New Jersey Route 15

Route description

Route 15 currently exists in two disconnected segments. The southern segment begins in Downtown Dover at an intersection with US 46 and Mount Hope Avenue (CR 661). It follows North Bergen Street south a short distance to East Clinton Street, then turns west along East Clinton Street through Downtown Dover. This segment, which is signed in Downtown Dover, was disconnected from the rest of the route when a new intersection between U.S. Route 46 and Route 15 was constructed just northwest of Downtown Dover. Route 15 formerly passed under U.S. Route 46 along the Dover and Rockaway River Railroad at the location of this new intersection. The southern segment ends at a dead end just southeast of the new intersection, with the northern segment of Route 15 starting again at U.S. Route 46 almost directly above the rail line.

From the new intersection with U.S. Route 46, Route 15 continues north on West Clinton Street, exiting Dover and entering Rockaway Township. The road remains two lanes past the turn for the Rockaway Townsquare shopping mall. For a very short distance Route 15 becomes a freeway as it crosses the interchange with Interstate 80. A mile north, the road becomes a four lane divided highway with exits for a few businesses and Picatinny Arsenal. At that point, Route 15 leaves Rockaway Township and enters Jefferson Township. In Jefferson Township, the northbound and southbound lanes become about a quarter mile apart as it climbs up a steep mountain. The southbound lanes have businesses, easy access to them, and a speed limit of 40 mph as these were the original lanes of Route 15 when it was only a two lane highway. The northbound lanes are nearly a freeway with limited access to businesses on the southbound lanes. The northbound lanes have a speed limit of 50 mph as well. These two lanes were built in the late 1960s.

-- Slightly farther north, Route 15 becomes a freeway and the northbound and southbound lanes come closer together. At this point, the original two-lane Route 15 breaks off into Route 181, heading through Jefferson Township and into Downtown Sparta. Several miles north, the freeway leaves Jefferson Township in Morris County and enters Sparta in Sussex County, bypassing Downtown Sparta. After bypassing Downtown Sparta, Route 181 ends and merges onto Route 15. The freeway ends and Route 15 becomes a two-lane road before crossing the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway at grade crossing. After Route 15 leaves Sparta and enters Lafayette Township, it merges with Route 94. Routes 15 and 94 run as a concurrency until Route 94 turns off to the southeast while Route 15 heads northwest. It continues into Frankford Township and comes to an end at the intersection of U.S. Route 206 and Sussex Road (CR 565).

History

Route 15 follows the course of an old Lenape trail running from what is now Ross Corner to Dover. In 1804, this road was legislated as a part of the Union Turnpike, which ran from Morristown north. In 1938, Route 15 was designated as State Highway Route 6A. In the 1953 renumbering, the current designation was assigned.

In 2004, State Department of Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettire and state Senator Robert Littell announced the completion of a project of restructuring the Route 15-Houses Corner Road intersection, which broke ground in 2002 at the hand of then-governor James E. McGreevey. The original intersection was a signalized intersection with a blinking light and no left turn-off lanes from Route 15. Because of heavy traffic, turning left onto Houses Corner Road became dangerous for motorists. The intersection now has a full traffic light. The project cost a total of $15.5 million.{{cite web | author-link=New Jersey Department of Transportation | access-date=2007-09-29

Wilson Drive and White Lake Road were also realigned to form one signalized intersection, with completion originally expected in 2008. The intersection was improved, with construction finishing on June 1, 2009, after eight months of work starting in October 2008. The project cost the state $2.3 million to fund for construction by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.{{cite web | access-date=2007-09-29 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070621031504/http://www.njtpa.org/capital_programming/WebTables/column3/Morris.pdf |archive-date = June 21, 2007}} Studies are being made to improve the Route 15 corridor from Interstate 80 to U.S. Route 206. Concepts include widening, the addition of climbing lanes, and a potential bypass of Lafayette Township.{{cite web | author-link=New Jersey Department of Transportation | access-date=2007-09-28

The project to construct a new intersection at US 46 in Dover began in 2008; the project also entailed the replacement of bridges on US 46 over the Morristown and Erie Railway (now Dover and Rockaway River Railroad) and the Rockaway River. A temporary intersection was completed in January 2010 utilizing a former US 46 westbound–Route 15 northbound ramp. The permanent intersection was completed in August 2011.

In February 2012, a bill was introduced in the New Jersey General Assembly by Michael Patrick Carroll, Gary R. Chiusano, Alison Littell McHose and Jay Webber to designate Route 15 as the "Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway" to honor U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Major intersections

References

References

1. (December 18, 1952). "New Route Markers Go Up Next Month". The Hackettstown Gazette.
2. New Jersey Department of Transportation. "Route 15 straight line diagram".
3. "Route 15 - Dover segment".
4. {{google maps. link
5. Snyder, John (1969). [https://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries 1606-1968'']
6. State of New Jersey, Laws of 1938, Chapter 47.
7. (June 1, 2009). "NJDOT announces completion of intersection improvements at Route 15, Wilson Drive and White Lake Road in Sparta". New Jersey Department of Transportation.
8. Staff. (January 28, 2010). "Dover intersection of Routes 15, 46 being realigned by state".
9. (August 11, 2011). "New Route 15 intersection with Route 46 opens in Dover". New Jersey Department of Transportation (press release).
10. [https://pub.njleg.gov/bills/2012/A2500/2208_I1.HTM New Jersey Assembly Bill 2208], introduced February 2, 2012. [[New Jersey Legislature]]. Accessed February 19 2025.