Editing New Jersey Route 53

{{Short description|State highway in Morris County, New Jersey, US}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox road
|state=NJ
|type=NJ
|route=53
|alternate_name=

|length_mi=4.66
|length_ref=<ref name=SLD>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/pdf/00000053__-.pdf|title=New Jersey Route 53 straight line diagram|publisher=[[New Jersey Department of Transportation]]|access-date=March 17, 2020}}</ref>

|map={{maplink-road}}
|map_custom=yes
|direction_a=South
|direction_b=North
|terminus_a={{jct|state=NJ|US|202}} in [[Morris Plains, New Jersey|Morris Plains]]
|junction={{jct|state=NJ|NJ|10}} in [[Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey|Parsippany–Troy Hills]]
|terminus_b={{jct|state=NJ|I|80|US|46}} in [[Denville Township, New Jersey|Denville Township]]
|established=January 1, 1953<ref name="1953renum">{{cite news |title=New Route Markers Go Up Next Month |url=http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2021/Hackettstown%20NJ%20Gazette/Hackettstown%20NJ%20Gazette%201952-1953/Hackettstown%20NJ%20Gazette%201952-1953%20-%200243.pdf |access-date=September 26, 2018 |work=The Hackettstown Gazette |date=December 18, 1952 |page=17}}</ref>
|counties=[[Morris County, New Jersey|Morris]] 
|previous_type=NJ
|previous_route=52
|next_type=NJ
|next_route=54
|browse={{nj browse
|previous_type=NJ
|previous_route=177
|route=[[Image:Ellipse sign 178.svg|25px]]
|next_type=NJ
|next_route=179
}}}}
'''Route 53''' is a [[state highway]] in [[Morris County, New Jersey|Morris County]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[New Jersey]]. It runs {{convert|4.66|mi|km|2|abbr=on}} from  [[U.S. Route 202]] in [[Morris Plains, New Jersey|Morris Plains]] north to [[U.S. Route 46]] in [[Denville Township, New Jersey|Denville Township]]. The route, which is a two-lane undivided highway most of its length, intersects with [[New Jersey Route 10|Route 10]] and [[Interstate 80 in New Jersey|Interstate 80]]. For most of its length, the route runs a short distance to the east of [[New Jersey Transit]]'s [[Morristown Line]]. It passes through industrial areas and wooded residential neighborhoods along its route.

From 1916 to 1927, the route was a part of [[Pre-1927 Route 5 (New Jersey)|pre-1927 Route 5]], which ran from [[Delaware, Warren County, New Jersey|Delaware]] in [[Warren County, New Jersey|Warren County]] east to [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]]. In 1927, the portion of pre-1927 Route 5 that is today Route 53 was not made a part of a different route and became '''Route 5N''' to distinguish it from a newly created [[New Jersey Route 5|Route 5]]. In 1953, the route became Route 53. A [[freeway]] was planned for the route in 1966, running from a planned [[New Jersey Route 24|Route 24]] freeway in Morris Plains north to a planned [[New Jersey Route 208|Route 208]] freeway in [[Greenwood Lake]] in [[Passaic County, New Jersey|Passaic County]]. This planned freeway was scaled back in 1967 to end at Interstate 80. It was later designated '''Route 178''' before being canceled in 1975.

==Route description==
[[File:2021-09-24 11 44 10 View south along New Jersey State Route 53 (Main Street) from the overpass for the rail line just north of Estling Lake Road in Denville Township, Morris County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|left|View southbound along Route&nbsp;53 from the Montclair-Boonton Line in Denville]]
Route 53 begins at an intersection with [[U.S. Route 202 in New Jersey|U.S. Route 202]] (Littleton Road) in [[Morris Plains, New Jersey|Morris Plains]].<ref name="SLD"/> It proceeds north as Tabor Road, a two-lane undivided road closely paralleling [[New Jersey Transit]]’s [[Morristown Line]], which runs along the west side of the route. Route 53 bends farther east from the tracks and runs through an industrial area. After passing through the industrial area, the road heads through wooded residential areas, passing under a set of [[power lines]].<ref name="SLD"/><ref name="google">{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=from:+Tabor+Rd+%4040.829803,+-74.477712+to:+Main+St+%4040.892755,+-74.479314&ie=UTF8&ll=40.869651,-74.475288&spn=0.115531,0.219727&t=h&z=12 |title=overview of New Jersey Route 53 |access-date=2008-02-08}}</ref> Further north, Route 53 comes to an interchange with [[New Jersey Route 10|Route 10]].<ref name="SLD"/>

[[File:2018-07-30 17 10 27 View south along New Jersey State Route 53 (Main Street) between U.S. Route 46 and Interstate 80 in Denville Township, Morris County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|right|View south at the north end of Route 53 at US 46 in Denville]]
Past the Route 10 interchange, the road enters [[Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey|Parsippany–Troy Hills]] and continues north through wooded residential neighborhoods, running parallel to [[Interstate 80 in New Jersey|Interstate 80]] (I-80) while passing to the east of a couple small lakes.  It begins to turn northwest before passing by the Mt. Tabor Country Club. Route 53 continues north through [[Mount Tabor, New Jersey|Mount Tabor]] before crossing into [[Denville, New Jersey|Denville Township]], where the route becomes East Main Street. In Denville, the route passes under New Jersey Transit's [[Montclair-Boonton Line]] near [[Denville (NJT station)|Denville Station]].<ref name="SLD"/><ref name="google"/> Route 53 then comes to an interchange with I-80, where the route becomes a four-lane, [[divided highway]]. Shortly after meeting I-80, the route terminates at an interchange with  [[U.S. Route 46]].<ref name="SLD"/>

