New Jersey Route 20

File:2021-08-25 12 22 00 View north along New Jersey State Route 20 (McLean Boulevard) from the overpass for the ramps for Interstate 80 (Bergen-Passaic Expressway) in Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey.jpg

Route 20 begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 46 and County Route 630 (Crooks Avenue) just north of the Garden State Parkway on the border of Clifton and Paterson. The road follows the bend of the Passaic River directly north of Dundee Lake, heading to the north into Paterson as McLean Boulevard, a four-lane freeway. The route runs in between the Passaic River to the east and two large cemeteries to the west before coming to an interchange with Interstate 80 and Market Street. Past Interstate 80, Route 20 becomes a six-lane arterial road that heads under New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway's New Jersey Subdivision line and through a mix of residential and commercial areas.{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=route+46+and+roosevelt+avenue+elmwood+park,+nj&daddr=first+avenue+and+river+street+paterson,+nj&geocode=&hl=en&mra=ls&rtol=1&sll=40.892802,-74.123769&sspn=0.007218,0.013733&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=13 |title=overview of New Jersey Route 20 |access-date=2009-03-11}}

File:2018-07-24 16 10 44 View north along New Jersey State Route 20 (McLean Boulevard) at Fair Lawn Avenue in Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey.jpg

The next interchange along the route is for Route 4 (Broadway), with access to both eastbound Route 4 and westbound Broadway from both directions. The road continues further north as a four-lane arterial road, heading through more urbanized areas of Paterson. It crosses County Route 651 (East 33rd Street/Morlot Avenue), which crosses the Passaic River to become County Route 78 (Morlot Avenue) in Bergen County.

Route 20 continues to follow the Passaic River as a {{convert|45|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} road through commercial areas, featuring an intersection with County Route 652 (5th Avenue). Past this intersection, the route proceeds through urban areas, turning west and splitting into a one-way pair. Here, the route becomes county maintained, with the northbound direction following 1st Avenue and the southbound direction following 2nd Avenue before continuing west as County Route 504 (River Street).

File:2020-09-03 11 58 40 View south along New Jersey State Route 20 (McLean Boulevard) at the exit for Market Street (Paterson) in Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey.jpg

The present-day routing of Route 20 north of Market Street was legislated in 1927 as part of Route 3, which was to run from the New York border at Greenwood Lake to Secaucus.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.{{cite map|url=http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/images/1927_routes.gif|title=1927 New Jersey Road Map|publisher=State of New Jersey|access-date=2008-10-08|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031111034/http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/images/1927_routes.gif|archive-date=2007-10-31}} In addition, the present day routing south of Route 4 was also legislated as part of that route, which was to run from the George Washington Bridge to Cape May. In 1929, the western terminus of Route 3 was moved to Paterson as Route S4B (now Route 208) was planned to replace the alignment of Route 3 from Paterson to the New York border.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1929, Chapter 126. McLean Boulevard through Paterson was built by the 1930s.{{cite map|publisher=Rutgers University Cartography Services|title=Map of Passaic County N.J.|year=1936|url=http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/PASSAIC_COUNTY/PassaicCo1936.gif|access-date=2009-03-28}} A new highway was to be built connecting the two, bypassing the Paterson Plank Road to the north. In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 20 was legislated to follow the former alignment of Route 3 between Paterson and East Rutherford as Route 3 was moved to the Route S3 freeway that was built between East Rutherford and Clifton.{{Cite journal|title=1953 renumbering|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1953_New_Jersey_state_highway_renumbering|publisher=New Jersey Department of Highways|access-date=July 31, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628183145/http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1953_New_Jersey_state_highway_renumbering|archive-date=June 28, 2011}} By this point, the Paterson Plank Road was no longer in the state highway system.

