Interstate 280 (New Jersey) - Route Description

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 highway. 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 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 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 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 New Jersey 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, interchanging with Harrison Street and Clinton Street. At a full interchange with the Garden State Parkway, I-280 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 1st Street and a ramp from the east to Orange Street. At this point, the total amount 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 feet (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.