Global InformationNew Jersey Route 18 information
Route 18 | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NJDOT | ||||
| Length | 42.78 mi[1] (68.85 km) | |||
| Existed | 1939[2]–present | |||
| History | Designated in 1927 as Route S28 | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  Route 138 in Wall Township | |||
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| North end |  I-287 in Piscataway | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New Jersey | |||
| Counties | Monmouth, Middlesex | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route 18 is a 42.8-mile-long (68.9 km) state highway in the central part of the US state of New Jersey. It begins at an intersection with Route 138 in Wall Township, Monmouth County and ends at Interstate 287 (I-287) in Piscataway Township, Middlesex County. Route 18 is a major route through central New Jersey that connects the Jersey Shore to the Raritan Valley region, connecting the county seats of Monmouth (Freehold) and Middlesex (New Brunswick) respectively. The route runs through Ocean Township, Marlboro Township, East Brunswick, and is the main thoroughfare for Rutgers University. Much of the route is a freeway (including the entire portion in Monmouth County and much of the northern end through New Brunswick and Piscataway). The remainder of the route is an arterial road with traffic lights in the East Brunswick and Old Bridge areas, and a boulevard in the remainder of Piscataway. Route 18 was designated in 1939 as a proposed freeway from Old Bridge to Eatontown.[2] The section west of Old Bridge was formerly designated as part Route S28, a prefixed spur of State Highway Route 28 from Middlesex to Matawan. The designation, assigned in the 1927 renumbering, remained until a second renumbering in 1953. At that point, Route S28 was redesignated as Route 18, though the section from Old Bridge to Matawan was signed as TEMP 18, as this section would be decommissioned when the Route 18 freeway was built.
The route originally ended at Route 27 at the border between Highland Park and New Brunswick, but was extended northward to then-County Route 514 Spur (CR 514 Spur), now CR 622, in 1983. The freeway through New Brunswick was constructed during the 1980s over the Delaware and Raritan Canal. Route 18 was further extended to Hoes Lane in Piscataway in 2004 and presently ends at I-287 in Piscataway. The route south of exit 6A in Wall Township was also originally intended to extend to the Brielle Circle and terminate at Route 34, Route 35, and Route 70 but there are no plans to do so currently.
- ^ "Route 18 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. August 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- ^ a b State of New Jersey, Laws of 1939, Chapter 243.