Another freeway routing of Route 20 was planned in 1959.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1959, Chapter 4. This road, which was to be a six-lane freeway called the Paterson Peripheral, was to run from Clifton north to the existing Route 20 in downtown Paterson. This road was completed between the Garden State Parkway and Valley Road by 1969 and north to Interstate 80 in 1975.{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/00000019__-.pdf |title=Route 19 Straight Line Diagram|work=Internet Archives WayBack Machine|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|year=2006|access-date=September 10, 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060317104624/http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/00000019__-.pdf|archive-date = March 17, 2006}}{{cite map|publisher=Chevron Oil Company|title= Map of New Jersey |year=1969|cartography=H.M. Gousha}} Upon completion, this road received the Route 20 designation. In 1972, the state once again took over maintenance of the Paterson Plank Road from Route 3 to Route 17 in East Rutherford and made it a part of the route.State of New Jersey, Laws of 1972, Chapter 209. As it became clear that these three sections of Route 20 would not be connected, especially after the designation of the Great Falls Historic District, they received three different route designations by the 1990s. The freeway section of Route 20 from the Garden State Parkway to Interstate 80 was designated Route 19, the section between Route 3 and Route 17 was designated Route 120, and the Route 20 designation was retained along McLean Boulevard through Paterson.{{cite map|publisher=State Farm Insurance|title= State Farm Road Atlas |year=1983|cartography=Rand McNally}}{{cite map|publisher=Rand McNally|title=United States-Canada-Mexico Road Atlas|year=1996}} The unfinished section of Route 20 that was to connect McLean Boulevard to Paterson Plank Road was built as a northern extension of the Route 21 freeway in 2000.{{cite news|title=Route 21's Final Leg Is Opened Officially|last=Gohlke|first=Josh|date=December 27, 2000|publisher=The Bergen Record}}{{cite news|title=Missing Link Is Finished After 28 Years|last=Page|first=Jeffrey|date=December 21, 2000|publisher=The Bergen Record}}

{{jcttop|state=NJ|county=Passaic|length_ref=}}

{{NJint

|location=Clifton

|lspan=2

|mile=0.00

|road={{jct|state=NJ|US|46|dir1=west|NJ|21|dir2=south|road|Lexington Avenue|city1=Clifton|city2=Newark}}

|notes=Southern terminus; northern terminus of Route 21

}}

{{NJint

|type=incomplete

|mile=0.08

|road={{jct|state=NJ|GSP2||dir1=south|US|46|dir2=east|road|Crooks Avenue (CR 630 west)}}

|notes=Southbound exit and northbound entrance; exit 154 on G.S. Parkway

}}

{{NJint

|location=Paterson

|lspan=5

|mile=0.70

|road={{jct|state=NJ|I|80|city1=Delaware Water Gap|location2=New York City}}

|notes=Exit 60 on I-80

}}

{{NJint

|mile=0.81

|mspan=2

|road={{jctname|state=NJ|CR|56|county1=Bergen|noshield1=yes|name1=Market Street|city1=Elmwood Park|city2=Paterson}}

|notes=

}}

{{NJint

|mile=none

|place=Northern end of freeway section

}}

{{NJint

|type=incomplete

|mile=1.86

|road={{jct|state=NJ|NJ|4|dir1=east|name1=Broadway|location1=New York|city2=Paterson}}

|notes=Interchange; no northbound entrance; western terminus of Route 4

}}

{{NJint

|mile=4.15

|road={{jct|state=NJ|CR|504|dir1=west|name1=River Street}}

|notes=Continuation west

}}

{{jctbtm|keys=incomplete}}

• {{Portal-inline|U.S. Roads}}
• {{Portal-inline|New Jersey}}

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Commons category|New Jersey Route 20}}

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• [http://www.njroads.org/ends/20/nj20.htm New Jersey Highway Ends: 20]
• [http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/traffic_orders/speed/rt20.shtm Speed Limits for Route 20]

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020

Category:Transportation in Passaic County, New Jersey

Category:Limited-access roads in New Jersey