New Jersey Route 53 - History

History

In 1916, present-day Route 53 was designated as part of pre-1927 Route 5, which ran from Delaware in Warren County east to Newark. In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, this route became Route 6 (now U.S. Route 46) between Delaware and Denville, Route 32 (now U.S. Route 202) between Morris Plains and Morristown, and Route 24 (now Route 124) between Morristown and Newark. The portion of pre-1927 Route 5 between Morris Plains and Denville, however, was not replaced by a different route and became Route 5N to distinguish it from a newly created Route 5. The northern terminus of Route 5N was at U.S. Route 46/Route 6 (Bloomfield Avenue) in Denville; when those routes were moved to a bypass, Route 5N’s northern terminus remained at Bloomfield Avenue. In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 5N was renumbered to Route 53.

In 1966, a freeway was planned for the Route 53 corridor, intended to reduce traffic congestion. The freeway was intended to run from a planned Route 24 freeway in Morris Plains and continue north, crossing Interstate 80 and Route 23 before ending at a planned Route 208 freeway near Greenwood Lake in Passaic County that would connect to the New York State Route 208 freeway that was to continue north into Orange County, New York. In 1967, the northern terminus of the Route 53 freeway was cut back to Interstate 80. This freeway was designated Route 178 in 1969. Right-of-way acquisition began for the freeway but was stopped in 1971 due to lack of funds. The freeway was canceled in 1975 due to the objection that it would lead to development in rural areas of Morris County and lack of funds. Despite the cancellation of the proposed freeway, several large corporations in Morris County pushed for the freeway to be built as it would reduce commuter traffic on Route 53 and US 202 in the area.