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
Cape May-Lewes Ferry, between
Lewes, Delaware, and
Cape May, New Jersey); the other being
US 10. US 9 is signed east-west in
Delaware and north-south on the rest of its route. The southern terminus of the route is in
Laurel, Delaware at an intersection with
U.S. Route 13, while the highway's northern terminus is a dead end in
Champlain, NY, just short of the
United States-Canada 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 (or six-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 and New York, much of Route 9 runs parallel to nearby superhighways, the
Garden State Parkway and
Interstate 87, respectively.
Delaware
U.S. Route 9 runs an east-west path through
Sussex County,
Delaware, running west from
U.S. Route 13 in
Laurel, passing through
Georgetown, east to
Lewes, where it leads to the
Cape May-Lewes Ferry, which carries U.S. Route 9 across the
Delaware Bay to
New Jersey. U.S. Route 9 was extended to Delaware by way of the Cape-May Lewes Ferry in the 1970s, replacing
Delaware Route 28 between Laurel and Georgetown and
Delaware Route 18 between Georgetown and Lewes. U.S. Route 9 runs concurrent with
Delaware Route 404 between Georgetown and the
Five Points intersection near Lewes.
New Jersey
9 Northbound, Freehold, NJ
From Cape May, U.S. 9 runs north parallel to the
Garden State Parkway, through the
Atlantic City suburbs, until joining it briefly through the the
Pine Barrens (New Jersey) region of Southern New Jersey. Route 9 rejoins the Garden State Parkway in the
Toms River area, and then veers away from it, becoming a divided highway at
Lakewood. The highway follows a more inland route between
Freehold and
Perth Amboy. From here, 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 Route 1 and
Interstate 95 via the
George Washington Bridge.
Overlap with US 1
A type of sign found on and near the concurrent US 1 and 9 in New Jersey
A US 1-9 shield on the concurrency
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 (1-9 or 1&9). It is known locally as "1 and 9."
New York
U.S. 9 exits shortly after the bridge to become
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, 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 9 returns to two-lane status as it follows the old post road inland, away from the river. At
Fishkill, (
Interstate 84), 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.
US 9 as it approaches Albany
At
Red Hook 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 (161 km) 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 and the cul-de-sac just shy of the border.
Original Termini
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
NJ 109.
Originally, the road continued north across the border (as Route 9 towards
Montreal) through the customs facilities now used by
Interstate 87/
Autoroute 15. The official northern terminus (the point where the END US 9 sign is posted) is just south of the interchange with I-87, less than a mile from customs.
Major intersections
In Popular Culture
- Bruce Springsteen referred to the road in the song Born to Run." Specifically, he referred to New Jersey teens using the highway for cruising: "Sprung from cages on Highway 9 / Chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steppin' out over the line."
- The Wonder Years (band) has a song about the highway called "My Geraldine Lies Over The Delaware". The song derogatorily refers to the highway as dividing the disgusting part of America (on the east side) from the good part.
See also
Related routes
Bannered and suffixed routes
- U.S. Route 9 Bypass — NYS 9H in Hudson, New York
