Editing New Jersey Route 64

{{Short description|State highway in Mercer County, New Jersey, US}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{infobox road
|state=NJ
|type=NJ
|route=64
|maint=[[New Jersey Department of Transportation]]
|established=1953 (Constructed in 1939)<ref name="nbi" />
|map={{maplink-road|zoom=12}}
|map_custom=yes
|length_mi=0.32
|length_ref=<ref name="sld">{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/pdf/00000064__-.pdf|title=Route 64 Straight Line Diagram|year=2009|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|pages=1|access-date=March 17, 2020}}</ref>

|direction_a=South
|direction_b=North
|terminus_a={{jct|state=NJ|CR|571|CR|615|county2=Mercer}} in [[West Windsor, New Jersey|West Windsor]]
|terminus_b={{Jct|state=NJ|CR|571}} in West Windsor
|counties=[[Mercer County, New Jersey|Mercer]]
|previous_type=NJ
|previous_route=63
|next_type=NJ 1956
|next_route=65
}}

'''Route&nbsp;64''' is a {{convert|0.32|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} [[state highway]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[New Jersey]]. It is a state-maintained bridge over [[Amtrak]]'s [[Northeast Corridor]] line in [[West Windsor, New Jersey|West Windsor]]. Route&nbsp;64 begins at an intersection with [[County Route 571 (New Jersey)|County Route&nbsp;571]] in West Windsor. It heads along the bridge to an intersection with [[County Route 615 (Mercer County, New Jersey)|County Route&nbsp;615]], where Route 64 ends. County Route 571, which is concurrent with Route&nbsp;64, continues to [[Hightstown, New Jersey|Hightstown]].

Route&nbsp;64 was designated originally as an alignment of '''Route&nbsp;31A''', a spur off of State Highway Route&nbsp;31 (currently [[U.S. Route 206|U.S. Route&nbsp;206]]) from Princeton eastward to Hightstown, where it met [[New Jersey Route 33|State Highway Route&nbsp;33]]. The state planned on turning the alignment into a full-fledged expressway for several decades, including constructing the alignment that Route 64 currently uses in 1939. The route was amended in 1941, and was renumbered from Route&nbsp;31A to Route&nbsp;64 in the 1953 renumbering. Route 64 was proposed to become part of the Princeton&ndash;Hightstown Bypass (later designated [[New Jersey Route 92|Route&nbsp;92]]), but completion never occurred. Currently, the route remains the bridge over the Northeast Corridor. However, it is not currently planned that Route&nbsp;64 will receive an extension of sorts from the proposed Penns Neck Bypass to [[U.S. Route 1 in New Jersey|U.S. Route&nbsp;1]], a proposed realignment of County Route 571.

