New Jersey Route 81

New Jersey Route 81

Route 81 is a state highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The route is a freeway connector between exit 13A of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) and U.S. Route 1/9 near Newark Liberty International Airport. It runs for 1.18 miles (1.90 km), entirely within the city of Elizabeth in Union County. A freeway called Route S100 was initially proposed on the current alignment of Route 81 in 1938; it, along with its parent Route 100, was never built. The current route was conceived in the 1960s as a freeway replacement for Route 164, which followed Humboldt Avenue, a surface road. It was to be designated Route 76, but was renumbered to Route 81 when Interstate 76 was created in New Jersey.

It was legislated in 1966 to run parallel to the New Jersey Turnpike from exit 13 until North Avenue, where it would turn northwest and intersect U.S. Route 1/9 near the airport. The routing was eventually shifted to begin from a new interchange along the New Jersey Turnpike. A total of $50 million in funding was allocated for the road and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was responsible for designing the road. The state had wanted the port authority to pay for construction; however it was ruled that they could not build the road. Construction on Route 81 took place between 1979 and 1982.