New Jersey

Garden State Parkwayshows how this iconic New Jersey roadway gained its place in history and continues to combine safe transportation in a parklike setting.

The Garden State Parkwayhas transformed the lives of New Jersey residents since opening in 1954. Spanning 173 miles from Cape May to the New York State line, it has fostered tourism to the Jersey Shore and given commuters an easier way to get to work.

Gov. Alfred E. Driscoll had envisioned the impact a new highway could have on the state, and a large team of planners, engineers, and contractors made it happen. In 1952, the legislature created the New Jersey Highway Authorityto ensure the funding and completion of the $330-million parkway and to self-sufficiently operate the roadway through toll revenue.

Follow the road through New Jersey, the Jersey Turnpike, the road that brings the indsutrial prosperity and businesses of the state together. A main thoroughfare through the state, don't miss the many diners along the way!

The New Jersey Turnpike chronicles the history of the highway from 1949 through the present day. With vivid images, it follows the road's progress from an ambitious vision, through construction, to opening, and into the future. Built as a utilitarian, four-lane, limited-access highway, the New Jersey Turnpike has evolved into the economic engine of New Jersey, the foundation of industrial prosperity and personal mobility. The highway traverses the entire state and is part of the Interstate 95 Corridor Coalition, which covers the East Coast from Maine to Florida. Today, more than two hundred forty million vehicles travel along the route, and many of those travelers stop at the turnpike's twelve service areas.

The Black Horse Pike, like many roads in southern New Jersey, developed along a route forged by the Leni-Lenape, and its path remains virtually unchanged today. The pike follows the contours of Timber Creek, with towns established at landings and not the usual crossroads, making it unique. Lumber and charcoal were loaded onto flatboats and floated up the creek to market. Churches and stores soon joined the mills and taverns clustered along the banks. Over time, trains replaced flatboats, but no mode of transportation could compete with cars and trucks for flexibility and convenience. Progress rapidly established the many towns along the Black Horse Pike, and it just as quickly dimmed their future. While the high-speed roads that bypass the Black Horse Pike towns may have quashed their commercial futures, generations of citizens have worked tirelessly to preserve the essence of these historic towns.

The river, the road, the rails, and the ribbon of canal--these four parallel transportation arteries define the historic corridor that is the Delaware River Scenic Byway. From the French and Indian Wars and the definitive Battle of Trenton in the colony of New Jersey to the mule-drawn barges, river steamboats, and puffing steam engines of the coal-fired Industrial Revolution, this corridor supported the formation and growth of the country. From the barracks and battlefields of Trenton to the mills and farms of Prallsville and Frenchtown, the modern visitor can trace an explosion of invention and ingenuity. Delaware River Scenic Byway showcases the rich industrial, commercial, and recreational history of this landmark New Jersey roadway.

The White Horse Pike may not be America's most famous road, but it is one of the most storied. Originally a migratory footpath of the Leni-Lenape, this timeless 60-mile route from the Delaware to the Atlantic has been followed by everyone from Walt Whitman to the Jersey Devil. It has served as a stagecoach highway, a toll road, and a pattern for railroads. The White Horse Pike depicts the heyday of this still popular
city-to-shore road, the most direct route from Camden to Atlantic City.