County Route 509 (New Jersey)

County Route 509 (CR 509) is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway exists in two segments– one 0.95-mile (1.53 km) unsigned segment exists in northern Middlesex County while the signed mainline extends 25.78 miles (41.49 km) from North Avenue (Route 28) in Westfield to Straight Street (CR 504) in Paterson.

County Route 509
CR 509 highlighted in red (disconnected stub in Middlesex County is unsigned)
Route information
Existed	January 1, 1953[1]–present
Southern segment
Length	0.95 mi[2] (1.53 km)
South end	CR 531 / CR 602 in South Plainfield
North end	Raritan Road in Edison
Main segment
Length	25.78 mi[2] (41.49 km)
South end	Route 28 in Westfield
Major junctions	G.S. Parkway in Kenilworth Route 82 in Union Township Route 3 in Clifton US 46 / Route 19 in Clifton I-80 in Paterson
North end	CR 504 in Paterson
Location
Counties	Middlesex, Union, Essex, Passic
Highway system
County routes in New Jersey 500-series ← CR 508 → CR 510

For two small stretches – in Clifton at the interchange with Route 19, and in Paterson as it crosses over the Passaic River – CR 509 splits into separate northbound and southbound alignments.

CR 509 intersects with the Garden State Parkway at exit 138 in Kenilworth.

Route description

The 0.95 miles (1.53 km) unsigned Middlesex County segment begins at the intersection of Park Avenue (CR 531) and Maple Avenue (CR 602) in South Plainfield. The county route, not signed as CR 509 but rather CR 602, heads northeast on Maple Avenue through a residential neighborhood. After crossing Woodland Avenue, the road enters Edison and passes between two parts of the Plainfield Country Club. CR 602 breaks off the road at Inman Avenue leaving CR 509 on Old Raritan Road continuing northeast on a locally maintained road. At the Union County line, the CR 509 designation ends and Raritan Road continues into Scotch Plains.[3]

View north along CR 509 (Salem Road) at Galloping Hill Road in Union Township

The signed mainline portion of CR 509 begins at a complex intersection in the town of Westfield, seven miles (11 km) west of Elizabeth. State Route 28 (South Avenue) and Union County Route 610 (North Avenue) come from Scotch Plains to the west on either side of the train tracks running along New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line and criss-cross at a traffic circle a few hundred feet from the Westfield Train Station. CR 509 (East Broad Street) branches off in a northeast direction from Route 28 just after the state highway branches off of the circle and crosses under the tracks before continuing east. From its southern terminus to Elmer Street in Westfield, the road is town maintained.[2]

After cutting through downtown Westfield, CR 509 passes Fairview Cemetery on the right before coming to an intersection with CR 577 (Springfield Avenue), which splits off to the left before banking due north toward Mountainside, Springfield and U.S. Route 22 (US 22). CR 509 turns right onto Springfield Avenue but quickly becomes Kenilworth Boulevard. For less than a mile, the route passes through Cranford, during which time County Route 615 splits off to the right. It crosses into Kenilworth, where it is signed simply as "Boulevard" while traveling nearly due east. (East Broad Street continues straight as Nomahegan Drive for less than a mile before coming to a dead end).

Once through downtown Kenilworth, CR 509 interchanges the Garden State Parkway at Exit 138 before crossing into Union. It dips southeast for a few hundred feet, then turns left onto Salem Road at a five-point intersection with Union County routes 616 (Galloping Hill Road, bound for Roselle Park) and 619 (Chesnut Street, running between Linden and Irvington in Essex County).

Salem Road slowly bends back to the north, crossing State Route 82 near Kean University and over the Elizabeth River into Hillside, where it passes Vaux Hall Road and Hillside High School. CR 509 passes under US 22, but has no interchange. Traffic looking to access US 22 must turn right just beyond the overpass at Hillside Avenue, where access is provided near the Newark border. CR 509 turns left onto Hillside Avenue, while the road (now Liberty Road) continues to a dead end at St. Peter's Park on the outskirts of Newark.

CR 509 southbound past CR 643 in Bloomfield

After turning, CR 509 makes another quick turn, this time onto Chestnut Avenue. It passes over Interstate 78 (again with no interchange), to which access is available via Paine Avenue. The route continues as Coit Street, then Grove Street as it moves into Irvington and Essex County.

