Editing New Jersey Turnpike (section)

===Construction===
[[File:2021-05-26 11 13 59 View north along Interstate 95 (New Jersey Turnpike) from the overpass for Union County Route 617 (Tremley Point Road) in Linden, Union County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) northbound in Linden]]
The project of building the turnpike had its challenges. One major problem was the construction in Elizabeth, where either 450&nbsp;homes or 32&nbsp;businesses would be destroyed, depending on the chosen route. The engineers decided to go through the residential area, since they considered it the grittiest{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} and the closest route to both Newark Airport and the [[Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal]] seaport.

When construction finally got to Newark, there was the new challenge of deciding to build either over or under the [[Pulaski Skyway]]. If construction went above the skyway, the costs would be much higher. If they went under, the costs would be lower, but the roadway would be very close to the Passaic River, making it harder for ships to pass through. The turnpike was ultimately built to pass under.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1FF83858107A93C2AB178AD85F468585F9 |title = City Linked to Super-Highway |last = Schwab |first = Armand Jr. |work = The New York Times |date = January 20, 1952 |page = X17 |access-date = September 25, 2010 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121001163201/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1FF83858107A93C2AB178AD85F468585F9 |archive-date = October 1, 2012 |url-access = subscription }}</ref><ref>[[#Hart|Hart]], pp. 173–174.{{full citation needed|date=August 2018}}</ref> As part of a 2005 [[seismic retrofit]] project, the NJTA lowered its roadway to increase vertical clearance and allow for full-width shoulders, which had been constrained by the location of the skyway supports.<ref>{{cite web |author = [[American Council of Engineering Companies]] of New Jersey |publisher = American Council of Engineering Companies of New Jersey |url = http://www.acecnj.org/Docs/2006%20acec%20award%20program.pdf |title = 35th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Dinner program |date = March 6, 2006 |access-date = October 27, 2007 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090304194923/http://www.acecnj.org/Docs/2006%20acec%20award%20program.pdf |archive-date = March 4, 2009 }}</ref> Engineers replaced the bearings and lowered the bridge by {{convert|4|ft|m|spell=in}}, without shutting down traffic. The work was carried out by [[Skanska|Koch Skanska]] in 2004, under a $35&nbsp;million contract (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=35000000|start_year=2004}}}} in {{Inflation year|index=US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}). The project's engineers were from a joint venture of Dewberry Goodkind Inc. and HNTB Corp. Temporary towers supported the bridge while bearings were removed from the 150&nbsp;piers and the concrete replaced on the pier tops. The lowering process for an {{convert|800|ft|m|adj=on}} section of the bridge was done over 56&nbsp;increments, during five weeks of work.<ref name=ENR_lowering>{{cite news |last = Cho |first = Aileen |title = Busy New Jersey Span Gets New Bearings, and Shorter Too <!-- |access-date = April 26, 2013 --> |newspaper = Engineering News-Record |date = November 29, 2004 }}</ref>

[[File:2020-07-12 09 14 56 View south along Interstate 95 (New Jersey Turnpike) at Exit 8 (New Jersey State Route 33, New Jersey State Route 133, Hightstown, Freehold) in East Windsor Township, Mercer County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|left|New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) southbound at the Route&nbsp;33/Route&nbsp;133 interchange in East Windsor Township]]
While continuing up to the [[New Jersey Meadowlands|Meadowlands]], the crossings were harder because of the fertile marsh land of silt and mud. Near the shallow mud, the mud was filled with crushed stone, and the roadway was built above the water table. In the deeper mud, caissons were sunk down to a firm stratum and filled with sand, then both the caissons and the surrounding areas were covered with blankets of sand. Gradually, the water was brought up, and drained into adjacent meadows. Then, construction of the two major bridges over the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers was completed. The bridges were built to give motorists a clear view of the New York City skyline, but with high retaining walls to create the illusion of not being on a river crossing.<ref name=anderson /> The {{convert|6955|ft|m|abbr=on}} Passaic River (Chaplain Washington) Bridge cost $13.7 million to build; the {{convert|5623|ft|m|abbr=on}} Hackensack River Bridge cost $9.5 million.

The entire {{convert|118|mi|km|adj=on}} length of the New Jersey Turnpike took 25&nbsp;months to construct, at a total cost of $255 million. The first {{convert|44|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} stretch, from exit&nbsp;1 in Carneys Point Township north to exit&nbsp;5 in Westampton Township, opened on November 5, 1951. A second {{convert|49|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} stretch from exit&nbsp;5 north to exit&nbsp;11 in Woodbridge opened on November 30, 1951, followed by a third {{convert|16|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} stretch from exit&nbsp;11 north to exit&nbsp;15E in Newark on December 20, 1951. The fourth and final {{convert|9|mi|km|adj=mid|-long|spell=in}} stretch, from exit&nbsp;15E north to exit&nbsp;18 in Ridgefield, opened on January 15, 1952, completing the turnpike.<ref name="anderson">{{cite web |url = http://www.nycroads.com/roads/nj-turnpike/ |title = New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) |first = Steve |last = Anderson |work = Eastern Roads |access-date = July 7, 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110709012754/http://www.nycroads.com/roads/nj-turnpike/ |archive-date = July 9, 2011 }}{{self-published inline|certain=yes|date=August 2024}}</ref> After the turnpike was completed in 1952, the NJTA and the [[New York State Thruway Authority]] (NYSTA) proposed a {{convert|13|mi|km|adj=on}} extension of the New Jersey Turnpike that would run from its end (at US&nbsp;46 in [[Ridgefield Park, New Jersey|Ridgefield Park]] at the time) up to [[West Nyack, New York]], at [[Interstate 87 (New York)|I-87]] ([[New York State Thruway]]). The section through New Jersey was to be constructed and maintained by the NJTA, while the section in New York was to be built and maintained by the NYSTA. The purpose of this extension was to give motorists a "more direct bypass of the New York City area" to [[New England]], by using the [[Tappan Zee Bridge (1955–2017)|Tappan Zee Bridge]]. The extension was to parallel [[New York State Route&nbsp;303]] (NY&nbsp;303) and the present-day CSX [[River Subdivision (CSX Transportation)|River Subdivision]], and have limited interchanges. It was to have an interchange with the [[Palisades Interstate Parkway]] and at Interstate87 (New York State Thruway) in West Nyack. This project did not survive; by 1970, it became too expensive to buy right-of-way access, and community opposition was fierce. Therefore, the NJTA and the NYSTA canceled the project.<ref name="anderson" /> NJDOT did construct a small segment of this extension, the portion between US&nbsp;46 and I-80, as part of the I-95 Extension. This segment was later transferred to the NJTA.