== Route description ==
[[File:2023-10-19 14 36 12 Traffic signal at the intersection of New Jersey State Route 64 and Mercer County Routes 526 and 571 (Princeton-Hightstown Road) and Mercer County Route 615 (Cranbury Road) in West Windsor Township, Mercer County, New Jersey.jpg|left|thumb|alt=Route 64 sign blade|The only Route 64 signage is this blade on the traffic light at its southern terminus]]
Route 64 begins at an intersection with [[County Route 571 (New Jersey)|County Route 571]] and [[County Route 615 (Mercer County, New Jersey)|County Route 615]] in the community of [[West Windsor, New Jersey|West Windsor]]. From this point, County Route 571 continues along the right-of-way towards [[U.S. Route 130]]. The route heads north and crosses over [[Amtrak]]'s [[Northeast Corridor]] before it passes to the north of a local bus depot.  Route 64 continues westward for a short distance, crossing through a local woodland and behind several local homes. The route makes a gradual curve to the west off the railroad bridge and passes behind a couple of homes before heading to the south slightly at an intersection. Route 64 reaches its northern terminus and County Route 571 makes a right turn to head northwest toward [[U.S. Route 1 in New Jersey|U.S. Route 1]] and [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]].<ref name="bing">{{cite map|title=Bing Maps - Overview map of Route 64|publisher=[[Microsoft Inc.]]|url=http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?q=Penns+Neck+NJ&mkt=en-US&FORM=BYFD#JnJ0cD1wb3MucXFrbm4zOHNmZ3M3X25lYXIrSGlnaHRzdG93bitSZCUyYytQcmluY2V0b24rSnVuY3Rpb24lMmMrTmV3K0plcnNleSswODU1MCUyYytVbml0ZWQrU3RhdGVzX19fZV8lN2Vwb3MucXFtMjN6OHNmNjdkX25lYXIrV2FzaGluZ3RvbitSZCslMjZhbXAlM2IrTWFqb3IrUmQlMmMrUHJpbmNldG9uK0p1bmN0aW9uJTJjK05ldytKZXJzZXkrMDg1NTAlMmMrVW5pdGVkK1N0YXRlc19fX2VfJnJ0b3A9MCU3ZTA=|access-date=August 24, 2009|year=2009}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Route 31A and the original freeway ===
{{infobox road small
|state=NJ
|type=NJ 1926
|county=
|route=31A
|location= [[West Windsor, New Jersey|West Windsor]]
|length_mi=
|length_round=
|length_ref=
|formed=1938<ref name="1938law" />
|deleted=1953<ref name="nj1953" />
}}
In the late-1920s, the state proposed a bypass along the alignment.
In 1938, the [[New Jersey State Highway Department]] and [[New Jersey General Assembly]] put forth a proposal detailing that a highway from [[U.S. Route 206|State Highway Route 31]] (co-signed with U.S. Route 206) in the city of [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]] eastward through Mercer County onto current-day County Route 571. From there, it would follow an alignment of highway to the intersection with [[New Jersey Route 33|State Highway Route 33]] in the community of [[Hightstown, New Jersey|Hightstown]]. The original proposal for the highway was to turn the road into a limited-access freeway along its entirety. The route was designated as State Highway Route 31A, a suffixed spur of State Highway Route 31 that year.<ref name="1938law">{{Cite book|title=ROUTE NO. 31A. Beginning in State highway route No. 31 in or near Princeton, and thence to a point at or near Hightstown and connecting there with State highway route No. 33 eastwardly of Hightstown. |year=1938|publisher=New Jersey State Assembly}}</ref> A portion of the highway was constructed in 1939, when a bridge over the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] was constructed from Washington Road's former alignment to the current intersection with Route 615.<ref name="nbi">{{cite journal|year=2009|title=Structure Number: ++++++++1117150 |publisher=United States Department of Transportation}}</ref> This new, {{convert|104.00|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} bridge replaced the at-grade crossing on Washington Road,<ref name="1909topo">{{cite map|title=Southeastern portion of the Princeton, New Jersey quadrangle|publisher=United States Geological Survey|year=1909}}</ref> which is now a dead-end.<ref name="map">{{google maps|title=Overview of old Route 31A|url=https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=&daddr=&hl=en&geocode=&mra=mr&ie=UTF8&ll=40.318189,-74.621437&spn=0.002646,0.006866&z=18|access-date=August 27, 2009}}</ref> The state highway law was amended just three years later, with the freeway option removed and the extensions remaining.<ref name="1941law">{{Cite book|title=ROUTE NO. 31A. Beginning in State highway route No. 31 in or near Princeton, and thence to a point at or near Hightstown and connecting there with State highway route No. 33 eastwardly of Hightstown. |year=1941|publisher=New Jersey State Assembly}}</ref>

The new bridge remained in place along Route&nbsp;31A, however, no new portions of the freeway were constructed in terms of creating the Route&nbsp;31A Freeway, as proposed in&nbsp;1938.<ref name="1938law" /> In&nbsp;1950, then-governor of New Jersey, [[Alfred E. Driscoll]], cited the need for the expressway as an important truck and passenger car highway from Trenton to the [[Jersey Shore]].<ref name="driscoll">{{Cite book|quote=My studies have very definitely indicated that it is unwise to expect city streets to bear the brunt of through, truck and passenger traffic. A continuous line of trucks, or, for that matter, passenger cars, bound from the Trenton area to the seashore, or desiring to get on the (New Jersey) Turnpike after it is completed, may constitute a (brick wall) "Chinese Wall" just as effectively as an underpass or overpass.|author=Alfred E. Driscoll|publisher=State of New Jersey|year=1950}}</ref> Route&nbsp;31A itself was decommissioned in the [[1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering]], and replaced by the designation of Route&nbsp;64.<ref name="nj1953">{{Cite book|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> The route was truncated from both ends toward Princeton and Hightstown, leaving just the bridge in West Windsor.<ref name=nj1953ii>State of New Jersey, Laws of 1953, Chapter 112, Page 1298, Section 1.</ref> Route&nbsp;31A remained in the state highway statutes for several decades after decommissioning, with a bill in&nbsp;1991 being proposed. The bill passed, and Route&nbsp;31A was stripped from the statutes on January&nbsp;18,&nbsp;1992.<ref name=nj1991ii>State of New Jersey, Laws of 1991, Page 1298, Section 2.</ref>

