New Jersey Route 167

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Route 167

Route 167 highlighted in red; decommissioned section in pink
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT
Length0.77 mi[1] (1,240 m)
2 sections
Existed1953–present
Southern section
Length0.62 mi[1] (1,000 m)
South end US 9 in Port Republic
North endDead end in Port Republic
Northern section
Length0.15 mi[1] (240 m)
South endDead end in Bass River Township
North end US 9 in Bass River Township
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Jersey
CountiesAtlantic, Burlington
Highway system
← Route 166→ Route 168

Route 167 is a short, 0.77-mile-long (1.24 km) state highway in Atlantic and Burlington counties in New Jersey. The route is one of the few discontinuous state highways in New Jersey, split by wetlands, the Garden State Parkway and the Mullica River. Although the alignment is registered by the New Jersey Department of Transportation as 2.76 miles (4.44 km) highway, the amount of roadway is considerably shorter. The route begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 9 (US 9) in Port Republic, where it continues along Old New York Road to an end of roadway at the Parkway embankment. Across the Mullica River, Route 167 continues at a gate for wetlands, heading northward to an intersection with US 9 in Bass River Township.

The route originated as part of New Jersey Route 4 during construction of a new state highway in 1917. Route 4 was built northward to the current Route 167 northern terminus in 1926, which was designated as part of US 9 that year. The highway was 2.64 miles (4.25 km) long and included an iron truss bridge. The route remained intact until construction of the Garden State Parkway and a new bridge over the Mullica River in the early 1950s. When the bridge was finished, US 9 was realigned off the roadway and the prior alignment became Route 167 during the New Jersey state highway renumbering. The route was split twice since 1953, first by the removal of the old Mullica River bridge in 1962 as part of a sale to the National Park Service for a refuge in Virginia, then the northern portion was dismantled except for a 0.12-mile-long (0.19 km) alignment for a wetland mitigation project. Today, the route remains split and the road is still maintained by the state. Most of the route is unsigned with the exception of mile markers at its southern terminus which acknowledge the route's existence.

Route description

Route 167 northbound near one of the few signs designating the highway, a milepost marker in Port Republic

Route 167's southern terminus is located at an intersection with US 9 (New York Road) in the city of Port Republic. The route then intersects with the original alignment of New York Road, now known today as Old New York Road. Route 167 crosses over a stream, intersecting a privately maintained roadway soon after. The route approaches the Garden State Parkway, but ends at a gate and embankment nearby.[1]

Overview of the open northern segment looking south

After a 1.99-mile (3.20 km) gap in the roadway, which consists of a former bridge over the Mullica River dismantled and moved to Virginia, bridges removed for wetlands mitigation in the marshes just north, and the orphaned roads in between (which are visible from the Garden State Parkway to the west), Route 167 resurfaces in Bass River Township as a short dead-end street only approximately 800 ft (0.24 km) long, serving only a few homes. The route intersects Bogan Lane and comes to an end at an intersection with US 9.[1] The route's official speed limit, which is not signed, is 25 mph (40 km/h) at its southern segment and 50 mph (80 km/h) in its northern segment.[2] However the Straight Line Diagrams produced by the Department of Transportation list the southern segment as 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) and the northern as 20 miles per hour (32 km/h).[1]

History

Route 167 originates as a part of New Jersey Route 4 from Absecon to Rahway, designated in the 1920s.[3] The route remained intact for several years, receiving the co-designation of US 9 in 1926, when the nationwide system was assigned.[4] In 1927, the New Jersey State Highway Department had a statewide state highway renumbering, extending Route 4 in both directions.[5] The two routes remained intact until Route 4 was truncated to Bergen County during the 1953 state highway renumbering.[6]) The roadway itself remained until construction of the Garden State Parkway's tenth section from New Jersey Route 43 in Absecon to Dover Road in 1954. In August of that year, a bridge over the Mullica River for the Parkway, onto which US 9 was realigned, was completed, replacing the alignment over the old structure.[7][8] During construction, Route 4 and US 9 were realigned onto a temporary alignment to the older structure, while the old one remained unnumbered.[9]

Route 167 approaching the embankment of the Garden State Parkway in Port Republic

Upon the realignment of US 9, the State Highway Department renumbered the former alignment as Route 167.[6] The route, originally 55 feet (17 m) wide, was shortened during the construction of the new alignments, which also involved taking homes and properties from the highway. The former portion became a gravel road upon completion in Port Republic.[10] Route 167 now continued along the former alignment, using the iron truss bridge built in 1917 for Route 4 to the intersection with US 9 in Bass River Township.[11] The old iron truss bridge lasted several years after the realignment, lasting past 1960.[12] The truss bridge was dismantled in 1962, and sold to the state of Virginia and the National Park Service for the National Wildlife Refuge.[13] The route remained intact for a couple decades, with a gap in the highway. The State Highway Department registered the alignment of Route 167 in 1969 as 2.64 miles (4.25 km) long, although there was a gap in the roadway.[14]

The route's northern half from the Mullica River, constructed in 1926 as part of Route 4,[15] was dismantled in 1984 for Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.[16] As of 2007, Route 167 is unsigned, running from US 9 in Port Republic to the bank of the Garden State Parkway at the Mullica River Bridge on its south side and from US 9 to a gate on the north side.[17] The straight line diagrams also mention the length of the roadway being 2.76 miles (4.44 km) long, although only 0.77 miles (1.24 km) is still accessible roadway.[1]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
AtlanticPort Republic0.000.00 US 9
0.621.00Roadway ends at Garden State Parkway embankment
Gap in route
BurlingtonBass River Township2.614.20Gate at wetlands
2.764.44 US 9
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h New Jersey Department of Transportation. "Route 167 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey State Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  2. ^ New Jersey State Department of Transportation (2008). "Speed Limits for State Roads: Route 167". New Jersey State Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  3. ^ State Highway Route map (Map). New Jersey Highway Department. 1925. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
  4. ^ Bureau of Public Roads & American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: United States Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  5. ^ Sketch Map Showing Approximate Locations of State Highway Routes (Map). New Jersey Highway Department. 1927. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  6. ^ a b 1953 renumbering, New Jersey Department of Highways, archived from the original on June 28, 2011, retrieved July 31, 2009
  7. ^ New Jersey Turnpike Authority (2013). Images of America - The Garden State Parkway. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 36. ISBN 9781439643600. Retrieved December 1, 2017 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Inventory, National Bridge (2008). Structure Number: ++++++++360490T. United States Department of Transportation. p. 1.
  9. ^ Garden State Parkway Section 10 Highway Map. New Jersey Highway Authority. 1948.
  10. ^ General Parcel Property Map: Route 167 (1953): Section 1 - Port Republic. New Jersey State Highway Department. October 1954.
  11. ^ Plan and Profile for Route 4: Section 7B. New Jersey State Highway Department. 1917.
  12. ^ Augustine, William. "The Parkway Bridge spanning the Mullica River between New Gretna and Port Republic, circa 1960. The second iron bridge can be seen under the Parkway Bridge as it had yet to be dismantled". Rutgers University Library. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
  13. ^ Assateague Island NS: An Administrative History, National Park Service, 2003, p. 1
  14. ^ Milepost Log of State Highways (1969 ed.). New Jersey State Highway Department. 1969.
  15. ^ Plan and Profile: Route 4: Section 7. New Jersey State Highway Department. January 1926.
  16. ^ "National Park Contact Information: Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge". State Parks. 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
  17. ^ New Jersey Official Road Map (Map). Cartography by New Jersey Department of Transportation. New Jersey Department of Transportation. 2007.

External links

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