New Jersey Roads - I-280 - WB




Immediately off the Turnpike, through the tollbooths, and to CR 508, which could take you to the Holland Tunnel and Jersey City, or just give you a nice drive through the swamps. This was the extent of the original Exit 15W, originally extended to I-280 in a cloverleaf before the CR 508 WB-I-280 WB flyover was added in anticipation of a Holland Tunnel freeway extension. Traces of the old cloverleaf loop is still visible on aerial photos.


The last one is on the ramp from Harrison Avenue to I-280 WB, and is the only named onramp I know of.


Across the Stickel Drawbridge - see how tight that ramp is?


Sights from the former NJ 58, past the House of Prayer Episcopal Church (the most recognizable landmark from I-280) to the ramp for Exit 13, with a sign dating from the construction of I-280. It has been replaced, so this is the best I can do.


I present you the entirety of old NJ 58, with what's now Exit 16 in the foreground and the old stub to Orange St. at the very back. The Stickel Bridge of course takes center stage, behind the 1903 Morris & Essex Newark Drawbridge.


Note the white square for the GSP - this is new signage, although old signage has the same white square, and most newer signage has no square at all.


Signs on the Exit 12 ramps; the second one is now obsolete, as ongoing ramp reconstruction from the GSP has resulted in a clean split of that ramp instead of a merge with the Exit 12A (Clinton St.) roadway. In other words, traffic not paying attention that keeps right after the Exit 13 merge will have to exit to the frontage road, and no longer gets a chance to be saved and re-enter the freeway. (Both lanes of what was I-280 WB exit at Exit 12A-B, while the three lanes added by what would have been NJ 75 at Exit 13 continue as the I-280 mainline. The half mile of weaving is, shall we say, fun.)


In July 2008, the new onramp from the GSP is open and the old one (the pile of rocks in the right foreground) is on its way down. Hopefully the non-cutout construction shields go with it. Having two lanes to merge will greatly improve traffic in this direction, but the worst traffic heading onto the GSP SB gets no help for now. There are more cosntruction photos on the Exit 12 page, which you can see via the big link below.


Click to drive through the interchange, over the new ramp, to I-280 westbound through East Orange.


Freeway Drive West, the I-280 WB frontage road, approaching Burnet St. in the vicinity of Exit 12B. I don't know where the GSP detour is coming from, but there should be a regular (i.e. cutout and permanent) trailblazer shield there anyway, because the ramp into the interchange is just two left turns away.


Again notice the size of the yellow square around the county shield. Also, CR 508 (remember that from further east?) doesn't come anywhere near Montclair. There are little NORTHFIELD RD. green signs before Exit 10 WB and Exit 9 EB; while it's useful at Exit 9, since CR 508/Northfield (which anyway is an Ave. here) isn't signed on BGS's, it's kind of redundant here. More useful would be the knowledge that Mt. Pleasant Avenue can be reached from Exit 10, since that turns into NJ 10 to the west.


NJDOT got creative with VMS messages in the late 2010s and got their hands slapped because the messages could be distracting. Apparently things changed again in 2024 because just attempting to read the bottom word will distract you from driving, which is what they don't want you to do... but they'll watch you do it with that camera. This was nearing I-80 and the message was also on 80 and some other area roads.


Just like on the other side, there's a truck warning at Prospect Avenue. The hill in either direction is notoriously steep (7%; recommended maximum on Interstates is 6%).


Onto the EB side
Exit 12B (Garden State Pkwy.) ramps
Back to I-280 main page


Exit 17 or 10 to CR 508
Exit 16 to Frank E. Rodgers Blvd. (Hudson CR 697)
Exit 15 to NJ 21
Exit 12B to the Garden State Parkway
Exit 12B to Oraton Pkwy.
Exit 10 to Montclair (well, signed there)
Exit 6 to Laurel Ave.
Exits 6-4 to Livingston
Exit 4 to Eisenhower Parkway
Onto I-80
I-280 runs through Essex County
I-280 on Steve Anderson's nycroads.com
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