=== Route 92 and future changes to CR 571 ===
{{see also|New Jersey Route 92}}
[[File:2023-10-04 12 34 41 View north along New Jersey State Route 64 and Mercer County Route 571 and west along Mercer County Route 526 (Princeton-Hightstown Road) as it crosses the Northeast Corridor in West Windsor Township, Mercer County, New Jersey.jpg|right|thumb|Route 64 northbound passing over the Northeast Corridor]]
Route&nbsp;64, after designation in&nbsp;1953,<ref name="nj1953" /> remained a short bridge along the highway.<ref name="1959map">{{cite map|title=New Jersey|publisher=American Oil Company|year=1959|cartography=General Drafting Inc.}}</ref> However, the need for an expressway from Trenton to the Jersey Shore remained, and in the late 1950s, the State Highway Department brought about plans for the Princeton&ndash;Hightstown Bypass, a four-lane freeway that would head for {{convert|14|mi|km}} from U.S. Route 206 in [[Montgomery Township, New Jersey|Montgomery Township]] to [[New Jersey Route 33]] in Hightstown. In the length, the freeway was to interchange with [[U.S. Route 1 in New Jersey|U.S. Route 1]], [[U.S. Route 130]] and [[New Jersey Route 27]]. The route was re-designated as Route 92,<ref name="1964Map">{{cite web|url=http://www.nycroads.com/history/expwy-map_metro/|title=Proposed Expressways in New York City|publisher=Regional Plan Association News|date=May 1964|access-date=2009-09-09}}</ref> and remained a high priority project for several decades. Even after changes in alignment, Route 64 was still an alternative.<ref name="public">{{cite book|title=Public Hearing for Proposed Route 92 Freeway|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|date=December 18, 1991|author=New Jersey State Legislature}}</ref> However, Route 92 was shelved on December 1, 2006 in favor of widening the [[New Jersey Turnpike]] mainline,<ref name="92canned">{{cite news|title=Turnpike Won't Add Toll Link to Route 1|date=December 2, 2006|newspaper=The [[Asbury Park Press]]}}</ref> and only [[New Jersey Route 133]] was constructed for the proposal.<ref name="133open">{{cite news|title=Long Wait Is Over|last=Armone|first=Michael|date=December 1, 1999|publisher=The Trenton Times}}</ref>

As part of the proposed [[Penns Neck Bypass]] on U.S. Route 1, the [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]] plans on realigning County Route 571 from the western terminus of Route&nbsp;64 to a northerly route to Route 1.<ref name="pennsneck">{{cite journal|last=University|first=Rutgers|year=2009|title=Route 1/Penns Neck Area Final Enivornmental Impact Statement|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation}}</ref> Although County Route 571 are proposed to be realigned onto the new alignment, there is no designated change proposed for Route 64. On the contrary to this, one state figure shows Route 64 running along Washington Road, where the two county routes currently run.<ref name="pennsneck" /><ref name="pennsneck2">{{cite journal|last=University|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/works/studies/pennsneck/pdf/app_c_7_1.pdf|first=Rutgers|year=2009|title=Route 1/Penns Neck Area Final Enivornmental Impact Statement - Figure 7-1|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|access-date=August 24, 2009}}</ref>

== Major intersections ==
{{Jcttop|length_ref=<ref name="sld"/>|state=NJ|county=Mercer|location=West Windsor}}
{{NJint
|mile=0.00
|type=concur
|road={{jct|state=NJ|CR|571|dir1=south|CR|615|county2=Mercer|dir2=east|name1=Hightstown Road|name2=Cranbury Road|city1=Hightstown|city2=Grovers Mill|city3=Cranbury}}
|notes=Southern terminus; southern end of CR 571 concurrency; western terminus of CR 615
}}
{{NJint
|mile=0.32
|road={{Jct|state=NJ|CR|571|dir1=north|name1=Washington Road}}
|notes=Continuation north; northern end of CR 571 concurrency
|type=concur
}}
{{Jctbtm|keys=concur}}

==See also==
*{{Portal-inline|U.S. Roads}}
*{{Portal-inline|New Jersey}}
*[[New Jersey Route 13]]
*[[New Jersey Route 162]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}
*{{commons category-inline}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/nj/log/6.html#64|title=64|last=Moraseski|first=Dan|year=2009|publisher=Alps Roads|access-date=August 24, 2009}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/traffic_orders/speed/rt64.shtm|title=Speed Limits for State Roads: Route 64|year=2009|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|access-date=August 24, 2009}}

{{good article}}

[[Category:State highways in New Jersey|064]]
[[Category:Transportation in Mercer County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:State highways in the United States shorter than one mile]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]