New Jersey Route 58 - History

History

Route 58 originates as an alignment of State Highway Route 25-A, designated in 1939 as a suffixed spur of State Highway Route 25 from Jersey City to Clifton Avenue in Newark. The route was designated to cross through Kearny and Harrison, crossing the Passaic at the Bridge Street Bridge in Harrison. From there, it continued along, intersecting with State Highway Route 21 and Clifton Avenue. In 1949, a new bridge for the four-lane road was constructed, this bridge was named after William Stickel, an engineer from Essex County. That year, the New Jersey State Highway Department proposed construction of a new freeway to help alleviate traffic on the State Highway Route 10 corridor, designated as the Essex Freeway from the New Jersey Turnpike in Hudson County westward to U.S. Route 46 in Morris County.

On January 1, 1953, as part of the 1953 state highway renumbering, State Highway Route 25-A was rechristened as Route 58. In 1954, the State Highway Department decided to find a state highway to include in the new Eisenhower Interstate System. Originally proposed to use the Route 3 alignment for Federal Aid Interstate Route 105, the upgrading of Route 3 for standards would be too great. After Route 3 was deemed unusable, they moved focus to short portion of Route 58 that was constructed. In 1958, the State Highway Department gave Route 58 its official new designation, Interstate 280, when construction began on an extended Essex Freeway. Although Interstate 280 was designated onto Route 58's alignment, the Route 58 designation persisted throughout maps and straight line diagrams until at least 1997, when the designation was removed. A short, unused concrete portion of Route 58 remains at the northern end of Hecker Street, crossing over the New Jersey Transit tracks ending near Interstate 280.