U.S. Route 46

It has been suggested that Little Ferry Circle be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2024.

U.S. Route 46
United Spanish–American War Veterans Memorial Highway
US 46 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT and PANYNJ
Length	75.34 mi[1] (121.25 km)
Existed	1936–present
Major junctions
West end	I-80 / Route 94 in Knowlton Township
Major intersections	I-80 / US 206 in Netcong Route 15 in Dover I-287 / US 202 in Parsippany-Troy Hills Route 23 in Wayne Route 3 in Clifton G.S. Parkway in Clifton G.S. Parkway / Route 20 / Route 21 in Elmwood Park Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights I-95 / N.J. Turnpike / I-80 in Ridgefield Park US 1-9 in Palisades Park
East end	I-95 / US 1 / US 9 at the New York state line on the George Washington Bridge
Location
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Counties	Warren, Morris, Essex, Passaic, Bergen
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← US 45 US → US 48 ← PA 45 PA → PA 46 ← Route 45 NJ → Route 46 ← Route 5 Route 6 → Route 7

U.S. Route 46 (US 46) is an east–west U.S. Highway completely within the state of New Jersey, running for 75.34 mi (121.25 km), making it the shortest signed, non-spur U.S. Highway. The west end is at an interchange with Interstate 80 (I-80) and Route 94 in Columbia, Warren County, on the Delaware River. The east end is in the middle of the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River in Fort Lee, Bergen County, while the route is concurrent with I-95 and US 1-9. Throughout much of its length, US 46 is closely paralleled by I-80. US 46 is a major local and suburban route, with some sections built to or near freeway standards and many other sections arterials with jughandles. The route runs through several communities in the northern part of New Jersey, including Hackettstown, Netcong, Dover, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Wayne, Clifton, Ridgefield Park, Palisades Park, and Fort Lee. It crosses over the Upper Passaic River at several points. The road has been ceremonially named the United Spanish–American War Veterans Memorial Highway.^[1]

What is now US 46 was originally designated as three separate routes. Pre-1927 Route 5 was created in 1916 to follow the road from Delaware to Denville, pre-1927 Route 12 in 1917 to follow the route between Hackettstown and Paterson, and pre-1927 Route 10 in 1917 to run between Paterson and Edgewater. In 1927, Route 6 was legislated to run from Delaware east to the George Washington Bridge, replacing portions of Routes 5 and 12 and paralleling the former Route 10, which itself became Route 5 and Route 10N, the latter being shortly removed from the state highway system. In 1936, US 46 was designated to run from US 611 in Portland, Pennsylvania, east to the George Washington Bridge. The route replaced Pennsylvania Route 987 (PA 987) to the Delaware Bridge over the Delaware River, and from there followed Route 6 across New Jersey. In 1953, the Route 6 designation was removed from US 46 in New Jersey, and later that year, the route was realigned to end at US 611 in Columbia, New Jersey, replacing a part of Route 94. US 611 had been brought into New Jersey by two new bridges over the Delaware River, following a freeway between them that became a part of I-80. In 1965, US 611 was aligned back into its original Pennsylvania route (which from 1953 until 1965 was US 611 Alternate), and US 46's western terminus remained as an interchange ramp with I-80 and Route 94. Its number is out of place since U.S. Route 46 lies north of U.S. Route 22, U.S. Route 30 and U.S. Route 40.