Editing New Jersey Turnpike (section)

===1950s to 1980s===
[[File:New Jersey Turnpike Exit 11 Tollbooth at night, 1992.jpg|thumb|Approaching the exit 11 tollbooths at night in 1992, prior to the installation of [[E-ZPass]]]]
[[File:2020-09-24 10 42 17 View south along New Jersey State Route 168 (Black Horse Pike) at the exit for the New Jersey Turnpike in Bellmawr, Camden County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|Old format of the sign which had been typical at non-freeway entrances to the turnpike; this one is at exit&nbsp;3. This sign was replaced by a generic entry sign in 2024.]]
With the turnpike completed, traffic increased beyond expectations, which prompted planning for two widenings in 1955. the first of these would widen the segment of roadway and from four lanes to an eight-lane, dual-dual setup (2-2-2-2, two express carriageways and two local carriageways in each direction) between exit&nbsp;10 and exit&nbsp;14. The second widening would add one lane in each direction from exit&nbsp;4 and exit&nbsp;10, making for a total of six lanes combined. On April 4, 1956, the widening between exit&nbsp;10 and exit&nbsp;14 was completed, also as part of this project, exit&nbsp;14 was rebuilt from a standard exit that served US&nbsp;1-9 into the {{convert|8.2|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} Newark Bay Extension, though only the stretch between exit&nbsp;14 on the mainline and exit&nbsp;14A.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.nj.com/jerseyjournal150/2017/04/worlds_most_expensive_road_opened_in_nj_in_1956.html |title = 'World's most expensive road' opened in N.J. in 1956 |date = April 24, 2017 |website = nj.com |access-date = May 2, 2018 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170919235747/http://www.nj.com/jerseyjournal150/2017/04/worlds_most_expensive_road_opened_in_nj_in_1956.html |archive-date = September 19, 2017 }}</ref> On May 25 of that year, the widening between exit&nbsp;4 and exit&nbsp;10 was completed, along with this came the {{convert|6|mi|km|adj=on|spell=in}} Pearl Harbor Memorial extension and its interchange with the mainline.<ref name="Bridge Will Link Turnpikes Today"/>

In 1958, a part of the turnpike was designated as I-95. In addition, a short part of the southern segment was signed as I-295, and the Newark Bay Extension was signed as I-78.<ref>State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.{{full citation needed|date=July 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1 = Williams |first1 = Jimmy |last2 = Williams |first2 = Sharon |name-list-style = amp |url = http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/images/1927_routes.gif |title = 1927 New Jersey Road Map |work = 1920s New Jersey Highways |access-date = October 8, 2008 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071031111034/http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/images/1927_routes.gif |archive-date = October 31, 2007 }}</ref>

On May 15, 1962, the authority opened a new trumpet interchange at exit&nbsp;12. The ramps, which replaced the nonstandard half-diamond interchange at the location, cost $3,500,000 (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|3500000|1962}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}) to construct, and unlike the old ramps, contained a southbound exit and northbound entrance.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-register-interchange-12-may-1/28123913/ |title = Interchange 12, May 16, 1962 |newspaper = The Daily Register |date = May 16, 1962 |page = 15 }}</ref>

