New Jersey Route 133

Route 133
Hightstown Bypass
Map of Route 133, which is highlighted in red.
Route information
Maintained by the New Jersey Department of Transportation
Length:	3.59 mi[1] (5.78 km)
Existed:	November 30, 1999 (opened) – present
Major junctions
West end:	CR 571 in East Windsor Township
	US 130 in East Windsor Township
East end:	Route 33 in East Windsor Township
Highway system
New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate and US ← US 130 Route 138 →

Route 133 is a major state freeway located entirely in East Windsor Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. The route runs as a 3.59-mile (5.78 km) long four-lane bypass of Hightstown from County Route 571 at Windsor Center to the four-lane New Jersey Route 33 east of Hightstown. The bypass connects the two highways with the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) at exit 8, west around the north side of Hightstown and U.S. Route 130. Although Route 133 is a freeway, it has no direct connections to any other freeways as the connection to the Turnpike at Route 33 leads through several traffic lights.

The plans for the original bypass of Hightstown originated in 1929, when locals looked for a way to remove traffic from downtown. The New Jersey State Legislature followed up in 1938 by designating a new spur off of State Highway Route 31, State Highway Route 31A as a freeway from Princeton to the Jersey Shore. During the 1970s, Route 92 gained momentum, running from Princeton (at Interstate 95's proposed Somerset Freeway) all the way to Route 33 at Hightstown. However, after several setbacks, Route 92 was moved northward in 1988 and the bypass was truncated to a short portion of highway bypassing Hightstown. Construction on the new $57 million USD Route 133 commenced on September 20, 1996 by Schiavone Construction Company and was completed and opened on November 30, 1999.

Route description

Signage on Route 133 as it approaches its eastern terminus at Route 33

Route 133 begins at an at-grade intersection with County Route 571 (Hightstown Road) in the community of East Windsor. The intersection includes a jughandle for eastbound traffic to use to access the highway. After the jughandle on Windsor Center Drive, Route 133 begins to progress its way northward as a four-lane freeway,^[1] crossing through surroundings of trees and open fields. Along a large bend, the highway turns eastward, paralleling to County Route 571 to the south and County Route 535 (Old Trenton Road) to the north. Passing to the southeast of a factory, Route 133 curves to the southeast through fields and crosses over the locally-maintained One Mile Road heading eastbound and interchanges westbound. Heading eastbound, the on-ramp to Route 133 from One Mile Road merges in,^[1] and the highway continues, passing to the north of homes and commercial buildings through East Windsor.^[2]

Route 133 heading westbound from the eastern terminus at Route 33

A short distance later, Route 133 develops a wide median as it crosses on a bridge over a river. After crossing the river, the highway's surroundings change drastically, with residential homes surrounding the freeway in each direction. A short distance later, Route 133 crosses over U.S. Route 130's six-lane alignment, reaching an interchange with the northbound lanes after crossing. After Route 130, the highway continues eastward, crossing over County Route 539 (North Main Street).^[1] The highway crosses the right of way of the historic Camden & Amboy railroad; there is no bridge over the trackbed that is abandoned only a short few feet to the north and a few miles south around the Hightstown area. After crossing Route 539, Route 133 turns to the southeast once again, continuing to the south of the condominium complex. Leaving the condos behind, the highway turns southward through lands and paralleling to the south of Cranbury Station Road.^[2] Route 133 continues southward, crossing over Wyckoff Mills Road, which serves as the southern terminus of Cranbury Station Road. Now paralleling Wyckoff Mills Road, the four-lane freeway continues eastward, crossing over the six lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95). The Route 133 bridge over the Turnpike was already built with the considerations the New Jersey Turnpike would be widened an extra lane in each direction, which is occurring now. Continuing to the south of Wyckoffs Mill Road, Route 133 passes through northern Mercer County as a four-lane freeway. Soon after, Route 133 turns southward, heading away from Wyckoffs Mill and intersecting at-grade with Route 33, where the designation terminates.^[1]

