New Jersey Route 94

New Jersey Route 94

Route 94 is a state highway in the northwestern part of the New Jersey, United States. It runs 45.94 mi (73.93 km) from the Portland–Columbia Toll Bridge over the Delaware River in Knowlton Township, Warren County, where it connects to Pennsylvania Route 611 (PA 611), northeast to the New York state line in Vernon Township, Sussex County. At the New York border, New York State Route 94 (NY 94) continues to Newburgh, New York. Route 94 is mostly a two-lane undivided road that runs through mountain and valley areas of Warren and Sussex counties, serving Columbia, Blairstown, Newton, and Hamburg. The route intersects several roads, including U.S. Route 46 (US 46) and Interstate 80 (I-80) in Knowlton Township, US 206 in Newton, Route 15 in Lafayette Township, and Route 23 in Hamburg.

What is now Route 94 was legislated as part of two separate routes in 1927. The portion of road between Route 6/US 46 near the Delaware Bridge to Newton became Route 8, while the route north of Newton to the New York border became a part of Route 31. Prior to 1953, the only portion of Route 31 north of Newton that was a state highway was between North Church and Hamburg. In 1953, Route 94 was designated to replace all of Route 8 as well as Route 31 north of Newton; the number was chosen to match NY 94. After the Portland–Columbia Toll Bridge and the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge were both completed in December 1953, the southern terminus of Route 94 was cut back to an intersection with US 611 in Columbia, which had be rerouted into New Jersey across both bridges, following a freeway between Columbia and the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge that would later become a part of I-80. The former alignment of Route 94 between the Delaware Bridge and the Portland–Columbia Toll Bridge became a part of US 46. By 1969, US 611 was routed out of New Jersey, and Route 94 was extended to the state line on the Portland–Columbia Toll Bridge. Through the 1960s and 1970s, a freeway was proposed for the Route 94 corridor. This freeway, proposed to be a part of the Interstate Highway System, was never built.