Skip to main content

A Weekend in Jersey

I decided to attend the 2011 Northern New Jersey (Newark & Suburbs) Road Meet on March 12, 2011, and decided to visit the Garden State for the entire weekend. Besides the road meet, which encompassed two abandoned sections of the Eisenhower Parkway, the abandoned Nikesite Road off of I-78 and the abandoned NJ 58 freeway end in Newark, I also attended a hockey game between the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark, a short drive around Rutherford, Clifton and Little Falls before the meet, and a nice day trip to Philadelphia and South Jersey the following day with Steve Alpert, the webmaster of Alps' Roads.

Here's some highlights of the weekend's trip...

- Starting off with the road meet, which was attended by 23 people, some of whom came from around the corner, whereas others drove from as far away as Québec and Kentucky. It was also nice to see some new people mixed in with familiar faces.
- The weather, which was nice for the middle of March in New Jersey.
- Abandoned sections of the Eisenhower Parkway. In the past, the northward extension in Roseland was fenced off, but over this past weekend, it was not, so the group got to explore this section. However, the abandoned interchange with NJ 24 was inaccessible from the place selected to start that section of the tour.
- Flooding was common in north New Jersey over the weekend. While it causes some detours, it did allow for some nice pictures of the Little Falls of the Passaic River.
- During Sunday's trip to South Jersey, we briefly visited Pennsylvania, so some old sign photos could be taken and so the Tacony Palmyra Bridge could be driven back over the Delaware River into New Jersey from Philadelphia.
- Haddonfield is certainly a nice town, with treasures and gems to be had by all. Oh yeah, and some old signs too.
- Drove around Gloucester, Salem and Cumberland Counties. The farther you get away from the New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia, the more the surrounding countryside looks like Ohio farmland or small towns and swamps of Virginia and Maryland.
- There's an abundance of old AAA destination signage in Salem and Cumberland Counties, as well as some signs in Camden and (I think) Gloucester Counties as well.
- Saw a nifty old swing through truss bridge over the Alloway Creek in Salem County, which was closed to traffic and used mostly as a fishing bridge. However, I also spotted a number of newer bridges during the trip that were built by Salem County, so my feeling is this bridge may not be long for this world either.
- Stopped to walk around Greenwich, which is a small town in Cumberland County, and also was the site of the Greenwich Tea Party in 1774. Greenwich had the feel of a small town in Virginia or Maryland, as opposed to a small town in New Jersey, which typically feels more like a town in Pennsylvania or New York.
- Traveled two routes of one-way paired county routes in Cumberland County, CR 609S in Bridgeton and CR 615S/CR 615/CR 615N in Vineland.
- Checked out the Cross Keys Bypass, which is CR 689 in Gloucester County. The bypass was built to go around what was a 6 way intersection in Cross Keys.
- Towards the end of the trip, stopped in Hightstown to check out an old truss bridge built in 1896, and walked a little around a stone dam near downtown.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dillon Road

Dillon Road is a 34.2-mile highway located in northern Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California.  Dillon Road begins at Avenue 48 on the outskirts of Indio and ends to the west at California State Route 62 near San Gorgonio Pass.  Dillon Road was developed the 1930s as a construction road for the Colorado River Aqueduct.  Dillon Road serves as a northern bypass to much of the development of Coachella Valley.  Dillon Road is known for it's frequent dips and spectacular views of San Gorgonio Pass.   Part 1; the history of Dillon Road Dillon Road was constructed as a haul road for the Colorado River Aqueduct through Coachella Valley.  The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona.  Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.  West of Berdoo Canyon Road the alignment of Dillon Road is largely concurrent with the Colorado

Oldtown Toll Bridge - Maryland and West Virginia

  The Oldtown Toll Bridge linking Oldtown, Maryland over the Potomac River with neighboring Green Spring, West Virginia is only one of a few truly privately owned toll bridges located in the United States. It's a simple bridge by design, as the 318 foot long Oldtown Toll Bridge is a low water bridge. Low water bridges are designed to allow water to safely and efficiently flow over the bridge deck. Additionally, a dozen concrete pedestals have been secured in the Potomac River in order to support the bridge and wooden deck. The bridge was constructed in 1937 when a gentleman by the name of Mr. Carpenter obtained the proper permits to build the Bridge through an Act of Congress. This was a blessing for residents, especially on the West Virginia side of the Potomac River, as it saved motorists commuting to Cumberland an hour in travel time. Using Mr. Carpenter's blueprints, the Army Corp of Engineers and a number of local laborers constructed the bridge and it remained under the

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road is an approximately 21-mile highway located in southeast Kern County.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road begins at Tehachapi Boulevard (former US Route 466) in Tehachapi and crosses the Tehachapi Mountains via the 4,820-foot-high Oak Creek Pass.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road enters Antelope Valley of the wider Mojave Desert and passes by the historic stage station of Willow Springs to a southern terminus at Rosamond Boulevard.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road has historic ties to the Havilah-Los Angeles Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road due to the once reliable presence of water at Willow Springs. Part 1; the history of Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road Oak Creek Pass and Willow Springs were known to the local tribes of the Tehachapi Mountains for generations.  The first documented European crossing of Oak Creek Pass was during 1776 as part of an expedition by Francisco Garces.  Oak Creek Pass is as used again by John C. Fremont during an 1844-1845 expedition to e