County Route 501 (New Jersey)

Route description

Middlesex County

CR 501 is signed east-west in Middlesex County. The western (southern) terminus of CR 501 is at the intersection of Stelton Road (CR 529) in South Plainfield. From there, the route heads east to Metuchen, where it has a short concurrency with Route 27. It then continues east, crossing the Garden State Parkway between Exits 127 and 129 in Woodbridge, following concurrencies with Route 184 and Route 440 to the southern section's eastern terminus at the Outerbridge Crossing.

Hudson County (Kennedy Boulevard)

The northern section of CR 501 begins in Hudson County, New Jersey and is known as Kennedy Boulevard. It starts at the intersection of Route 440/Bayonne Bridge in Bayonne, making its way north to Route 63 in North Bergen. The highway crosses over Route 139 to the Holland Tunnel and Route 495 to the Lincoln Tunnel.

At its intersection of Route 63 in North Bergen, CR 501 begins a concurrency with Route 63 into Bergen County, while Kennedy Boulevard loops around the northern end of the county and heads south through Guttenberg, West New York and Weehawken, where it is known as Boulevard East.

Major points on Kennedy Boulevard include Marist High School, New Jersey City University, Saint Dominic Academy, Saint Peter's University, Journal Square, Union City High School, North Bergen High School, and four Hudson County parks: Stephen R. Gregg (Bayonne) Park and Mercer Park in Bayonne, Lincoln Park in Jersey City and James J. Braddock (North Hudson) Park in North Bergen.

Immediately northeast of Journal Square, CR 501 crosses over PATH railroad tracks on an open-spandrel concrete arch bridge completed in 1926. The bridge is a pared-down version of a more ambitious elevated plaza scheme proposed by consulting engineer Abraham Burton Cohen. Cohen's office constructed a model using slot cars to demonstrate traffic flow through the plaza.

The boulevard continues north through Jersey City Heights, passing Dr. Leonard J. Gordon Park. In the area once known as Transfer Station, it enters North Hudson.

Bergen County

In Bergen County, CR 501 leaves its concurrency with Route 63 in Palisades Park, using Central Boulevard to connect to the concurrency with US 1/9/46 and Route 93. It is then concurrent with Route 93 until it reaches that route's northern terminus at the interchange with Route 4 in Englewood. CR 501 continues north from this interchange through Rockleigh, crossing the New York State Line and becoming NY 340.

History

In 1808, the Perth Amboy Turnpike was legislated to run from Perth Amboy to Bound Brook. The company struggled to complete their road, having petitioned in 1820 to the state legislature to extend the time to complete the road. They were unsuccessful, as the road was only completed as far as Piscataway.

Prior to being renamed in honor of John F. Kennedy in the 1960s, Kennedy Boulevard was known as Hudson Boulevard. While there was discussion of building a county long road as early as the 1870s, parts of Hudson County Boulevard were officially opened in 1896. By 1913 it was completed, and considered to be fine for "motoring", and included the road's eastern section, Boulevard East, into which Kennedy Boulevard forks at 91st Street. (The fork that continues north merges with Bergen Boulevard.) Taken as a single road, the circuitous route of west and east sections of the entire boulevard runs from the southern tip of the county at Bergen Point to its northern border with Bergen County and south again to the Hoboken city line.

The Boulevard was named the fifth most dangerous road for pedestrians in New Jersey, and the most dangerous road in Hudson County for pedestrians in a February 2011 report by the non-profit Tri-State Transportation Campaign. The road was the location of six pedestrian fatalities between 2007 and 2009, which account for a little more than a fifth of Hudson County's 29 pedestrian deaths in the three-year period. In November 2017 county officials launched a safety campaign for Kennedy Boulevard's five most dangerous intersections, based on accident data:

• 25th Street in Bayonne
• Lexington Avenue in Jersey City
• 36th Street in Union City
• 51st Street in West New York
• 91st Street in North Bergen

County officials had expressed interest in building a pedestrian bridge that crosses Kennedy Boulevard at 32nd Street, at the Union City-North Bergen border since at least. The two cities contracted a company to build the bridge for just over $4 million in November 2010. Construction plans began in May 2011, and field work began later that August.

Major intersections

References

References

1. (March 15, 1953). "State Ready to Push Traffic Off Major Roads in Air Raid". [[The Home News Tribune.
2. [http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/pdf/00000501__-.pdf New Jersey County Route 501] [[Straight Line Diagram]] from the [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]]
3. Cohen, A. Burton. "Hudson County Boulevard Bridge Plaza." ''Purdue Engineering Review'' 21, No. 4 (May 1926): 3-6, 22.
4. (August 12, 1873). "The Hudson Boulevard: The Old and New Commissions—The Opposition, The Proposed Route". [[The New York Times]].
5. (August 30, 1896). "Jersey City's Bicycle Parade: It Was Held Yesterday on the Hudson Boulevard and Was a Big Thing". The New York Times.
6. (November 29, 1895). "Opening the Boulevard: Wheelmen Parade Along Hudson County's New Driveway". The New York Times.
7. (March 23, 1913). "Short Runs Near Town Pleasant Now". The New York Times.
8. Hannigton, Dia (November 12, 2017). "Hit-and-run deaths on Kennedy Blvd. spur action", ''[[The Union City Reporter]]''. pp 1 and 6.
9. (November 11, 1895). "Preserve the Palisades: Cyclists to work for this purpose and the Hudson County Boulevard". The New York Times.
10. link. (2016-03-03. ''[[The Hudson Reporter]]''. March 21, 2011)
11. Hague, Jim (August 19, 2011). [http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/2373671/article-Pedestrian-bridge-set-for-North-Bergen-Union-City--County-officials-receive-grant-that-will-check-feasibility-of-overpass "Pedestrian bridge set for North Bergen-Union City? County officials receive grant that will check feasibility of overpass"] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-03-03. ''The Hudson Reporter''.)
12. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110927031145/http://www.hudsoncountynj.org/Data/Sites/1/11-22-2010_caucus.pdf "BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS COUNTY OF HUDSON: CAUCUS AGENDA"]. HudsonCountyNJ.com. November 22, 2010.
13. Pope, Gennarose (March 25, 2012). "Bridge of troubled Kennedy Boulevard". ''The Union City Reporter''. pp. 1 and 12.