Editing New Jersey Route 18 (section)

=== Designation and southern freeway construction ===
{{infobox road small
|state=NJ
|type=NJ 1926
|county=
|route=S28
|location= [[Middlesex, New Jersey|Middlesex]]&ndash;[[Matawan, New Jersey|Matawan]]
|length_mi=
|length_round=
|length_ref=
|formed=1927<ref name=1927law />
|deleted=1953<ref name="nj1953" />
}}
[[File:2021-07-30 11 18 33 View north along New Jersey State Route 18 from the overpass for Obre Road in Colts Neck Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|left|Route 18 northbound in Colts Neck Township]]
Route 18 partly follows the course of the Middlesex and Matawan Turnpike (commonly called the Old Bridge Turnpike), legislated in 1863 to run from the south branch of the Raritan River to Matawan. The alignment of Route 18 through Middlesex County from Middlesex to Highland Park was first designated in the 1927 designing of a new highway system as State Highway Route S-29, a prefixed spur of [[New Jersey Route 29]] ([[U.S. Route 22 in New Jersey|US&nbsp;22]]) through Middlesex County. The route followed Washington Avenue in Middlesex and the River Road in Piscataway until terminating at State Highway Route 27 near the [[Albany Street Bridge]] in Highland Park.<ref name="1926bill">
ROUTE NO. S-29. Following Washington Avenue in the borough of Middlesex and the River road in township of Piscataway and borough of Highland Park from Route No. 29 in the borough of Middlesex to Route No. 27 in borough of Highland Park.</ref> By the time of the [[1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering]], the route was re-designated as State Highway Route S-28. This route was a prefixed spur of State Highway Route 28 in Middlesex, following Raritan Avenue and River Road through Piscataway and Highland Park, joining State Highway Route 27 on a concurrency into New Brunswick, and onto George Street in New Brunswick southward. After New Brunswick, Route S-28 continued southward through East Brunswick, Old Bridge and Browntown before terminating at State Highway Route 4 (US 9) in Matawan.<ref name="1927law">ROUTE NO. S-28. Beginning at Route No. 28 in the borough of Middlesex, thence via Raritan Avenue and River Road to Route No. 27 Highland Park, thence via Route No. 27 to New Brunswick, thence via Westons Mills, Tanners Corner, Old Bridge and Browntown to Route No. 4 in Matawan. L. 1927, c. 319.</ref>

The route was originally designated as an east–west highway, whereas it is now signed north–south.<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/nj/nj0100/nj0114/photos/107933pr.jpg A photo] taken in March 1960 ([http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/nj/nj0100/nj0114/photos/107933pu.tif larger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060725175728/http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/nj/nj0100/nj0114/photos/107933pu.tif#|date=July 25, 2006}} [[TIFF]]) from [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hh:@field(DOCID+@lit(NJ0114))]</ref> Although Route S-28 was used for the alignment for nearly three decades, [[1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering|the second state highway renumbering]] in 1953 eliminated the designation, and Route 18 was designated in place.<ref name="nj1953">{{citation|title=1953 renumbering|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1953_New_Jersey_state_highway_renumbering|publisher=New Jersey Department of Highways|access-date=July 31, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628183145/http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1953_New_Jersey_state_highway_renumbering|archive-date=June 28, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

[[File:2020-09-14 17 36 55 View south along New Jersey State Route 18 at Exit 6 (New Jersey State Route 138, TO New Jersey State Route 34-Garden State Parkway-Interstate 195, Belmar, Point Pleasant) in Wall Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey.jpg|right|thumb|Route 18's southern terminus at Route 138 in Wall Township]]
During the 1950s, as the [[New Jersey State Highway Department]] was drawing out plans for an extensive freeway system, freeways were proposed for Route 18 and nearby Route 35. Route 18's freeway was to begin in Eatontown and head westward to [[Old Bridge Township, New Jersey|e]] along the former alignment of State Highway Route 18 prior to the 1953 renumbering, while Route 35 was to be rerouted from its surface alignment and head northward from [[Seaside Heights, New Jersey|Seaside Heights]] to [[Long Branch, New Jersey|Long Branch]] on a new freeway. Both plans were endorsed by the Tri-State Transportation Committee in 1962, and the acquisition for the right-of-ways began almost immediately. The freeways combined were to cost $50 million (1962 USD) and be {{convert|30|mi|km}} in total.<ref name="1962rep">{{cite book|title=Regional Highways: Status Report|publisher=Tri-State Transportation Commission|year=1962}}</ref> Both freeways were designed to handle 30,000–50,000 vehicles daily.<ref name="1965plan">{{cite book|title=Location of State Route 18: Engineering Report|publisher=New Jersey State Highway Department|year=1965}}</ref>

The freeway was completed between Route 138 and Route 33 in 1967 and Route 33 and Deal Road in 1969. Following this, the Route 35 freeway was cancelled and it became the part of Route 18 south of Eatontown. In 1974, Route 18 was completed between just south of Normandy Road in [[Colts Neck Township, New Jersey|Colts Neck]] and US 9. A small portion of the freeway between Obre Road and Normandy Road in [[Colts Neck Township, New Jersey|Colts Neck]] was finished in 1977. Route 18 was built between Wayside Road and Obre Road in 1978. The final portion of the Route 18 between Deal Road and Wayside Road was finished in 1988.<ref name="sld 2006">{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/00000018__-.pdf |title=Route 18 Straight Line Diagram|work=Internet Archives WayBack Machine|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|year=2006|access-date=May 16, 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060322204547/http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/00000018__-.pdf|archive-date = March 22, 2006}}</ref>