Knowlton Township, New Jersey - Transportation History

Transportation History

Much of Knowlton's development from about 1850 on can be traced to the presence of the five railroad lines that criss-crossed the township: the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Old Road and, later, the Lackawanna Cut-Off; the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway; the Lehigh & New England Railroad; and the Blairstown Railway. Ironically, all of these rail lines have since been abandoned. In their heyday, however, two rail lines and three railroads served the town of Delaware: the New York, Susquehanna and Western (formerly Blairstown) Railway; and the Old Road of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (which also had granted trackage rights to the Pennsylvania Railroad—technically a sixth railroad). The town of Columbia was also served by the NYS&W (Hainesburg also had a station), with the Lehigh and New England Railroad also passing through town.

In more recent years, the development within Knowlton has been tied to the presence of U.S. Route 46 and, since the early 1970s, Interstate 80. Indeed, many Knowlton residents use Route 80 to commute to their jobs either further east in New Jersey or further west in Pennsylvania. Route 94 crosses through the township. Two bridges cross the Delaware River, connecting the township to Pennsylvania; the Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge connects Route 94 to Pennsylvania Route 611 in Portland, Pennsylvania, as does the Portland-Columbia Pedestrian Bridge.