On August 7, 1962, the NJTA announced a major project to replace exits&nbsp;17 and 18, in addition to expanding exits&nbsp;16's toll plaza. This work was being done in preparation for the [[1964 New York World's Fair|1964 World's Fair]]. It would involve moving the northern end of the ticket system from Ridgefield to Secaucus, as well as replacing the partially at-grade exits&nbsp;17 with a new grade separated exits&nbsp;17 in order to reduce congestion and upgrade said road to [[Interstate Highway standards]] It would also involve replacement of the exits&nbsp;16 with a new 24-lane-wide structure, and relocating exit&nbsp;18 to be at the new northern end of the ticket system near exits&nbsp;16.<ref>{{Cite news |last = Haff |first = Joseph O. |date = August 8, 1962 |title = Jersey Turnpike Starts Elimination Of 3 Interchanges |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1962/08/08/archives/jersey-turnpike-starts-elimination-of-3-interchanges.html |access-date = July 22, 2024 |work = The New York Times |language = en-US |issn = 0362-4331 }}</ref> Construction on the new exit&nbsp;17 began immediately. The original exit&nbsp;17 had its northbound ramps permanently closed on June 16, 1963, to allow construction of the replacement exits&nbsp;16 toll plaza to proceed.<ref>{{Cite news |date = June 20, 1963 |title = Rt.&nbsp;3 Turnpike Exit to Close |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-news-rt-3-turnpike-exit-to-c/139548253/ |access-date = January 25, 2024 |work = The Herald-News |pages = 1 }}</ref> On September 19, at 3:30 p.m., the new exit&nbsp;17 was completed, it contained a wider toll booth, was fully grade separated, was located slightly father to the north, and operated on a coin drop system rather tan the ticket system like the rest of the road, with trucks, buses, and trailers charged based on their weight. It was at this point that the original exit&nbsp;18 toll plaza located in Ridgefield was demolished.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/asbury-park-press-exit-17-18-september/40960378/ |title = Exit 17-18, September 18, 1963 |work = Asbury Park Press |date = September 18, 1963 |page = 6 }}</ref> The new exit&nbsp;18, which had more collection lanes than the original and was located in Secaucus, began charging tolls on February 25, 1964, concurrent with opening of the new exit&nbsp;16 toll plaza. Another improvement made was the introduction of automatic ticket dispensers with the new exit&nbsp;18 and exit&nbsp;16, these were also later installed at exit&nbsp;14, 14A, and 14C, as well as the exit&nbsp;6 toll barrier.<ref>1964 annual report{{full citation needed|date=July 2024}}</ref> On May 29, the entrance ramps from Route&nbsp;3 were opened, completing the two-year long project.<ref>{{Cite news |date = May 29, 1964 |title = Holiday Exodus Starts; Traffic Jam on Route 3 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-news-holiday-exodus-starts-t/139544910/ |access-date = January 25, 2024 |work = The Herald-News |pages = 1 }}</ref>

In 1965, construction began on a entirely new interchange with the under-construction Route&nbsp;32 between exits&nbsp;8 and 7.<ref name= "NJ 32">{{cite web |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-central-new-jersey-home-news-nj-32/26097844/ |title = NJ 32, November 5, 1966 |work = The Central New Jersey Home News |date = November 5, 1966 |page = 3 }}</ref> On February 14, 1966, this interchange, numbered as exit&nbsp;8A was opened to traffic, though only partially;<ref>{{Cite news |date = February 15, 1966 |title = Exit 8A, February 15, 1966 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-central-new-jersey-home-news-exit-8a/26228530/ |access-date = July 22, 2024 |work = The Central New Jersey Home News |pages = 19 }}</ref> the connection to Route&nbsp;32 westbound opened on November 5 at noon.<ref name= "NJ 32"/>