History

State Route 92, the original proposal

Main article: New Jersey Route 92

Route 133 was going to be part of Route 92 until the 1990s

The original conception for a bypass of Hightstown date back to 1929, when local members of community brought up the thought for a solution to relieve traffic on current-day County Route 571 away from the downtown. However, nothing was ever produced, until 1938, when the New Jersey State Legislature brought forth the designation of State Highway Route 31A, a modern expressway crossing from the borough of Princeton eastward to Hightstown and further to the Atlantic Ocean along current-day Route 33.^[3] In 1950, governor Alfred E. Driscoll exercised the need for the state-wide expressway, citing that "it is unwise to expect city streets to bear the brunt of through, truck and passenger traffic."^[4] However, State Highway Route 31A was decommissioned in the 1953 state highway renumbering to a short portion of highway in West Windsor as Route 64.^[5]

During the 1950s, the New Jersey State Highway Department released plans to construct the Princeton–Hightstown Bypass, a 14-mile (23 km) long, four-lane freeway connecting U.S. Route 206 in the Montgomery Township community of Skillman to Route 33 in East Windsor Township. The freeway, designated as Route 92, was to connect US 206 with Route 27, U.S. Route 1, and US 130, Route 33 and the New Jersey Turnpike. While the eastern terminus was to be at the New Jersey Turnpike, the western terminus of Route 92 was to be at an interchange with the Somerset Freeway (Interstate 95) near Rocky Hill.^[6][7] Although plans for Route 92 remained, the Somerset Freeway proposal was decommissioned in 1982, leaving open funds for use on other projects. The New Jersey Department of Transportation suggested serving funds to the Route 92 project along with five other transportation projects. The project was working on its final studies and proposals in 1986, which was the year new interstates could be proposed to the Federal Highway Administration, however, the portion west of U.S. Route 1 was dropped from the plans a year later.^[8]

The down-scaled Route 133

The interchange with Route 130 in Hightstown. Although Route 133 is a freeway, none of its interchanges have exit numbers.

After Route 92 was shifted northward by the New Jersey Department of Transportation due to the belief that it would better serve residents further north, the proposal went into shadows.^[9] In 1994, six years after plans changed for the Route 92 Freeway, the Department of Transportation revived the plans, attempting to build the freeway from Princeton to Hightstown. However, the next year, the plan had to be altered due to public opposition from the communities of Princeton and Plainsboro. This plan was to construct a 3.8 miles (6.1 km) bypass of Hightstown and East Windsor, now designated as Route 133. The bid for the construction of the new four-lane freeway was accepted from the Schiavone Construction Company in 1996 for a cost of $57 million (1996 USD). Design began that June and construction of the new Freeway started on September 20. The project was constructed as New Jersey's first Modified-Design Build freeway, which helped save money and costs for construction, reducing 26 months off the average construction time for the style of freeway.^[10] On November 30, 1999, the roadway, which was completed, was opened to commuter traffic,^[11] over a year later than originally estimated (July 1998).^[10] Part of this delay was due to the events of Hurricane Floyd during September 1999, when much of the area fell victim to substantial erosion.^[12]

Future

A GIS model of the first option proposed (and eventually chosen) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority

On December 31, 2006, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority released its proposals regarding Interchange 8 of the New Jersey Turnpike and its possible replacement. The current Interchange 8 would be demolished and replaced with a new interchange. The new Exit 8 would end at the intersection with Route 33, Milford Road, and the Route 133 bypass (on the east side of the expressway, instead of the west). This new Exit 8 would grant direct access to the bypass (without going through any traffic lights), as well as to Route 33, using grade-separated interchanges. The new toll gate would feature a total of 12 booths at the toll gate. The second option would be a grade-separated diamond interchange would be constructed, which would lead the ramps towards Route 33. At the intersection with Route 33 and the interchange ramps (from the turnpike and 133), a traffic signal would be built underneath Exit 8 ramps/Route 133. In lieu of a connector road, a jughandle would be built on Route 33 west. This would intersect at Route 33 (with a traffic light) and become the relocated Milford Road (after crossing Route 33).^[13]