Now in a heavily populated neighborhood, CR 509 crosses Springfield Avenue a little east of the end of the State Route 124 designation, and crosses several 600-series routes while closely paralleling the Parkway. It intersects CR 510 (South Orange Avenue) at the massive Cemetery of the Holy Sepulchre, then moves into Newark for about half a mile, then enters East Orange where it meets CR 508 (Central Avenue). Shortly thereafter, it interchanges with Interstate 280, providing access to Newark, the Oranges and the Parkway.

CR 509 continues north into Bloomfield, where it turns left onto Franklin Street. It crosses back under the Garden State Parkway before moving into Passaic County, through the cities of Clifton and Paterson, where it ends at CR 504.

History

The two segments of CR 509 were previously connected through southern Union County via Raritan Road, Martine Avenue, West Broad Street, and Route 28.[4]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[2]	km	Destinations	Notes
Middlesex	South Plainfield	0.00	0.00	CR 531 (Park Avenue) / CR 602 west (Maple Avenue)
Middlesex–Union county line	Edison–Scotch Plains line	0.95	1.53	Raritan Road
Gap in route
Union	Westfield	7.03	11.31	Route 28 (North Avenue)
		8.99	14.47	CR 577 north – Springfield	Southern terminus of CR 577
	Kenilworth	11.67– 11.87	18.78– 19.10	G.S. Parkway	Exit 138 on Garden State Parkway
	Union Township	13.97	22.48	Route 82 (Morris Avenue) – Springfield, Elizabeth
Essex	Newark	18.58– 18.59	29.90– 29.92	CR 510 (South Orange Avenue)
	East Orange	19.17	30.85	CR 508 (Central Avenue)
	Bloomfield	21.33	34.33	CR 506 Spur (Bloomfield Avenue)
		23.22	37.37	CR 506 (Belleville Avenue)
Passaic	Clifton	27.47– 27.56	44.21– 44.35	Route 3 / CR 602 (Allwood Road)	Interchange; access to and from Route 3 westbound via Allwood Road
		28.92	46.54	Route 19 begins	Southern terminus of Route 19 overlap
		29.05	46.75	US 46 – Dover	Interchange
		29.38	47.28	Route 19 north	Interchange, northern terminus of Route 19 overlap
	Paterson	31.22– 31.51	50.24– 50.71	I-80 east	Exit 57C on I-80
		31.87	51.29	Route 19 south (Ward Street)	Northern terminus of Route 19
		32.81	52.80	CR 504 (North Straight Street)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

CR 509 Spur

County Route 509 Spur
Location	Westfield - Springfield Township
Length	2.98 mi[5] (4.80 km)

View north along former CR 509 Spur (now signed as CR 577) at Hillside Avenue (CR 634) in Springfield

County Route 509 Spur was a county highway in Union County. The highway extended 2.98 miles (4.80 km) from Broad Street (CR 509) in Westfield to Route 124 in Springfield.[5] The road is now part of a southern extension of CR 577.

Major intersections
The entire route was in Union County.

Location	mi[5]	km	Destinations	Notes
Westfield	0.00	0.00	CR 509 (Broad Street) to G.S. Parkway – Kenilworth, Westfield	Southern terminus
Springfield Township	0.93	1.50	US 22 – Somerville, Newark	Interchange
	2.98	4.80	Route 124	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

•  U.S. Roads portal
•  New Jersey portal

References

1. "State Ready to Push Traffic Off Major Roads in Air Raid". The Sunday Times. New Brunswick, New Jersey. March 15, 1953. pp. 1, 39. Retrieved January 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "County Route 509 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. March 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
3. Google (September 6, 2019). "CR 509 Middlesex County segment" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
4. General Highway Map Union County, New Jersey (Map). New Jersey Department of Transpiration. 1967. Retrieved September 6, 2019 – via Rutgers University.
5. "County Route 509 Spur Straight Line Diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2019.

External links

• NJDOT County Route 509 Southbound Straight Line Diagram from the New Jersey Department of Transportation
• NJ State Highways: CR 200-514