New Jersey Route 20

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This article is about the current New Jersey Route 20. For the Route 20 that existed before 1927, see New Jersey Route 20 (pre-1927).

Route 20

McLean Boulevard
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT and Passaic County
Length4.15 mi[1] (6.68 km)
Existed1953–present
NHSEntire route[1][2]
Major junctions
South end G.S. Parkway / US 46 in Clifton
Major intersections
North end CR 504 in Paterson
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Jersey
CountiesPassaic
Highway system
← Route 19→ Route 21

Route 20, known locally as McLean Boulevard, is a state highway that runs 4.15 miles (6.68 km) in New Jersey, United States. It runs along the east side of Paterson, Passaic County, following the west bank of the Passaic River between the Garden State Parkway and U.S. Route 46, and River Street (County Route 504), at which point County Route 504 begins. It is a four- to six-lane expressway for most of its length that runs through residential and commercial areas of Paterson, intersecting with Interstate 80 and Route 4 at interchanges. The northernmost part of the route is a county-maintained one-way pair that follows 1st and 2nd Avenues.

Route description

View north along Route 20 just north of I-80 in Paterson

Route 20 begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 46 and County Route 630 (Crooks Avenue) just north of the Garden State Parkway on the border of Clifton and Paterson. The road follows the bend of the Passaic River directly north of Dundee Lake, heading to the north into Paterson as McLean Boulevard, a four-lane divided highway.[1] The route runs in between the Passaic River to the east and two large cemeteries to the west before coming to an interchange with Interstate 80 and Market Street. Past Interstate 80, Route 20 becomes a six-lane divided highway that heads under New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway's New Jersey Subdivision line and through a mix of residential and commercial areas.[1][3]

Route 20 northbound past Fair Lawn Avenue in Paterson

The next interchange along the route is for Route 4 (Broadway), with access to both eastbound Route 4 and westbound Broadway from both directions.[1] The road continues further north as a four-lane divided highway, heading through more urbanized areas of Paterson. It crosses County Route 651 (East 33rd Street/Morlot Avenue), which crosses the Passaic River to become County Route 78 (Morlot Avenue) in Bergen County.[1][3]

Route 20 continues to follow the Passaic River as a 45 mph (72 km/h) road through commercial areas, featuring an intersection with County Route 652 (5th Avenue). Past this intersection, the route proceeds through urban areas, turning west and splitting into a one-way pair. Here, the route becomes county maintained, with the northbound direction following 1st Avenue and the southbound direction following 2nd Avenue before coming to an end at County Route 504 (River Street).[1][3]

The entire length of Route 20 is part of the National Highway System.[1][2]

History

Route 20 southbound at the Market Street exit in Paterson

What later became McLean Boulevard had its origins in 1892, when Paterson began construction of a new Boulevard running from Market Street north to Eastside Park.[4] However, construction stalled, and three years thereafter the road had not been opened north beyond Park Avenue.[5] In 1915 work began anew, and a road was laid out as far north as River Street.[6] Though the road was cleared, it was not made passable, as it had several breaks in continuity, and no effort was made to pave the road.[7] Not until Colin McLean became mayor of Paterson in 1924 did the city begin construction on the new road in earnest;[8] before his retirement, the road was renamed McLean Boulevard at the end of 1927 in his honour.[9]

With the expansion of the state highway network proposed in 1927, the Boulevard was designated as part of Route 3, which was to run from the New York border at Greenwood Lake to Secaucus.[10][11] In addition, the present day routing south of Route 4 was also legislated as part of that route, which was to run from the George Washington Bridge to Cape May.[10] In 1929, the western terminus of Route 3 was moved to Paterson as Route S4B (now Route 208) was planned to replace the alignment of Route 3 from Paterson to the New York border.[12] With the exception of the interchanges with Route 6 and Route 4, the highway was complete by the end of 1931.[13] A new highway was to be built connecting the two, bypassing the Paterson Plank Road to the north.[14] In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 20 was legislated to follow the former alignment of Route 3 between Paterson and its intersection with Route S3 in East Rutherford as Route 3 was moved to the Route S3 freeway that was built between East Rutherford and Clifton.[15]