The third option was an unusual cloverleaf interchange would be built in lieu of a diamond interchange. After exiting the turnpike from the 8 toll gate, a ramp on the right would lead to Milford Road or Route 33. The mainline of the turnpike ramp would cross over 33 and turn into the Route 133 bypass. A relocated Milford Road would be built across from Monmouth Street & Route 33 (without connecting Monmouth and Milford) towards the intersection with the current Milford Road and Daniel Street. The new Milford would cross over the turnpike ramps. A leaf would be built from the turnpike ramp approaching the Exit 8 toll gate, which would connect to Milford Road. An entrance ramp would be constructed from Milford Road to the Exit 8 toll gate. Traveling north on Milford Road, a ramp would be constructed, which would diverge into two ways; one way would merge into the turnpike ramp heading towards Route 133, and the other would intersect at a new traffic light at Route 33, 0.1 miles (0.16 km) east of the current Route 33/133/Milford Road intersection.^[13]

Ultimately, the Turnpike Authority chose the first option for the interchange.

Exit list

The entire route is in East Windsor Township, Mercer County.

Mile[1]	Destinations	Notes
0.00	CR 571 (Hightstown Road) / Windsor Center Drive – Princeton	Western terminus of Route 133; at-grade intersection
0.72	One Mile Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
1.61	US 130 – New Brunswick, Bordentown	No access from Route 133 east to US 130 south or US 130 north to Route 133 west
3.59	Route 33 to I-95 / NJ Turnpike / Milford Road – Hightstown, Freehold	Eastern terminus of Route 133; at-grade intersection
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• New Jersey portal
• County Route 522, a four-lane road from U.S. Route 130 west to U.S. Route 1 in the same general corridor as Route 92

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Route 133 straight line diagram". New Jersey Department of Transportation. 2009. http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/00000133__-.pdf. Retrieved November 12, 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Bing Maps/Microsoft Inc. (2009). Overview map of Route 133 (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ Inc.. http://www.maps.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9LH9#JmNwPTQwLjI3NjgxMDk3Mzg4Mjd+LTc0LjUyODY5Mzg1NDgwODgxJmx2bD0xMyZzdHk9ciZydHA9cG9zLjQwLjI4MjU3OTA2NDM2OTJfLTc0LjU1NzY1OTAyOTk2MDYzX25lYXIlMjBXaW5kc29yJTIwQ2VudGVyJTIwRHIlMkMlMjBIaWdodHN0b3duJTJDJTIwTmV3JTIwSmVyc2V5JTIwMDg1MjAlMkMlMjBVbml0ZWQlMjBTdGF0ZXNfX19hX35wb3MuNDAuMjY4ODgxMDIyOTMwMTQ1Xy03NC40OTk5NDA1NzQxNjkxNl9fX19hXyZydG9wPTB+MH4wfg==. Retrieved November 11, 2009. 
3. ^ 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., New Jersey State Assembly, 1938 
4. ^ Alfred E. Driscoll (1950), State of New Jersey, "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." 
5. ^ 1953 renumbering, New Jersey Department of Highways, http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1953_New_Jersey_state_highway_renumbering, retrieved July 31, 2009 
6. ^ Regional Highways: A Status Report. Tri-State Transportation Commission. 1962. 
7. ^ Transportation 1985: A Regional Plan. Tri-State Transportation Commission. 1969. 
8. ^ Public Hearing for the Proposed Route 92 Freeway. Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Department of Transportation. December 17, 1991. 
9. ^ Public Hearing for Proposed Route 92 Freeway. Trenton, New Jersey. December 17, 1991. 
10. ^ ^{a b} New Jersey's Modified Design-Build Program: Hightstown Bypass. Trenton, New Jersey, Washington D.C.: Federal Highway Administration, New Jersey Department of Transportation. June 1998. 
11. ^ Armone, Michael (December 1, 1999). "Long Wait is Over". Trenton, New Jersey: Trenton Times. 
12. ^ "Hightstown Bypass Opens to Traffic". Ewing, New Jersey: New Jersey Department of Transportation. November 29, 1999. http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/about/press/1999/112999b.shtm. Retrieved 7 January 2010. 
13. ^ ^{a b} "Pike plan raises concern". Trenton, New Jersey: The Trenton Times. January 1, 2007. 

External links

• The Roads of Metro New York - NJ 133 Freeway
• 1976 Mercer County map
• Hightstown Bypass Study
• Speed Limits for State Roads: Route 133