U.S. Route 1 Business (Trenton, New Jersey)

Infobox_road
state=NJ
type=US
route=1 Business
length_mi=2.73
length_ref= [ [http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/00000001B_-.pdf US 1 Business] straight line diagram (PDF)]
length_round=2
direction_a=South
starting_terminus=
junction=
direction_b=North
ending_terminus=
established=
spur_type=US
spur_of=1

U.S. Route 1 Business is a surface road that provides an alternate to the Trenton Freeway (U.S. Route 1) northeast of Trenton, New Jersey. It was once part of a longer U.S. Route 1 Alternate, which continued southwest through downtown Trenton and into Morrisville, Pennsylvania. The old US 1 Alternate in Trenton is now signed by the New Jersey Department of Transportation as part of US 1 Business, despite not being officially recognized as such. Signage in Pennsylvania no longer exists; most of the former US 1 Alternate is now part of Pennsylvania Route 32.

Route description

Official route: northeast of Trenton

US 1 Business begins at a split with U.S. Route 1 at the northeast end of the Trenton Freeway in Lawrence Township. This part of US 1 Business was built as the Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike, and is a four-lane divided road with several jughandles. It carried US 1 until 1973, when the Trenton Freeway was completed.

At the border of Lawrence Township and Trenton, the road enters Brunswick Circle, where it junctions with U.S. Route 206. Officially, US 1 Business turns southeast onto Strawberry Street at the circle, merging back into the Trenton Freeway (US 1); the continuation into downtown Trenton is only US 206 (and northbound only - US 206 southbound officially bypasses the circle altogether).

Through downtown Trenton and into Morrisville

Despite the official route rejoining US 1 near Brunswick Circle, signage instead takes US 1 Business through downtown Trenton, mainly concurrent with U.S. Route 206. (Strawberry Street is signed "to US 1 south" from the circle, and as US 1 Business north from US 1.) Southbound US 1 Business leaves the circle with US 206 southbound on Brunswick Circle Extension, merging with Princeton Avenue (County Route 583). Officially, Brunswick Circle Extension is County Route 645 and US 206 southbound bypasses the circle via Princeton Avenue, but all signage points US 206 through the circle. Northbound US 1 Business and US 206 simply enter the circle from Brunswick Avenue.

The one-way pair narrows at the south end of Route 31, but continues south on two roughly-parallel blocks, Warren Street southbound and Broad Street northbound. At Livingston Street, the one-way pair ends, and US 206 south cuts over to Broad Street, while US 1 Business north comes from Warren Street. Warren Street curves southwest and west into Bridge Street, onto the Lower Trenton Bridge, just north of the Trenton-Morrisville Toll Bridge (US 1).

Entering Pennsylvania, US 1 Business signage ends; the first bit of road off the bridge is State Route 2060. Soon PA 32 comes in from the north, and turns southwest onto the old alignment of US 1 to its end, a merge with the US 1 freeway just north (compass east) of the U.S. Route 13 interchange.

History

Around 1953, when the Trenton Freeway opened, US 1 was rerouted onto it, and the old route (partly pre-1953 Route 27) through Trenton and Morrisville became US 1 Alternate, running from Brunswick Circle south to the present south end of Route 32. The rest of the Trenton Freeway, northeast of Trenton, opened in 1973, and US 1 was moved to it. The old route through Trenton Circle became US 1 Business, which officially ended near Brunswick Circle but was signed through to Pennsylvania.

Related routes

U.S. Route 1 Business is a business route of U.S. Route 1. Other spurs of U.S. Route 1 in the state of New Jersey are:
*U.S. Route 1-9 Truck
*Former U.S. Route 1 Business, now Route 139

References