New Jersey Route 15 - History

History

Before the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, NJ 15 was designated as State Highway Route 6A, beginning in 1927. In the renumbering, NJ 15 was assigned. Originally route 15 was a 2 lane road all the way down to Picitinny Arsenal. The road originally went through downtown Sparta and today that road is known as route 181. In the mid 1960s, Route 15 was to expand and become 4 lanes several miles into Jefferson Township. But businesses were on both sides of this road making a widening difficult. So the additional 2 lanes were built behind the businesses on the left side of the road heading south. In 1974, a bypass freeway was built around the Sparta Business district and into Jefferson Township. The freeway began several miles into Sparta and would extend to the area where 15 was divided into 4 lanes back in the 60's.

In Sparta, New Jersey Department of Transportation commissioner Jack Lettire and state senator Robert Littell announced the completion of a project of restructuring the NJ 15-Houses Corner Road intersection, which began ground breaking in 2002 by James E. McGreevey, then-governor of New Jersey. The project was completed in August 2004. The original intersection was a signalized intersection with a blinking light and no left turn-off lanes from NJ 15. Because of heavy traffic, turning left onto Houses Corner Road became dangerous for motorists. The intersection has a full traffic light. The project cost a total of $15.5 million.

There is an ongoing local grassroots movement to honor the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan by renaming Route 15 after him. Most recently on February 2, 2012, a bill was introduced in the New Jersey General Assembly by Assemblymen Michael Patrick Carroll, Gary R. Chiusano and Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose to designate Route 15 as the "Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway".

Wilson Drive and White Lake Road were also realigned to form one signalized intersection, with completion 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 (2009 USD) to fund for construction by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority. Studies are being made to improve the Route 15 corridor from I-80 to U.S. Route 206. Concepts include widening, the addition of climbing lanes, and a potential bypass of Lafayette. The residents of the small rural village are widely in favor of the bypass, instead of a road widening through their town. If the bypass is constructed it may be a Super 2 freeway (the second so far in New Jersey), and run from the current northern freeway terminus to an interchange with U.S. Route 206.