In November 1966, NJTA announced plans to widen the turnpike between exits&nbsp;10 and 14 from eight to twelve lanes.<ref>{{Cite news |date = November 16, 1966 |title = Program Starts To Widen Pike |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-program-starts-to-widen/138893985/ |access-date = July 22, 2024 |work = The Morning Call |pages = 6 }}</ref> This abolished the express-local roadway system and established a new system, with the outer roadway for all vehicles and inner roadway for cars only. Other aspects of the plan included constructing a new exit&nbsp;10 in Edison Township, closeting the old exits&nbsp;10 and rebuilding exits&nbsp;11 to provide access to the Garden State parkway in Woodbridge, reverseing the trumpet at exit&nbsp;12 in Carteret, and relocating exit&nbsp;13 in Elizebeth to provide direct access to the [[Goethals Bridge (1928–2017)|Goethals Bridge]] and [[Interstate 278|I-278]] instead of Trenton Road.<ref>{{Cite news |date = November 16, 1966 |title = Program Starts To Widen Pike |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-program-starts-to-widen/138893985/ |access-date = January 16, 2024 |work = The Morning Call |pages = 6 }}</ref> On July 27, 1968, it was announced that the replacement exit&nbsp;13 would open on July 31.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/courier-post-new-exit-13-july-27-1968/19544862/ |title = New Exit&nbsp;13, July 27, 1968 |newspaper = Courier-Post |date = July 27, 1968 |page = 10 }}</ref> The interchange was opened as planned, and the old exit, which was a split interchange with Trenton Avenue, was closed permanently and slated for reverse engineering, this was completed by October.<ref>1968 annual report{{full citation needed|date=August 2024}}</ref> The new exit&nbsp;11 was completed on September 18, 1969,<ref>{{cite news |date = September 18, 1969 |title = Pike Linked To Parkway |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-news-pike-linked-to-parkway/139420001/ |access-date = January 24, 2024 |work = The Courier-News |pages = 15 |via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> at which point the original exit&nbsp;10 was closed. The new exit&nbsp;10 was opened on January 13, 1970,<ref>{{Cite news |date = January 13, 1970 |title = Edison Interchange Opens |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-central-new-jersey-home-news-edison/138894659/ |access-date = January 16, 2024 |work = The Central New Jersey Home News |pages = 1 }}</ref> with new dual-dual setup opened the next day on January 14.<ref>{{Cite news |date = January 14, 1970 |title = Pike's Outer Lanes Finally Opened |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-central-new-jersey-home-news-pikes/138895054/ |access-date = January 16, 2024 |work = The Central New Jersey Home News |pages = 1 }}</ref> The Western Spur, a new extension of the turnpike meant to let through traffic bypass Secaucus, was opened on September 3, 1970.<ref>{{Cite news |date = September 4, 1970 |title = Pike Opens Meadowlands Section |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-central-new-jersey-home-news-pike-op/138893525/ |access-date = January 16, 2024 |work = The Central New Jersey Home News |pages = 20 }}</ref> With this, multiple changes were made to the existing roadway. It was officially named the Eastern Spur, new unnumbered interchanges connecting it with the Western Spur were built, as well as a major renumbering to make it consistent with the new spur scheme, exit&nbsp;15 was renumber exit&nbsp;15E, exit&nbsp;16 as exit&nbsp;16E, and exit&nbsp;18 as exit&nbsp;18E. They also built exit&nbsp;15W's connection with the original road, and rebuilt exit&nbsp;15E to provide access to Western Spur traffic.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} With the [[Bergen-Passaic Expressway]] being built on the north side of Ridgefield Park in 1964, this left a mile-long gap between the turnpike and expressway approaches onto the [[George Washington Bridge]]. This gap was closed on October 20, 1971, when an expanded interchange with US&nbsp;46 was opened, which connected to the Bergen-Passaic Expressway and replaced the trumpet interchange that only served US&nbsp;46.<ref>{{Cite news |date = October 20, 1971 |title = TurnpikesLink to I-80 Open Today |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-jersey-journal-turnpikes-link-to-i-8/138882774/ |access-date = January 16, 2024 |work = The Jersey Journal |pages = 44 }}</ref>

[[File:2024-08-12 09 58 16 View southwest towards the Interstate 95 (New Jersey Turnpike Eastern Spur) bridge over the Hackensack River from the summit of Laurel Hill in Secaucus, Hudson County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|left|The Hackensack River Bridge on the Eastern Spur, viewed from [[Snake Hill]]]]
The [[New Jersey Turnpike smog accident]] occurred in the town of [[Kearny, New Jersey|Kearny]], on October 23 and 24, 1973. The first collision occurred at 11:20&nbsp;p.m. EDT on the 23rd. Further accidents continued to occur until 2:45&nbsp;a.m. the next day as cars plowed into the unseen accident ahead of them. Sixty-six vehicles were involved, and nine people died as a result. Thirty-nine suffered non-fatal injuries. The primary cause of the accident was related to a fire consisting of burning garbage, aggravated by foggy conditions.<ref name="SafetyBoard1975">{{cite book |title = Highway Accident Report: Series of Multivehicle Collisions and Fires under Limited Visibility Conditions: New Jersey Turnpike, Gate 15 and U.S. Route 46, Oct. 23 and 24, 1973 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kLRQAAAAYAAJ |access-date = April 11, 2011 |year = 1975 |publisher = [[National Transportation Safety Board]] |quote = The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this series of multivehicle collisions was the penetration of vehicles into areas of severely reduced visibility due to fog and smoke, the latter occasioned by fires adjacent to the turnpike which had not been promptly extinguished. The delay in closing the affected roadways by the New Jersey State Police contributed to the number of accidents. }}</ref> This produced an area of extremely poor visibility.

In 1971, the authority announced plans to extend the dual-dual setup from exit&nbsp;10 in Woodbridge to exit&nbsp;9 in [[East Brunswick, New Jersey|East Brunswick]].<ref>1971 annual report{{full citation needed|date=August 2024}}</ref> This project was completed northbound on November 14, 1973,<ref>{{Cite news |date = November 15, 1973 |title = 3 northbound lanes open on New Jersey Turnpike |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-news-3-northbound-lanes-open/138895722/ |access-date = January 16, 2024 |work = The Herald-News |pages = 5 }}</ref> and southbound on January 13, 1974,<ref>{{Cite news |date = January 13, 1974 |title = Turnpike 12-Lane Strip at E. Brunswick Opens |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sunday-news-turnpike-12-lane-strip-a/138896083/ |access-date = January 16, 2024 |work = The Sunday News |pages = 63 }}</ref> and involved a major reconstruction of exit&nbsp;9, replacing the underpass with a overpass and building a wider toll plaza to replace the existing one.<ref name="renamed_from_1973_on_20240902014729">1973 annual report{{full citation needed|date=August 2024}}</ref>

