County Route 501
CR 501 highlighted in red
Route information
Length	40.24 mi[1] (64.76 km)
Existed	January 1, 1953[2]–present
Middlesex County section
Length	10.12 mi[1] (16.29 km)
West end	CR 529 in South Plainfield
Major intersections	I-287 in Edison Route 27 in Metuchen US 1 in Edison G.S. Parkway / US 9 / Route 184 in Woodbridge Route 35 / Route 440 in Perth Amboy
East end	NY 440 in Richmond Valley, NY
Hudson / Bergen County section
Length	30.12 mi[1] (48.47 km)
South end	NY 440 in Elm Park, NY
Major intersections	Route 139 in Jersey City Route 495 in Union City Route 63 in North Bergen Route 5 in Fort Lee US 1-9 / US 46 in Palisades Park Route 93 in Palisades Park Route 4 in Englewood CR 502 in Closter
North end	NY 340 in Rockleigh
Location
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Counties	Middlesex, Hudson, Bergen
Highway system
County routes in New Jersey 500-series routes
← CR 585 → CR 502

County Route 501 (CR 501) is a county highway in New Jersey in two segments spanning Middlesex, Hudson, and Bergen counties. The southern section runs from South Plainfield to Perth Amboy, the northern section runs from Bayonne to Rockleigh, and the two sections are connected by New York State Route 440 (NY 440) across Staten Island.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation lists CR 501 as a single highway with a length of 53.07 miles (85.41 km), which includes both road sections and the connection along NY 440.

Route description

Middlesex County

View east at the west end of CR 501 at CR 529 in South Plainfield

County Route 501 is signed east-west in Middlesex County. The western (southern) terminus of County Route 501 is at CR 529 in South Plainfield. From there, the route heads east to Metuchen, where it has a short concurrency with Route 27. It then continues east, crossing the Garden State Parkway between Exits 127 and 129 in Woodbridge, following concurrencies with Route 184 and Route 440 to the southern section's eastern terminus at the Outerbridge Crossing.

Hudson County (John F. Kennedy Boulevard)

The northern section of CR 501 begins in Hudson County, New Jersey and is known as Kennedy Boulevard. It starts at the Route 440/Bayonne Bridge junction in Bayonne, making its way north to Route 63 in North Bergen. The highway crosses Route 139 to the Holland Tunnel and Route 495 to the Lincoln Tunnel.^[1]

At its junction with Route 63 in North Bergen, CR 501 begins a concurrency with Route 63 into Bergen County,^[1] while Kennedy Boulevard loops around the northern end of the county and heads south through Guttenberg, West New York and Weehawken, where it is known as Boulevard East.

CR 501 northbound on John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Bayonne

Major points on CR 501/Kennedy Boulevard include Marist High School, New Jersey City University, Saint Dominic Academy, Saint Peter's University, Journal Square, Union City High School, North Bergen High School, and four Hudson County parks: Stephen R. Gregg (Bayonne) Park and Mercer Park in Bayonne, Lincoln Park in Jersey City and James J. Braddock (North Hudson) Park in North Bergen.

Immediately northeast of Journal Square, CR 501/Kennedy Boulevard crosses over Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) railroad tracks on an open-spandrel concrete arch bridge completed in 1926. The bridge is a pared-down version of a more ambitious elevated plaza scheme proposed by consulting engineer Abraham Burton Cohen. Cohen's office constructed a model using slot cars to demonstrate traffic flow through the plaza.^[3]

The boulevard continues north through Jersey City Heights, passing Dr. Leonard J. Gordon Park. In the area once known as Transfer Station, it enters North Hudson.

CR 501 in Palisades Park as Central Boulevard

History

In 1808, the Perth Amboy Turnpike was legislated to run from Perth Amboy to Bound Brook. The company struggled to complete their road, having petitioned in 1820 to the state legislature to extend the time to complete the road. They were unsuccessful, as the road was only completed as far as Piscataway.

CR 501 (JFK Boulevard) southbound at Bergen Avenue in Jersey City

Prior to being renamed in honor of John F. Kennedy in the 1960s, the John F. Kennedy Boulevard was known as Hudson Boulevard. While there was discussion of building a county long road as early as the 1870s,^[4] parts of Hudson County Boulevard were officially opened in 1896.^[5][4][6] By 1913 it was completed, and considered to be fine for "motoring",^[7] and included the road's eastern section, Boulevard East, into which Kennedy Boulevard forks at 91st Street. (The fork that continues north merges with Bergen Boulevard.^[8]) Taken as a single road, the circuitous route of west and east sections of the entire boulevard runs from the southern tip of the county at Bergen Point to its northern border with Bergen County and south again to the Hoboken city line.^[9]

The Boulevard was named the fifth most dangerous road for pedestrians in New Jersey, and the most dangerous road in Hudson County for pedestrians in a February 2011 report by the non-profit Tri-State Transportation Campaign. The road was the location of six pedestrian fatalities between 2007 and 2009, which account for a little more than a fifth of Hudson County's 29 pedestrian deaths in the three-year period.^[10] In November 2017 county officials launched a safety campaign for Kennedy Boulevard's five most dangerous intersections, based on accident data:^[8]

