Interstate 80 in New Jersey

Interstate 80
Christopher Columbus Highway
I-80 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT and DRJTBC
Length	68.35 mi[1] (110.00 km)
Existed	1958[2]–present
History	Completed in 1973[3]
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-80 at Pennsylvania border in Hardwick Township
Major intersections	US 46 / Route 94 in Knowlton Township US 206 / Route 183 in Roxbury Route 15 in Wharton I-287 / US 46 in Parsippany–Troy Hills I-280 / US 46 in Parsippany–Troy Hills US 46 / Route 23 in Wayne Route 19 in Paterson Route 20 in Paterson G.S. Parkway in Saddle Brook Route 17 in Hackensack
East end	I-95 / N.J. Turnpike / US 46 in Teaneck
Location
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Counties	Warren, Sussex, Morris, Essex, Passaic, Bergen
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← Route 79 → Route 81

Interstate 80 (I-80) is a major Interstate Highway in the United States, running from San Francisco, California, eastward to the New York metropolitan area. In New Jersey, I-80 runs for 68.35 miles (110.00 km) from the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge at the Pennsylvania state line to its eastern terminus at I-95 in Teaneck, Bergen County. I-95 continues from the end of I-80 to the George Washington Bridge for access to New York City. The highway runs parallel to U.S. Route 46 (US 46) through rural areas of Warren and Sussex counties before heading into more suburban surroundings in Morris County. As the road continues into Passaic and Bergen counties, it heads into more urban areas. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) identifies I-80 within the state as the Christopher Columbus Highway.^[4]

A freeway along the I-80 corridor had been planned in 1936 and again in 1955 to provide relief along US 46 between the George Washington Bridge and the Delaware Water Gap. With the establishment of the Interstate Highway System, the planned freeway, which had been identified in some planning documents as the Bergen–Passaic Expressway (which same name is also applied sometimes to I-95/Turnpike north of the I-80 interchange), was incorporated into I-80.^[5] The freeway was built across New Jersey in stages from the 1960s to 1973. The westernmost four miles (6.4 km) in New Jersey was originally a rerouting of US 611 when built, although that route was later realigned back into Pennsylvania. In the 1990s, high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV lanes) had existed on a part of I-80 in Morris County, but the HOV lanes were opened to regular traffic because they were not used frequently.