Editing New Jersey Route 26 (section)

===Route 26 is designated===
[[File:Route 26 Indentation bridge on Route 1.jpg|right|thumb|Route 26 stamp bridge in the community of West Windsor]]
In 1927, about 24&nbsp;years after the Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike was revert to the state for future usage, the [[New Jersey State Highway Department]] designated the entire alignment from the [[Trenton-Morrisville Bridge]] in Trenton to the area around the [[Mile Run Brook]] in New Brunswick as a part of State Highway Route&nbsp;26.<ref name=nj1927>State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.</ref> The designation, assigned as part of the [[1927 renumbering (New Jersey)|1927 state highway renumbering]] covered the current alignments of most of [[U.S. Route 1]] from Trenton (including its [[U.S. Route 1 Business (Trenton, New Jersey)|business loop]]) to where Route&nbsp;26 turned onto Livingston Avenue. From there, Route&nbsp;26 continued along Livingston Avenue past Nassau Street and into the city of New Brunswick, ending near an intersection with [[New Jersey Route 18|State Highway Route&nbsp;S-28]] (George Street).<ref name="Map">{{cite web|author=Williams, Jimmy and Sharon|url=http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/images/1927_routes.gif|title=1927 New Jersey Road Map|publisher=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> Construction of the new highway continued northward, with a portion of the highway still unconstructed by June&nbsp;1930, a {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on}} portion near the [[Adams, New Jersey|Adams]] train station and part of Livingston Avenue still was not constructed to full state standards.<ref name="1930con">{{cite news|title=Reported About Roads|date=June 22, 1930|work=The New York Times|page=XX7}}</ref>

[[File:NJ S26 (cutout).svg|thumb|left|100px|Route S26 (1927-1953)]]
Route&nbsp;26 along with [[New Jersey Route 25|State Highway Route&nbsp;25]] soon became high-use routes to get drivers from Philadelphia to New York via New Brunswick as the large high-speed roadway.<ref name="nyt2">{{cite news|title=Early Autumn In New Jersey|last=Dickinson|first=Leon A.|date=October 5, 1930|work=The New York Times|page=XX7}}</ref> In the 1927 renumbering, a connection from Route&nbsp;26 to Route&nbsp;25 was also assigned, bypassing to the south of New Brunswick. This route was designated as State Highway Route&nbsp;S-26, a route completely concurrent with U.S. Route 1.<ref name="s26">ROUTE NO. S-26. Beginning at a point in Route No. 26 near the southerly boundary line of city of New Brunswick and extending easterly by passing the city of New Brunswick to a point in Route No. 25. L. 1927, c. 319.</ref> In 1931, the State Highway Department contracted plans for a new bridge over the Delaware and Raritan Canal near Bakers Basin. Although Route&nbsp;26 was considered the longest straight section of highway in the state, the new freeway would get rid of a dangerous S-curve along the highway.<ref name="nyt1931">{{cite news|title=On The Highways Of Florida|last=Dickinson|first=Leon A.|date=January 18, 1931|work=The New York Times|page=130}}</ref> On January 30, 1932, the State Highway Department opened the newly constructed [[Calhoun Street Extension]] to traffic. This new freeway, designated as part of Route&nbsp;26, was constructed as a bypass of the business districts in Trenton and [[Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Morrisville, Pennsylvania]] with a new traffic circle from the Route&nbsp;26 mainline (now the [[List of traffic circles in New Jersey|Brunswick Circle]]). Calhoun Street was realigned in the process to help make traffic flow.<ref name="nyt1932">{{cite news|title=On Highways-In Traffic|date=January 31, 1932|work=The New York Times|page=XX8}}</ref>

In October 1935, the State Highway Department started work on moving an {{convert|8|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch of Route&nbsp;26 over {{convert|12|ft|m}} from its current alignment. The project, considered unprecedented in history, was tested in September of that year near Penns Neck to certify the feasibility of such an accomplishment. Work started in October, costing the state $400,000 (1935 dollars), including money from the [[Public Works Administration]]. The stretch of highway from Ridge Road to Adams Station Road was to be moved over to reduce the number of accidents occurring along the former alignment. In 1934 alone, accidents along Route&nbsp;26 caused 90&nbsp;fatalities, with a similar figure occurring until that point in 1935.<ref name="nyt1935">{{cite news|title=Will Push Road Aside|last=Kane Jr.|first=Frank|date=October 13, 1935|work=The New York Times|page=XX5}}</ref> By November 1936, the project had completed {{convert|7|mi|km}} of the proposed {{convert|8|mi|km|adj=on}} conversion, an engineering feat of the time. The men who were doing this were considered "experts" in the jobs.<ref name="nyt1936">{{cite news|title=Safer State Highways Planned|last=Bernstein|first=Victor H.|date=November 15, 1936|work=The New York Times|page=XX14}}</ref> By February 1939, the project had ballooned in price, reaching $842,000 (1939 dollars) and the project was still incomplete. The missing work included a new island for a median.<ref name="nyt1939">{{cite news|title=New Jersey Dresses Up|date=February 19, 1939|work=The New York Times|page=138}}</ref>

[[File:Route 91 heading northbound along Jersey Avenue.jpg|left|thumb|Route 91 through New Brunswick, the former alignment of Route 26-A and the Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike]]
During the 1930s, the outcry for lighting along State Highway Routes&nbsp;26 and&nbsp;25 began to rise with the number of traffic accidents. Approximately 7.70% of traffic were in accidents along Route&nbsp;26 at nighttime contrary to 2.42% during the daytime.<ref name="nyt1937">{{cite news|title=Lighted Highways Urged|date=February 26, 1937|work=The New York Times|page=3}}</ref> Although lighting was still in testing by 1938 (with [[New Jersey Route 24|State Highway Route&nbsp;24]] as a test highway), Route&nbsp;26 still had a high night accident rate, urging further actions for lighting the new roadway.<ref name="nyt1938">{{cite news|title=At The Wheel|date=January 16, 1938|work=The New York Times|page=170}}</ref> 
During the 1940s, the [[Middlesex County, New Jersey|Middlesex County]] officials designated Route&nbsp;26 (Livingston Avenue) through New Brunswick as County Highway 3-R-16, but was signed as part of Route&nbsp;26 to its end at State Highway Route&nbsp;S-28 ([[George Street (New Brunswick)|George Street]]).<ref name="1947map">{{cite map|title=Middlesex County|publisher=[[Middlesex County, New Jersey]]|year=1947|cartography=Middlesex County, New Jersey}}</ref> In 1941, the State Highway Department designated a spur along Jersey Avenue in North Brunswick and New Brunswick, which was taken over as [[New Jersey Route 91|State Highway Route&nbsp;26-A]], that provided direct access to [[New Jersey Route 27|State Highway Route&nbsp;27]] in New Brunswick.<ref name=nj1941>State of New Jersey, Laws of 1941.</ref> In 1947, the New Jersey State Highway Department expanded a {{convert|10|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch of three-lane roadway to four lanes for $500,000. This addition of new lanes was started to help safety of drivers down Route&nbsp;26.<ref name="route26expansion">{{cite news|title=A Safety Boom! 3 Lane Highway Increased to 4!|date=May 18, 1947|work=The [[Chicago Daily Tribune]]|page=30}}</ref>