• 25th Street in Bayonne
• Lexington Avenue in Jersey City
• 36th Street in Union City
• 51st Street in West New York
• 91st Street in North Bergen

County officials had expressed interest in building a pedestrian bridge that crosses Kennedy Boulevard at 32nd Street, at the Union City-North Bergen border since at least.^[11] The two cities contracted a company to build the bridge for just over $4 million in November 2010.^[12] Construction plans began in May 2011, and field work began later that August.^[13]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Middlesex	South Plainfield	0.00	0.00	CR 529 (Stelton Road)	Western terminus of Middlesex County segment
	Edison	2.03	3.27	I-287 north	Exit 3 on I-287; access to northbound I-287 and from southbound I-287
	Metuchen	3.36	5.41	Route 27 north (Middlesex Avenue) – Rahway	Western terminus of concurrency with Route 27
		3.61	5.81	Route 27 south (Lake Avenue) – Highland Park	Eastern terminus of concurrency with Route 27
		3.81	6.13	CR 531 (Main Street)
	Edison	4.68	7.53	US 1 to N.J. Turnpike – Newark, New Brunswick	Interchange
		5.70	9.17	CR 514 (Woodbridge Avenue) to N.J. Turnpike
		6.23	10.03	CR 616 east (New Brunswick Avenue)	Western terminus of CR 616
	Woodbridge Township	6.99	11.25	Route 184	Western terminus of Route 184
		7.10	11.43	G.S. Parkway north to N.J. Turnpike / I-95	Exit 129 on Garden State Parkway
		7.33	11.80	US 9 – Rahway, South Amboy	Interchange
	Perth Amboy	7.74	12.46	CR 655 (Florida Grove Road)
		8.22	13.23	Route 184 east to Route 35 / Amboy Avenue (CR 653)	Eastern terminus of concurrency with Route 184
				Western terminus of freeway section
				Route 440 south to US 9 south / G.S. Parkway south / N.J. Turnpike	Western terminus of concurrency with Route 440
		8.38	13.49	Route 35 south	Westbound exit only
		8.65	13.92	Amboy Avenue (CR 653)	Northbound exit is via Route 440 exit
		9.23	14.85	State Street (CR 611) / High Street – Perth Amboy	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Arthur Kill		9.45	15.21	Outerbridge Crossing (toll plaza on Staten Island)
		10.12	16.29	NY 440 north – Staten Island	Eastern terminus of Middlesex County segment; continuation into New York at the river's center
Connection made via NY 440 (12.73 miles or 20.49 kilometres)
Kill van Kull		22.85	36.77	NY 440 south – Staten Island	Southern terminus of Hudson/Bergen County segment; continuation from New York at river's center
		23.24	37.40	Bayonne Bridge (toll plaza on Staten Island)
Hudson	Bayonne	23.71	38.16	Avenue A	Southbound exit and entrance
		23.73	38.19	Route 440 north to N.J. Turnpike – Jersey City	Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 440
				Northern terminus of freeway section
		27.12	43.65	West 63rd Street to Route 440
	Jersey City	29.37	47.27	Communipaw Avenue (CR 612) to N.J. Turnpike
		31.11	50.07	US 1-9 (Tonnele Circle)	One-way ramp to Tonnele Circle
		31.15	50.13	Route 139 east – Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel	Western terminus of the upper level of Route 139
	North Bergen	34.03	54.77	Route 495 to N.J. Turnpike – Lincoln Tunnel	Interchange
	Union City	34.35– 34.39	55.28– 55.35	CR 505 north (37th / 38th Streets)	Southern terminus of CR 505
	North Bergen	37.21	59.88	Route 63	Southern terminus of Route 63
Bergen	Fort Lee	39.13	62.97	Route 5 – Ridgefield, Edgewater	Interchange via local roads
	Palisades Park	39.62	63.76	Route 63 north / Central Avenue east – George Washington Bridge	Northern terminus of concurrency with Route 63
		39.90	64.21	US 1-9 / US 46	Interchange via 5th and 6th Streets
		40.52	65.21	Route 93 south (Grand Avenue) – Ridgefield, Fairview	Southern terminus of concurrency with Route 93
	Englewood	42.78	68.85	Route 4 – New York, Paterson	Interchange
		42.86	68.98	Route 93 / CR 501 south (Van Nostrand Avenue)	Northern terminus of Route 93; one-way pair begins
		43.86	70.59	CR 505 (Palisades Avenue) – Teaneck, Bergenfield
		45.05	72.50	CR 501 south (Hudson Avenue)	Northern terminus of one-way pair
	Closter	49.61	79.84	Old Closter Dock Road (CR 502) to US 9W – Westwood, Alpine
	Rockleigh	53.07	85.41	NY 340 north – Sparkill	Northern terminus of Hudson/Bergen County segment; continuation into New York
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access        Tolled

See also

•  U.S. Roads portal
•  New Jersey portal

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to County Route 501 (New Jersey).

• An enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the Fort Lee approaches to the George Washington Bridge
• New Jersey Roads: County Route 501 and NJ 63, NJ 93
• NJ State Highways: CR 200-514