Eisenhower Parkway
County Route 609 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eisenhower Parkway | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Essex County | ||||
| Length | 4.12 mi[1] (6.63 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  CR 510 in Livingston | |||
  Route 10 / CR 508 in Livingston I-280 in Roseland | ||||
| North end | Dead end in Roseland | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New Jersey | |||
| County | Essex | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Eisenhower Parkway, also known as County Route 609 (CR 609), is a highway in Essex County, New Jersey, located in the municipalities of Roseland and Livingston. Eisenhower Parkway dead ends at South Orange Avenue (County Route 510) in Livingston near the Livingston Mall and just north of Interstate 280 in Roseland. The Eisenhower Parkway was planned to continue further north to Route 46 in Fairfield and further south to Route 24 in Chatham, with the latter extension to be called Triborough Road. An abandoned cloverleaf interchange exists where Triborough Road was to intersect Route 24. Several proposals have been generated to complete the northern half into West Caldwell.
Route description
The Eisenhower Parkway begins at an intersection with CR 510 in Livingston, Essex County, heading north as a four-lane divided highway. The road passes the Livingston Mall before becoming undivided and passing to the east of the Commonwealth Water Company Reservoir Number Three. Upon turning northeast, the roadway becomes divided again as it crosses CR 607 and passes through forests. The Eisenhower Parkway intersects Route 10 at the modified Livingston Circle, at which point the road passes businesses as CR 661 branches to the east of the road. The highway heads north-northeast through more forested areas with occasional commercial development, meeting CR 661 again prior to crossing into Roseland. Here, the road crosses the Morristown and Erie Railway's Whippany Line and passes businesses, crossing CR 611 prior to coming to a cloverleaf interchange with I-280. At this interchange, the CR 609 designation ends and the Eisenhower Parkway continues northeast to a dead end a short distance later.[1][2]
History
The original plan of the Parkway was to extend to Bloomfield Avenue in West Caldwell on the northern end and to Route 124 in Chatham on the southern end. At its northern end, a widened Passaic Avenue would carry traffic to US 46 and I-80. Within Morris County this highway would be called Tri-Boro Road, and in Essex County the Eisenhower Parkway.[3] The first section of this highway opened from Orange Avenue to Route 10 on October 6, 1971.[4] When I-280 opened, it offered access to an extension of the parkway;[5] the northbound lanes of this extension absorbed a small part of Beaufort Avenue. There is a complete cloverleaf interchange at where the parkway would have met Route 24, which would have been Interchange 5 on 24 (and there were once blank signs erected on 24 West). The interchange was built in 1975,[6] but was left abandoned since it does not connect to a road, and many plants have grown over the abandoned pavement. The bridge over Route 24, which would have been part of Eisenhower Parkway–Tri-Boro Road system, as well as what would've been the entrance and exit ramps, cannot be accessed by vehicle but are easy to reach by foot or bike. Hikers and bikers must go north along the power lines from the intersection of Brooklake Road and Delbarton Drive until they reach the fence along Route 24, then follow the fence east for about half a mile.[7] To this day, there is still a sign that reads "Triborough Road" hanging from the abandoned overpass. The abandoned interchange is at mile marker 5.70 on Route 24.
Major intersections
The entire route is in Essex County.
| Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Livingston | 0.00 | 0.00 | CR 510 (South Orange Avenue) – Chatham, Millburn, Morristown | Southern terminus | |
| 0.96 | 1.54 |  CR 607 (Walnut Street) | |||
| 1.71– 1.76 | 2.75– 2.83 |  Route 10 (Mount Pleasant Avenue) / CR 508 east (West Northfield Avenue) – Whippany, Newark | Livingston Circle | ||
| 1.96 | 3.15 |   CR 661 north (Beaufort Avenue) | |||
| 3.18 | 5.12 |  CR 661 south (Beaufort Avenue) | |||
| Roseland | 3.73 | 6.00 |  CR 611 (Eagle Rock Avenue) – Hanover, Roseland, The Caldwells, The Oranges | ||
| 4.12 | 6.63 |   I-280 to N.J. Turnpike | Northern terminus of CR 609, Eisenhower Parkway continues to dead end | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
- ^ a b c County Route 609 straight line diagram from New Jersey Department of Transportation
- ^ Google (January 8, 2011). "overview of Eisenhower Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
- ^ "Seek approval for Tri-Boro Feeder". Madison-Florham Park Eagle. 1970-10-29. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ "New Essex road partially open". The Herald-News. 1971-10-08. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ "Access to interstate highways concerns emergency squads". The Herald-News. 1973-11-29. p. 23. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ National Bridge Inventory, BIN 1422161
- ^ Abandoned NJ 24 interchange
External links
Media related to Eisenhower Parkway at Wikimedia Commons
