Lost US 9W - Alpine, New Jersey

It seems that the State Line Overlook on the Palisades Interstate Parkway took away part of US 9W between current Palisades Interstate Parkway Exit 3 and the New Jersey/New York state line. The roadway that leads into the overlook is part of the historic US 9W. Then at one point (as you will soon see) the road to the overlook pulls away from the old US 9W and the old highway (still in its original concrete grade) is a pedestrian walkway. Once you reach the parking area, you then walk toward the cliffs overlooking the Hudson River to be on the cement pavement that acted as a highway for years. Then it extends about a mile north pulling away from the Palisades (the cliffs not the Parkway) to end up at the current US 9W at the state line.

Photos courtesy of JP Nasiatka, taken in September 2003.

View from a path that leads to an overlook at the Overlook. As you see it branches off the old historic highway.

The abandoned road still in its original concrete pavement taken north of the overlook.

Old US 9W looking on to the Overlook entrance road. In 1985, the entrance road was not paved in asphalt, so you rode on the original concrete grade to enter the facility. The paving had to be done within the last decade.

View looking as you enter the Overlook by car. Ahead you see is the old US 9W blocked off with the new entrance roadway to the left

View from US 9W after crossing into New Jersey. As you see the newer US 9W is to the right while the old alignment is straight ahead. In the middle of the two alignments the green sign that you see is the "Welcome to New Jersey" sign.

Closeup of a small sign at the rock barricade keeping motor vehicles off of old US 9W. It informs all that it is a one mile hike to the State Line Overlook.

View at the north end of the lost highway as seen from the lost US 9W.

View at the north end of the lost highway as seen from the modern US 9W.

Comments

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process. The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents. Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes. When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood. The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71. The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway. Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog