New Jersey Route 36

New Jersey Route 36

Route 36 is a state highway in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The 24.40-mile (39.27 km) long route, shaped as a backwards C, begins at an intersection with Garden State Parkway and County Route 51 (Hope Road) in Eatontown and runs east to Long Branch. From Long Branch, the route follows the Atlantic Ocean north to Sea Bright and turns west, running to the south of the Raritan Bay. Route 36 ends in Keyport at an interchange with the Garden State Parkway and Route 35. It varies in width from a six-lane divided highway to a two-lane undivided road. The route is signed east–west between Eatontown and Long Branch and north–south between Long Branch and Keyport.

Route 36 was created in 1927 to run from Keyport to Highlands along a winding route that went through the downtowns of Keyport, Keansburg, and Atlantic Highlands. In 1929, the route was modified to bypass the downtown areas. Route 36 was extended to Eatontown in 1940 with only the portion within Eatontown and West Long Branch built. The remainder of the route was created with the takeover of Joline Avenue in Long Branch and Ocean Avenue in Monmouth Beach and Sea Bright from Monmouth County on October 17, 1972 and the completion of Ocean Boulevard in Long Branch in late 1983.