Route 28 (New Jersey)

Route 28 (New Jersey) is a state highway in New Jersey running roughly west–east from US 22 in Branchburg to Route 21 in Newark, passing through suburban and urban corridors across Somerset County, Union County, Middlesex County, and Essex County. The route, following portions of historic turnpikes and early 20th-century alignments, serves as a local arterial connecting communities such as Bridgewater, Somerville, Elizabeth, and Plainfield. It interfaces with major facilities and corridors including Interstate 78, Garden State Parkway, New Jersey Turnpike, and commuter rail hubs.

Route description

Route 28 begins at an intersection with US 22 in Branchburg near Somerset County Vocational and Technical High School and proceeds east as a two- to four-lane roadway through Bridgewater Township, passing near Raritan River crossings and historic districts associated with Somerville and Raritan Center. The highway continues into Plainfield where it becomes a major commercial corridor near shopping centers, transit points serving NJ Transit commuter lines and Amtrak corridors, intersecting with Interstate 78 ramps and local arterials that connect to Morris County suburbs. East of Plainfield it traverses Elizabeth suburbs, intersects the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and provides access to Newark Liberty International Airport via adjacent connectors and local streets that serve Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal. In Newark the route terminates near Route 21 and urban destinations such as Prudential Center, Rutgers University–Newark, and the Ironbound neighborhood.

History

The corridor that became Route 28 traces origins to early turnpikes including the early turnpike companies and 19th-century plank roads that linked Somerville, Plainfield, and Elizabeth to ports on the Arthur Kill and Newark Bay. In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering the current alignment was designated as part of a numbered state trunk line connecting western Somerset County with Newark, consolidating earlier designations from county routes and private turnpikes. Mid-20th-century improvements paralleled regional expansions such as the construction of Interstate 78, the New Jersey Turnpike, and the Garden State Parkway, shifting freight and long-distance passenger flows to limited-access highways and redirecting Route 28 toward local traffic and commuter access. Urban renewal projects in Elizabeth and Newark during the 1960s and 1970s prompted corridor widening, intersection reconfigurations near US Route 1/9 interchanges, and transit-oriented adaptations near NJ Transit stations. Late 20th- and early 21st-century efforts focused on resurfacing, safety upgrades, and coordinating with Port Authority of New York and New Jersey developments to manage freight movements to Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal and access to Newark Liberty International Airport.

Major intersections

Route 28 intersects numerous state and federal routes and limited-access highways. Key junctions include the western terminus at US 22 in Branchburg, connections with Interstate 78 in Somerset County, junctions near Garden State Parkway ramps in Union County, crossings of New Jersey Turnpike and proximity to I-95 alignments adjacent to Elizabeth, and the eastern terminus at Route 21 in Newark. Additional notable intersections provide access to US 1/9 corridors, county routes serving Plainfield and Westfield, and arterial connections to municipal downtowns such as Somerville center and Union Township.

Traffic and maintenance

Maintenance responsibility for Route 28 is shared between the New Jersey Department of Transportation and county agencies depending on segments abutting municipal jurisdictions such as Somerville, Plainfield, Elizabeth, and Newark. Traffic patterns reflect commuter flows to regional employment centers including Newark Liberty International Airport, Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, Downtown Newark, and industrial parks near Raritan Center, with peak congestion corresponding to morning and evening rush hours. The corridor accommodates mixed traffic including local transit buses operated by NJ Transit, freight vehicles serving Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal and Elizabeth Marine Terminal, and intermodal connections to Amtrak and commuter rail services. Safety initiatives and pavement rehabilitation projects have been coordinated with federal programs such as the Federal Highway Administration funding streams and state multimodal planning administered through North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority and Middlesex County planning offices.

Future plans and improvements

Planned improvements emphasize multimodal access, safety, and pavement investments to support freight and commuter demand; proposals have included intersection modernizations near Interstate 78, pedestrian and bicycle facility additions in downtown Plainfield and Somerville, and coordination with expansion projects at Newark Liberty International Airport and Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal. Long-range regional plans from organizations such as the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority and Middlesex County call for congestion mitigation, signal optimization, and transit integration with NJ Transit and bus rapid transit concepts aligned with corridor enhancements. Capital programs may leverage federal infrastructure funding administered by the Federal Highway Administration and state transportation bonds to finance resurfacing, bridge rehabilitation, drainage upgrades, and streetscape improvements that link Route 28 to economic development initiatives in Somerville, Plainfield, Elizabeth, and Newark.

Category:State highways in New Jersey