Another freeway routing of Route 20 was planned in 1959.[16] This road, which was to be a six-lane freeway called the Paterson Peripheral, was to run from Clifton north to the existing Route 20 in downtown Paterson. This road was completed between the Garden State Parkway and Valley Road by 1969 and north to Interstate 80 in 1975.[17][18] Upon completion, this road received the Route 20 designation.[17] In 1972, the state once again took over maintenance of the Paterson Plank Road from Route 3 to Route 17 in East Rutherford and made it a part of the route.[19] As it became clear that these three sections of Route 20 would not be connected, especially after the designation of the Great Falls Historic District, they received three different route designations by the 1990s. The freeway section of Route 20 from the Garden State Parkway to Interstate 80 was designated Route 19, the section between Route 3 and Route 17 was designated Route 120, and the Route 20 designation was retained along McLean Boulevard through Paterson.[20][21] The unfinished section of Route 20 that was to connect McLean Boulevard to Paterson Plank Road was built as a northern extension of the Route 21 freeway in 2000.[22][23]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Passaic County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Clifton0.000.00
 US 46 west – Clifton		Interchange
0.080.13

 G.S. Parkway south / US 46 east / Crooks Avenue (CR 630)		Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
Paterson0.701.13 I-80 – Delaware Water Gap, New York CityInterchange
0.811.30Market Street (CR 56) – Elmwood Park, PatersonInterchange
1.862.99
 Route 4 east – New York		Interchange; no northbound entrance
4.156.68 CR 504 (River Street)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Route 20 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b National Highway System: New Jersey (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. September 30, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Google (2009-03-11). "overview of New Jersey Route 20" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  4. ^ "Making More Fine Drives". Passaic Daily News. 1892-08-20. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  5. ^ "The taxpayers of Passaic County..." The News. 1895-07-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  6. ^ "PLAN BOULEVARD ALONG RIVER". The Morning Call. 1915-05-05. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  7. ^ "When the Passaic Is Clean". The Morning Call. 1924-06-18. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  8. ^ "OFFICIAL WORK OF CITY REVIEWED ON EVE OF M'LEAN RETIREMENT". The Morning Call. 1927-12-31. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  9. ^ "An ordinance to change the name of Wesel road and the Boulevard to McLean Boulevard". The News. 1927-12-30. p. 29. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  10. ^ a b State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.
  11. ^ 1927 New Jersey Road Map (Map). State of New Jersey. Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  12. ^ State of New Jersey, Laws of 1929, Chapter 126.
  13. ^ "State to Proceed on Market St. Crossing". The News. 1931-11-21. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  14. ^ Map of Passaic County N.J. (Map). Rutgers University Cartography Services. 1936. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  15. ^ "1953 renumbering". New Jersey Department of Highways. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2009. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ State of New Jersey, Laws of 1959, Chapter 4.
  17. ^ a b "Route 19 Straight Line Diagram" (PDF). Internet Archives WayBack Machine. New Jersey Department of Transportation. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2006. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  18. ^ Map of New Jersey (Map). Cartography by H.M. Gousha. Chevron Oil Company. 1969.
  19. ^ State of New Jersey, Laws of 1972, Chapter 209.
  20. ^ State Farm Road Atlas (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally. State Farm Insurance. 1983.
  21. ^ United States-Canada-Mexico Road Atlas (Map). Rand McNally. 1996.
  22. ^ Gohlke, Josh (December 27, 2000). "Route 21's Final Leg Is Opened Officially". The Bergen Record.
  23. ^ Page, Jeffrey (December 21, 2000). "Missing Link Is Finished After 28 Years". The Bergen Record.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Jersey Route 20.
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