County Route 508 (New Jersey) - Route Description - Essex County

Essex County

CR 508 begins in Livingston at the Livingston Circle, a realigned traffic circle, with State Route 10 (Mt. Pleasant Avenue) and County Route 609 (Eisenhower Parkway). As West Northfield Road, the highway travels through a primarily residential section of Livingston. This turns into a more commercial area approaching the intersection with Livingston Avenue, after which East Northfield Road goes through another residential section. At the eastern end of Livingston there is another commercial area near the intersections with County Route 527 (East Cedar Street) and Old Short Hills Road. After this the route enters West Orange; the road, now called Northfield Avenue, is lined with businesses and offices until it enters South Mountain Reservation.

After crossing over Second Watchung Mountain the route intersects with County Route 636 (Pleasant Valley Way). Beyond the intersection there are businesses on the north side, with the Richard J. Codey Arena and Turtle Back Zoo on the south side. The road then climbs up First Watchung Mountain, intersects County Route 677 (Prospect Avenue, signed as County Route 577 Spur), then heads down towards the foot of the mountain, intersecting County Route 577 (Gregory Avenue) about halfway down. At the bottom, CR 508 turns onto Whittingham Place, while Northfield Avenue finishes its run as CR 508 Spur. Eastbound traffic continues down Whittingham to Valley Road, whereas westbound traffic uses one-way Kingsley Street as a shortcut between Valley Road and Whittingham Place. CR 508 reunites on Valley Road at the south end of Kingsley Street, and then very soon turns onto Central Avenue, passing through a small industrial area before entering Orange.

The road passes under the Morristown Line and intersects County Route 638 (Scotland Road). A variety of schools, businesses, parks, churches, and houses line Central Avenue through Orange, This becomes mostly businesses as the route passes through East Orange, where it intersects County Route 605 (Evergreen Place) and County Route 509 (Grove Street). The route forms the northern edge of Fairmount Cemetery straddling the boundary between East Orange and Newark. Central Avenue passes through University Heights, which ends at Broad Street. CR 508 continues on Park Place and Center Street, passing the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. An unsigned multiplex with State Route 21 (McCarter Highway) between Center and Bridge Streets follows, at which point the route turns east onto the Bridge Street Bridge.