New Jersey Route 28 - History

History

In 1917, Route 9 was designated by the state of New Jersey to run from Phillipsburg east to Elizabeth, passing through Clinton, Somerville, Plainfield, and Westfield. With the establishment of the U.S. Highway System in 1926, U.S. Route 22 was concurrently designated along the entire length of Route 9. A year later, in the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 28 was legislated to run from Phillipsburg east to the Goethals Bridge, replacing pre-1927 Route 9 between Phillipsburg and present-day Route 439 in Elizabeth, and following current Route 439 toward the Goethals Bridge. Meanwhile, the former alignment of pre-1927 Route 9 east became Route 27-28 Link, as it provided a connection between Route 27 and Route 28. A spur of Route 28, named Route S28, was also legislated in the 1927 renumbering and was to run from Route 28 in Middlesex southeast to Route 4 (now Route 79) in Matawan. What was built of this route became Route 18 in the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering. By 1941, U.S. Route 22 was eventually moved from Route 28 to follow Route 28-29 Link and Route 29 between the Somerville area and Newark. Also, U.S. Route 22 was realigned to its current alignment along Route 24 and Route 24-28 Link in Phillipsburg, with the alignment along Route 28 becoming U.S. Route 22 Alternate (now Route 122). In the 1953 renumbering of state highways, which eliminated long concurrencies between U.S. and state highways, the western terminus of Route 28 was cut back to its current location with U.S. Route 22 in Bridgewater Township, with the designation west of there dropped in favor of U.S. Route 22 and U.S. Route 22 Alternate. In addition, Route 28 was moved to its current alignment in Elizabeth, replacing Route 27-28 Link; Route 439 was designated along the former alignment of Route 28 that ran to the Goethals Bridge.