New Jersey Route 26

New Jersey Route 26

Route 26 is a state highway in New Jersey, United States, running 2.54 miles (4.09 km) along Livingston Avenue from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in North Brunswick Township northeast to Nassau Street at the to the border of New Brunswick. Prior to the 1953 renumbering, the route continued southwest along US 1 to Trenton. Livingston Avenue inside New Brunswick, southwest of Suydam Street, is the 1.08-mile (1.74 km) County Route 691 (CR 691). The 0.39 miles (0.63 km) from Suydam Street to its end at George Street is part of State Route 171, also maintained by Middlesex County.

Route 26 originates as the alignment of the Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike, chartered in 1803 from Warren and Green Streets in Trenton to New Brunswick. The turnpike lasted for 99 years, fighting with railroads, canals and stagecoaches to stay in business. The road was designated State Highway Route 26 in the 1927 state highway renumbering, running from the state line in Trenton to State Highway Route S-28 in New Brunswick along the turnpike and Livingston Avenue. The route remained intact, becoming part of an engineering feat meant for the safety of drivers. In 1952, the route became part of the Trenton Freeway until the Route 26 designation was truncated back to North Brunswick Township in the 1953 state highway renumbering. The route was further truncated back from Route 18 in the 1970s in New Brunswick to its current northern terminus at Nassau Street.