New Jersey Route 79 - Route Description

Route Description

Route 79 begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 9 in Freehold Township, heading north on South Street, a two-lane divided highway that soon becomes an undivided road. It interchanges with Route 33 and continues through a mix of residential and commercial areas The route enters Freehold Borough, where it crosses Route 33 Business and continues past residences. Route 79 heads into commercial areas of downtown Freehold, where it intersects County Route 537 (Main Street). Here, the route heads northeast on Main Street to run concurrent with County Route 537 for a short distance. It eventually splits from County Route 537 by forking to the left to head northeast on Broadway. The route heads through residential neighborhoods, intersecting County Route 46 (Dutch Lane Road). Route 79 crosses back into Freehold Township, where it continues through suburban residential areas, with intermittent farms and woods. It heads into Marlboro Township, where the name becomes Marlboro Road. The route passes some businesses before it widens into a four-lane divided highway and comes to an interchange with Route 18.

Past this interchange, Route 79 heads through a mix of residences and businesses, narrowing back into a two-lane undivided road. The name of the road changes to North Main Street at the School Road intersection as it heads into residential neighborhoods. The road passes through agricultural areas before heading back into residential and commercial areas, where it intersects County Route 520 (Newman Springs Road). Past this intersection, Route 79 continues north into farmland with some residences and businesses; the amount of neighborhoods eventually increase along the road again. The road heads through more open land before it heads through wooded areas containing homes and businesses. The route intersects County Route 3 (Tennent Road) in Morganville, forming a short concurrency with that route that lasts until County Route 3 heads northeast on Lloyd Road. Route 79 continues north through wooded neighborhoods and enters Matawan, where it becomes Main Street. It passes through residential areas before the road crosses County Route 516 (New Brunswick Avenue/Broad Street) in a commercial area. Route 79 continues a short distance north past this intersection to its northern terminus at Route 34 (Middlesex Street). At this intersection, County Route 516 Spur continues northeast on Main Street.