morris & Essex Lines and Montclair-Boonton Line
 to the north, an unused bridge carries the western end of the 1954
section of freeway over the railroad to Orange Street east of Duryea
Street.
 After this, I-280 passes under Clifton Avenue, which it has access to,
 and Nesbitt Street. It rises again to pass over Martin Luther King
Boulevard, which is also has access to, Broad Street and Route 21. Just after a large interchange with Route 21, I-280 crosses the Passaic River again on the six-lane William A. Stickel Memorial Bridge, a 125-foot (38 m) vertical lift bridge, into Harrison, Hudson County.

I-280 continues to run just north of the railroad as a six-lane freeway through Harrison, reaching an interchange with CR 508.
 The road continues southeast through urban surroundings before turning
east and passing to the north of a railroad yard, splitting from the
railroad line as it runs into Kearny and enters the New Jersey Meadowlands. At the final interchange with CR 508, I-280 has access to the Holland Tunnel via Route 7, US 1/9 Truck and Route 139. Past CR 508, the freeway narrows to four lanes and comes to the toll plaza for the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95)
 at exit 15W, at which point I-280 ends. Full access is provided with
the Western Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike, which carries through I-95
traffic; ramps to and from the north on the Eastern Spur of the New
Jersey Turnpike allow for access to the Lincoln Tunnel via Route 495.
Replacement of partial access in central Harrison with service
roads, a new interchange, and an overpass (to improve access to Harrison Avenue, the PATH station, and Red Bull Arena, and to give north-south passage to local street traffic) is in the planning stages.