End of US highway 130 |
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US 130 was an original 1926 route, only about 34 miles in length. It had to be given an east/west number, because originally US 30 was the only other US route with which it connected. Despite that, it has probably always been signed as a north/south route. Therefore it may have been more appropriate to number it as US x13: even though it did not connect with US 13, it did run along the opposite bank of the Delaware River, parallel to US 13, and it formed something of an alternate route between Trenton and the Philadelphia area:
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c. 1927, Rand McNally
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The junction where it ended in Trenton was probably at the current US 206 / NJ 31 intersection. US 1 used Princeton Street to the north of that intersection, and Warren Street to the south. US 130 would have begun by heading down Broad Street. This photo was looking south on Princeton:
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Nelson, Sep. 2007
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That was southbound US 1, which continued ahead on Warren. US 130 begin to the left on Pennington, and then turned south on Broad.
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The south end of US 130 was originally in downtown Camden, probably at the Ben Franklin Bridge plaza. US 130 came in on Linden Street, ending at Broadway, which carried US 30 up to the bridge. That intersection no longer exists, because of I-676 and its access ramps.
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But later in 1927, the US 130 bypass around Camden was built. However, the current alignment of US 30 did not happen until about 1929, so in between US 130 would have ended at Collingswood Circle, which is now the south/east split of US 30 and US 130. Unfortunately, that area was under construction at the time of this photo:
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Elbert, July 2006
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When US 30 was rerouted in Camden, US 130 was truncated to Airport Circle. This photo was looking north on westbound US 30 / northbound US 130:
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Elbert, July 2006
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The two routes split there: US 30 loops around to the right and continues left past downtown Camden and across the river into Philadelphia. Straight ahead was once the south beginning of US 130.
In 1935, US 130 was extended south (from Camden) to Deepwater. Until the Delaware Memorial Bridge was built, US 40 was routed through Pennsville -- from there, travelers took a ferry across the Delaware River to New Castle DE: |
c. 1939, Rand McNally
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Since US 40 had apparently used that ferry since 1929, US 130 would have ended just south of its current terminus, at the connection to Hook Road (US 40 came north from the ferry on current NJ hwy. 49, east to Hook Road, then north on Pennsville-Auburn Road to Danceys Corner, where it joined the pre-1929 alignment (now NJ 48). Today's Bridge opened in 1951, so then the south end of US 130 was truncated a very short distance to its current terminus. This series of photos shows both of these endpoints; this first one was heading west on southbound I-295...
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Buchanan/Nitzman, Oct. 2004
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...and here is a shot from the opposite direction; US 130 traffic goes under the bridge, exits right, loops around, and heads to the left on the overpass:
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Nitzman, Apr. 2004
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This scene was approaching that overpass from the south via Broadway, which is now NJ 49. But historically this was eastbound US 40, which continued by making a slight curve to the right via Old Pennsville-Auburn Rd. Broadway continues by making a slight curve to the left, and originally that was the south beginning of US 130:
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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Today, that left curve on Broadway leads to an interchange with I-295, as well as to the current south beginning of US 130:
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The most distant of those green signs is shown close-up below:
Karners, Dec. 2016
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One half-mile further north is the first northbound confirming marker...
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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...and directly across Broadway from that assembly is the last southbound trailblazer:
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Karners, Dec. 2016
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In a half-mile, drivers reach the array of sign bridges at I-295 interchange, where the US 130 designation ends:
Karners, Dec. 2016
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Straight ahead is now designated NJ 49, but historically the US 130 designation continued a bit further that way, where this photo was taken:
Elbert, July 2006
To the left is now a connection to eastbound US 40, to the NJ Turnpike, and to Hook Rd. But before the Bridge was built, US 40 was straight ahead at the traffic signal in the background, so that is where US 130 ended.
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In 1938 the US 130 designation was extended north from Trenton to New Brunswick. Despite the fact that US 1 was already on the bypass to the southeast of town, USGS topo maps as late as 1942 and 1954 show that US 130 originally continued further north, into the downtown area:
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c. 1954 (USGS)
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If that was actually the case, then it seems likely that US 130 would have ended on George Street at Albany Street, where NJ 171 now ends at NJ 27. Here are some photos from that intersection:
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Rutgers University Libraries Special Collections and Archives
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Siegel, 2002
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The crossroad is Albany Street, which carried US 1. Straight ahead on George may have been the north beginning of US 130. The building shown in the historic photo still exists, but now a modern building stands just to the north, blocking it from view in the second photo.
However, other evidence suggests that US 130 never went into downtown New Brunswick, but rather that it always ended at its junction with US 1. For example, this 1939 NJDoT map showed Georges Road north of US 1 designated only as Rte. 25M (not US 130): |
c. 1939 (used as a base for a 1950 Census Enumeration District Map)
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Another example is this next photo, which was taken in 1939, looking south on US 1. Below the US 130 marker is a smaller shield with an "L". That suggests that US 130 began to the left (south), but did not extend to the right (north on Georges Rd):
c. 1939 (linked to source)
The following photo was taken in the same year, looking the opposite direction (northbound on US 1). It does not provide any clues about whether or not US 130 terminated at the upcoming intersection, but it does provide an excellent view of the historic route markers:
c. 1939 (linked to source)
But at some point US 130 must have been signposted into the downtown area, because in 1958 New Jersey asked for AASHO's permission to remove US 130 signage north of US 1:
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Thus US 130's current terminus was established. Georges Rd continuing into downtown (which USGS labeled as "US 130" and which NJDoT identified as "NJ 25M") was eventually re-designated as NJ 171. In 2003 that junction was reworked into a grade-separated interchange. This photo was taken heading north on US 130 towards its terminus, showing the sign bridge where it splits:
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Buchanan/Nitzman, Oct. 2004
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If a driver takes the right fork, they will soon be at the intersection shown in these photos, which is the actual end of the route, as noted on the signpost in the median:
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Nasiatka, Sept. 2003
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Nasiatka, Sept. 2003
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Where US 130 ends, NJ 171 begins (although that should have been a "North" tab, not "South", and it has since been changed). On the reverse of that assembly is the first southbound US 130 sign:
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Nasiatka, Sept. 2003
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Next is a shot of the north beginning of US 130 as seen from southbound US 1:
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Nasiatka, Sept. 2003
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These next photos were taken before today's interchange was built. This one was taken from Georges Road, looking north at the junction with US 1:
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Nitzman, 2000
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There was some space on the post above that US 130 shield; it is likely that an "End" sign was formerly mounted there. The intersection in the distance was the actual terminus of the route; this photo shows that same junction from a closer vantage point:
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Nitzman, 2000
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Research and/or photo credits: Carter Buchanan; Chris Elbert; Karin and Martin Karner; Dan Moraseski; J.P. Nasiatka; Steven Nelson; Alex Nitzman; Mike Roberson; Dale Sanderson; Mike Siegel; Michael Summa
Page originally created 2000;
last updated Oct. 5, 2020.
last updated Oct. 5, 2020.
