U.S. Route 9


U.S. Route 9 is a north–south United States highway in the states of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York in the United States. It is one of only two U.S. Highways with a ferry connection ; the other is US 10. US 9 is signed east–west in Delaware and north–south on the rest of its route. The western terminus of the route is in Laurel, Delaware, at an intersection with U.S. Route 13, while the highway's northern terminus is at a junction with Interstate 87 in Champlain, New York, where the roadway continues north as the unsigned NY 971B, which ends in a cul-de-sac just short of the Canada–US border.

Route description

Much of US 9 is a two-lane road, with some expansions near more populous areas. The major exception to this is central and northern New Jersey, where it is a wide four-lane divided strip, especially during much of its concurrency with U.S. 1 and in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties. New York boasts a few similar sections, as well as two short expressway sections near Albany.
In New Jersey, US 9 mainly runs parallel to the Garden State Parkway, and in New York, most of US 9 runs parallel to I-87.

Delaware

US 9 runs an east–west path through Sussex County, running east from U.S. Route 13 in Laurel, passing through Georgetown, east to Lewes, where it leads to the Cape May–Lewes Ferry, which carries US 9 across the Delaware Bay to New Jersey. US 9 was extended to Delaware by way of the Cape May–Lewes Ferry in 1974, replacing Delaware Route 28 between Laurel and Georgetown and Delaware Route 18 between Georgetown and Lewes. US 9 runs concurrent with Delaware Route 404 between Georgetown and the Five Points intersection near Lewes.

New Jersey

From Cape May, US 9 runs north parallel to the Garden State Parkway, through the Atlantic City suburbs, until joining it briefly to cross the Mullica River estuary in the Pine Barrens region of South Jersey. US 9 rejoins the Garden State Parkway in the Toms River area, and then veers away from it, becoming a divided highway at Lakewood that follows a more inland route through Howell, Freehold, Manalapan, Marlboro, Old Bridge, Sayreville and into Perth Amboy. From there, the road resumes its parallel course with the Garden State Parkway. After crossing the Edison Bridge over the Raritan River, it merges with US 1 in Woodbridge. The concurrency, an important and busy regional artery, continues past Newark Liberty International Airport and over the Pulaski Skyway, finally leaving the state along with US 1 and I-95 via the George Washington Bridge.

Overlap with US 1

A large section in northeast New Jersey and a small section in southern New York is concurrent with U.S. Route 1. Route shields on this section, which includes the Pulaski Skyway, often show both numbers in the same shield, with a dash or ampersand between. It is known locally as "one and nine" or "one-nine".

New York

US 9 exits shortly after the George Washington bridge to go onto New York City's Broadway north of it, passing over the northern tip of Manhattan Island via the toll-free Broadway Bridge, through the Bronx and into Westchester County, where in some towns it follows the old Albany Post Road, which dates from the early days of the nation's existence.
Following the Hudson River closely as a busy surface road through the many suburban river villages and past National Historic Landmarks such as Sunnyside and Kykuit, US 9 becomes the Croton Expressway between Croton-on-Hudson and Peekskill. That section ends at the Annsville Circle junction with US 6 and 202, where US 9 returns to two-lane status as it follows the old post road inland, away from the river. At Fishkill, the road passes the historic Van Wyck Homestead Museum and it becomes a six-lane divided strip until reaching the Poughkeepsie city limit. It then narrows to a four-lane divided strip which lasts until it intersects St. Andrews Rd, just north of the Hyde Park/Poughkeepsie town line where it returns to two-lane status as it goes through Hyde Park and past its historic sites.
At Red Hook US 9 veers inland again, becoming a two-lane country road through Columbia County save for the outskirts of Hudson. In Rensselaer County it widens again as it intersects I-90 and then joins US 20 to Albany, where it crosses the Hudson at the Dunn Memorial Bridge. It is a busy surface road through the state capital, becoming a strip in its northern suburbs, taking traffic eventually to Saratoga Springs and Lake George, at the edge of the Adirondack Park.
The Adirondack section of US 9 is the least trafficked of the road, returning to two lanes as it runs through vast tracts of forested wilderness and occasional hamlets. Almost 100 miles to the north, it leaves the park and runs along or near Lake Champlain to Plattsburgh. North of there, it is once again a two-lane road all the way to Champlain, ending at an on-ramp to I-87 just shy of the border.

History

Prior to the opening of the Cape May–Lewes Ferry in 1964, US 9 ended on Lafayette Street in Cape May, New Jersey. It was re-routed to the west, via Sandman Boulevard and Lincoln Avenues, to meet the new ferry, and its southern stub into Cape May was renumbered as New Jersey Route 109.
Originally, the road continued north across the border through the customs facilities now used by Interstate 87/Autoroute 15. The official northern terminus is just south of the interchange with I-87, less than a mile from customs.

Major intersections

;Delaware
;New Jersey
;New York

In popular culture

The highway is mentioned in the Bruce Springsteen songs "Born to Run" and "The Promise". The highway, particularly the section around Freehold, New Jersey, is associated with Springsteen more generally.
It is also mentioned in the songs "My Geraldine Lies Over the Delaware" by The Wonder Years and "The Devil On Hwy 9" by Danzig.

Related routes