==History==
{{infobox road small
|state=NJ
|type=NJ 1926
|county=
|route=5N
|location= [[Morris Plains, New Jersey|Morris Plains]]&ndash;[[Denville, New Jersey|Denville]]
|length_mi=
|length_round=
|length_ref=
|formed=1927
|deleted=1953
}}
What is now Route 53 was once part of a Lenape Trail running from Morristown to Denville.<ref>Snyder, John (1969). "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries 1606-1968"</ref> In 1916,  present-day Route 53 was designated as part of [[Pre-1927 Route 5 (New Jersey)|pre-1927 Route 5]], which ran from [[Delaware, Warren County, New Jersey|Delaware]] in [[Warren County, New Jersey|Warren County]] east to [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]].<ref name="1920r5">{{cite report|title=1916 Annual Report|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|date=1916}}</ref> In the [[1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering]], this route became [[New Jersey Route 6|Route 6]] (now U.S. Route 46) between Delaware and Denville, [[New Jersey Route 32 (pre-1953)|Route 32]] (now U.S. Route 202) between Morris Plains and [[Morristown, New Jersey|Morristown]], and [[New Jersey Route 24|Route 24]] (now [[New Jersey Route 124|Route 124]]) between Morristown and Newark. The portion of pre-1927 Route 5 between Morris Plains and Denville, however, was not replaced by a different route and became Route 5N to distinguish it from a newly created [[New Jersey Route 5|Route 5]].<ref name=nj1927>State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.</ref> The northern terminus of Route 5N was at U.S. Route 46/Route 6 (Bloomfield Avenue) in Denville; when those routes were moved to a bypass, Route 5N's northern terminus remained at Bloomfield Avenue.<ref name="mwm">{{cite map|publisher=Mid-West Map Co.|title= Map of Pennsylvania and New Jersey |year=1941|cartography=[[H.M. Gousha]]|url=http://www.mapsofpa.com/roadcart/1941_1467m.jpg|access-date=2009-03-28}}</ref> In the [[1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering]], Route 5N was renumbered to Route 53.<ref name="nj1953">{{Cite journal|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}}</ref>
[[File:Morris Plains electrical post.jpg|left|thumb|Route 178 right-of-way in Morris Plains behind the namesake [[Morris Plains (NJT station)|train station]]]]
In 1966, a [[freeway]] was planned for the Route 53 corridor, intended to reduce traffic congestion. The freeway was intended to run from a planned Route 24 freeway in Morris Plains and continue north, crossing Interstate 80 and [[New Jersey Route 23|Route 23]] before ending at a planned [[New Jersey Route 208|Route 208]] freeway near [[Greenwood Lake]] in [[Passaic County, New Jersey|Passaic County]] that would connect to the [[New York State Route 208]] freeway that was to continue north into [[Orange County, New York]].<ref name="1985trans">{{cite book|title=Transportation 1985: A Regional Plan|publisher=Tri-State Transportation Commission|year=1966}}</ref> In 1967, the northern terminus of the Route 53 freeway was cut back to Interstate 80. This freeway was designated Route 178 in 1969.<ref name="facts69">{{cite book|title=New Jersey Highway Facts|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|year=1969}}</ref> Right-of-way acquisition began for the freeway but was stopped in 1971 due to lack of funds. The freeway was officially cancelled in 1975 when NJDOT did not include it in the five-year highway program. Despite the cancellation of the proposed freeway, several large corporations in Morris County pushed for the freeway to be built as it would reduce commuter traffic on Route 53 and US 202 in the area.<ref name="nyt178">{{cite news|title=Companies Press for Rte. 178|date=May 4, 1975|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

==Major intersections==
{{Jcttop|state=NJ|length_ref=<ref name="SLD"/>|county=Morris}}
{{NJint
|mile=0.00
|road={{jct|state=NJ|US|202|name1=Littleton Road|city1=Morristown|city2=Somerville}}
|location=Morris Plains
|notes=Southern terminus
}}
{{NJint
|mile=1.54
|location=Parsippany–Troy Hills
|road={{jct|state=NJ|NJ|10|city1=Dover|city2=Whippany|city3=Newark}}
|notes=Interchange
}}
{{NJint
|mile=4.56
|road={{jct|state=NJ|I|80|dir1=east}}
|location=Denville Township
|lspan=2
|notes=Exit 39 on I-80
}}
{{NJint
|mile=4.66
|road={{jct|state=NJ|US|46|to2=to|I|80|dir2=west}}
|notes=Interchange; northern terminus
}}

{{jctbtm}}

==See also==
*{{Portal-inline|U.S. Roads}}
*{{Portal-inline|New Jersey}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|New Jersey Route 53}}
{{AttachedKML|display=title,inline}}
*[http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/nj/log/5.html#53 New Jersey Roads: Route 53]
*[http://www.njroads.org/ends/53/nj53.htm New Jersey Highway Ends: Route 53]
*[http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/traffic_orders/speed/rt53.shtm Speed Limits for Route 53]

{{good article}}

[[Category:State highways in New Jersey|053]]
[[Category:Transportation in Morris County, New Jersey]]