New Jersey Roads - Palisades Interstate Pkwy.
Palisades Interstate Parkway (secret NJ 445)
The Palisades runs within about ¼-mile of both US 9W and the edge of the Palisades (a fairly steep cliff). The Parkway is entirely within the Palisades Interstate Park in NJ, but only a small bit of the NY portion is in the Park. Unfortunately, trees block some spectacular views of Manhattan and the Hudson River while in NJ, but it's still a beautiful drive (for better scenery, the craggy Hudson Drive is a slow alternative). 9W had a more scenic alignment before the Parkway came along, and there are traces of this remaining for the roadgeekily adventurous.
Courtesy HNTB Corporation, this yellow yield sign once stood at the end of the NB service station just north of I-95, though it wasn't all that old.
Henry Hudson Dr. NB at PIP Exit 2.
Taking NB Exit 2 leads to a roadway that either has access to Hudson Drive, a remarkable path leading through the Palisades, or to US 9W, which is where this photo was taken. The SB Exit 2 happens just to the north, as you see in that last ramp photo, which is courtesy HNTB. It would have been nice if NJDOT could have afforded real NORTH and SOUTH plates.
Your guess is as good as mine as to why there are no US 9W shields on these relatively recent signs (I'm guessing 1980's or early '90's?). Exit 3 is in fact a U-turn, but the PIP is still considered a full freeway - large interchanges don't happen along the NJ stretch in order to preserve the scenic beauty of the Palisades, and because in some places there's not enough room to construct one.
You usually don't see lane assignment signs on freeways. This U-turn, as mentioned above, is for Exit 3 access to the PIP NB, and also for access to a rest stop built on the original alignment of US 9W (see link below for photos from that).
The last two photos are on the mainline PIP, which leads directly to the George Washington Bridge (even further in the background of the Hudson Ter. photo, you can see that the Hudson Terrace SB sign for the onramp references only the GWB and has a VMS). The rest of the PIP, leading into Fort Lee and toward all New Jersey points, is actually NJ 445S. Many maps show this as a freeway through to I-95, and it sure should be. Hudson Terrace is a great place to enter the GW Bridge for queue-dodgers who have battled Fort Lee traffic in order to avoid the monstrous delays on I-95 during rush hours.
The southern end of NJ 445S. Straight ahead is US 9W SB. This is also the northern beginning of NJ 67, which is essentially a spur of US 9W and was the original highway, back when US 9 used a ferry before the George Washington Bridge was built.
Follow the PIP into NY
The PIP begins at I-95
Pick an exit to US 9W
To NJ 4
To US 46
To I-80
Onto NJ 67
Exit 1 to CR 505
Hike the Palisades
The PIP on Steve Anderson's nycroads.com
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