On May 30, 1974, exit&nbsp;7A was opened to traffic.<ref>1974 annual report{{full citation needed|date=July 2024}}</ref> The interchange, which had been planned for since 1973,<ref name="renamed_from_1973_on_20240902014729"/> connected to Interstate 195, was in part constructed to serve the nearby [[Six Flags Great Adventure]], which opened later that year. Additionally, in June, a widening of exit&nbsp;15E's toll plaza was completed, with an expansion of exit&nbsp;14A's following in August.<ref name="renamed_from_1973_on_20240902014729"/>

With the completion of I-78 to the Newark Bay Extension on May 27, 1977,<ref>{{Cite news |date = May 29, 1977 |title = New Access Road Opens to Airport |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/asbury-park-press-new-access-road-opens/139207293/ |access-date = January 21, 2024 |work = Asbury Park Press |pages = 2 }}</ref> the interchanges toll plaza was replaced with a wider one and ramps replaced, and none of the original 1951 configuration remained.

In 1971, the NJTA proposed building the [[Driscoll Expressway|Alfred E. Driscoll Expressway]]. It was to start at the Garden State Parkway south of exit&nbsp;80 in Dover Township (now [[Toms River, New Jersey|Toms River]]) and end at the turnpike approximately {{convert|3|mi|km|spell=in}} north of exit&nbsp;8A in [[South Brunswick, New Jersey|South Brunswick]]. As a proposed part of the turnpike system, its seven interchanges would have included toll plazas except at the northern end of the turnpike. By 1972, the proposed road met fierce opposition from [[Ocean County, New Jersey|Ocean]], [[Monmouth County, New Jersey|Monmouth]], and [[Middlesex County, New Jersey|Middlesex]] counties with quality of life as the main concern. The NJTA proceeded anyway and began selling bonds. But by December 1973, Governor-elect [[Brendan Byrne]] decided to stop the project altogether. Despite this, the authority continued with its plan. It was not until February 1977 that the authority abandoned its plan to build the road.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F1091EF63C5815768FDDA90A94DA405B878BF1D3 |title = Turnpike Drops Cross-State Road |first = Ronald |last = Sullivan |date = February 20, 1977 |page = 341 |work = The New York Times |access-date = March 4, 2013 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140203052239/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F1091EF63C5815768FDDA90A94DA405B878BF1D3 |archive-date = February 3, 2014 |url-access = subscription }}</ref> The rights-of-way were sold in 1979, shelving the project indefinitely.<ref>{{cite news |last = Bennett |first = Don |title = Driscoll Expressway ended up the Road to Nowhere |url = http://lacey.patch.com/articles/driscoll-expressway-ended-up-the-road-to-nowhere |work = Lacey Patch |access-date = November 19, 2011 |date = January 22, 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120425233306/http://lacey.patch.com/articles/driscoll-expressway-ended-up-the-road-to-nowhere |archive-date = April 25, 2012 }}</ref>

In 1973, the NJTA began planning for exit&nbsp;13A. The interchange would be constructed in order to provide direct connections to the nearby [[Newark Liberty International Airport]], which had previously required taking convoluted routes via exit&nbsp;13 or 14.<ref name="renamed_from_1973_on_20240902014729"/> On June 10, 1982,this exit was opened to traffic.<ref>{{Cite news |date = June 11, 1982 |title = New turnpike interchange, highway open |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/courier-post-new-turnpike-interchange-h/148267957/ |access-date = July 22, 2024 |work = Courier-Post |pages = 17 }}</ref>

In the 1987, the authority announced a plan a to rebuild the Western Spur. If this were ever to be completed, it would have added truck lanes, In addition, a new exit&nbsp;15 W-A would be constructed, which would have served a extension of [[New Jersey Route 17|Route&nbsp;17]], and exit&nbsp;16W would have its ramps connecting to the turnpike be entirely replaced by a new ramp containing a wider toll plaza. However, this project was never carried out,<ref name="anderson"/> in part due to the cancelation of the Route&nbsp;17 Extension.