Route 3 is a
state highway in the northeastern part of
New Jersey. The route runs 10.84 miles (17.45 km) from
U.S. Route 46 (US 46) in
Clifton,
Passaic County, to
US 1/9 in
North Bergen,
Hudson County. The route intersects many major roads, including US 46, which takes travelers to
Interstate 80 (I-80) west for commuting out of the city-area, the
Garden State Parkway and
Route 21 in
Clifton,
Route 17 and the Western Spur of the
New Jersey Turnpike (
I-95) in
East Rutherford, the Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike (also I-95) in Secaucus, and
Route 495 in North Bergen, for traffic going to the
Lincoln Tunnel into
New York City. Route 3 serves as the main artery to the Lincoln Tunnel from I-80, in conjunction with a portion of US 46 and Route 495. Portions of the route are not up to
freeway standards; with driveways serving businesses and bus stops. Despite this, many construction projects have been underway over the years to alleviate this issue. Route 3 also provided access to
Hoffmann La Roche's former American headquarters in
Nutley, the
Meadowlands Sports Complex and
American Dream in East Rutherford. The road inspired a story in
The New Yorker in 2004 by
Ian Frazier due to its views of the
Manhattan skyline. Route 3 was originally the
Lincoln Tunnel Approach and ended at the state line in the
Hudson River, though it was scaled back following the construction of I-495; which is now Route 495 due to also not meeting interstate highway standards.
Route 3 was originally established in 1927 to run from the
New York state line on the west shore of
Greenwood Lake to Secaucus. In 1929, the western terminus was cut back to
Paterson when the alignment west of there was planned to become part of
Route S4B. Route 3 originally followed present-day
Route 20 through Paterson and ran along local streets to East Rutherford, where it followed present-day
Route 120 and
Paterson Plank Road to Secaucus. It was extended east to the Lincoln Tunnel in 1939. The section of Route 3 between US 46 in Clifton and East Rutherford was completed in the 1940s as
Route S3 as well as the Secaucus Bypass, which was designated a bypass of Route 3. Route 3 was moved to the Route S3 freeway and the Secaucus Bypass in 1953 and was truncated to US 1/9 in North Bergen in 1959 when the Lincoln Tunnel approach was designated as
I-495. The Route 3 freeway has seen many improvements over the years, such as widening and interchange reconstructions. It underwent a major reconstruction, completed in 2016, to modern highway standards with bridge replacements, including a new
Passaic River bridge between
Clifton and
Route 17 in
Rutherford. (
Full article...)