New Jersey Route 495

New Jersey Route 495

Route 495 is a 3.45-mile (5.55 km) freeway in Hudson County, New Jersey in the United States that connects the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) at exits 16E and 17 in Secaucus to the Lincoln Tunnel in Weehawken, providing access to midtown Manhattan. The road is owned and operated by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority between the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 3, the New Jersey Department of Transportation between Route 3 and Park Avenue near the Union City/Weehawken border, and by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey east of Park Avenue, including the helix used to descend the New Jersey Palisades to reach the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel. Route 495 is mostly a six-lane freeway with a contraflow bus lane used during the morning rush hour and a speed limit ranging from 35 mph (56 km/h) to 50 mph (80 km/h).

The first portion of the present-day Route 495, at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, was constructed in 1937 when the Lincoln Tunnel opened. In 1939, it was extended west to Route 3 and it became an eastern extension of that route. In 1952, the portion of the route west of Route 3 was opened when the New Jersey Turnpike was completed. In 1958, the road was incorporated into the Interstate Highway System and was designated as part of Interstate 495. Since the Mid-Manhattan Expressway that would have connected the route to New York's Interstate 495 (Long Island Expressway) was canceled, Interstate 495 officially became New Jersey Route 495 in 1979 with signs being changed in 1989.