Route 179 (Pennsylvania–New Jersey)

Pennsylvania Route 179 (PA 179) and Route 179 is an 8.7-mile (14.00 km) state highway in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States, running along an old alignment of U.S. Route 202 (US 202) from west of New Hope, Pennsylvania, northeast through Lambertville, New Jersey, to Ringoes, where it ends at an intersection with US 202 and Route 31. Past this intersection, the road continues east as County Route 514 (CR 514). It is two-lane, undivided highway for most of its length with the exception of a four-lane stretch in Lambertville. The route crosses the Delaware River on the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge, where the designation changes from PA 179 to Route 179.

Route 179 marker Route 179 marker
Route 179
Map
Route 179 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT, DRJTBC, and NJDOT
Length8.67 mi[1][2] (13.95 km)
Pennsylvania: 1.213 mi (1.952 km)
New Jersey: 7.46 mi (12.01 km)
Existed1965 (New Jersey), 1974 (Pennsylvania)–present
Major junctions
South end US 202 in Solebury Township, PA
Major intersections
North end US 202 / Route 31 / CR 514 in East Amwell Township, NJ
Location
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountiesPA: Bucks
NJ: Hunterdon
Highway system
I-179 I-180
Route 178 Route 180

PA 179 and Route 179 follow a part of the 18th-century Old York Road which ran between Philadelphia and New York City. Prior to 1953, the road was Route S29 from the Delaware River to downtown Lambertville, a part of Route 29 between Lambertville and Ringoes, and a concurrency of Route 29 and Route 30 in Ringoes. The route was also part of US 202, which was designated over 1926-created US 122 in the mid-1930s. In 1953, the Route S29 and 29 designations were removed in favor of US 202 and Route 30 became Route 69 (now Route 31). Route 179 was formed in 1965 when a bypass for Ringoes was built for US 202 and Route 69. Route 179 extended to Lambertville and PA 179 was created in 1974 when the new US 202 freeway, running over the New Hope-Lambertville Toll Bridge, was completed.

Route description

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Pennsylvania

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PA 179 northbound approaching the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge

PA 179 begins at an intersection with US 202 in Solebury Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, heading east on two-lane undivided West Bridge Street through commercial areas. The road crosses into the borough of New Hope and passes near a shopping center and more businesses. Farther east, the route gains a center left-turn lane and enters more residential surroundings as it passes New Hope-Solebury High School. From this point, PA 179 loses the center left-turn lane and passes more homes. Upon crossing the New Hope Railroad at-grade south of New Hope station and crossing over the Delaware Canal, the route heads into the downtown of New Hope and intersects PA 32. PA 179 continues east as East Bridge Street to the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge over the Delaware River.[3][4]

New Jersey

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View south along Route 179 at Queen Road in West Amwell Township

At the middle of the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge, the road enters the city of Lambertville in Hunterdon County, New Jersey and becomes Route 179. It heads east through Lambertville on Bridge Street through the downtown area.[2][4] At the intersection with Main Street, Route 29 joins Route 179 for a block, forming a wrong-way concurrency At the end of the concurrency, Route 29 turns south onto Route 165 and Route 179 turns north.[2] From here the road continues northeast as the four-lane, undivided Thomas Paine Highway, entering West Amwell Township, where the road heads into farmland and narrows to two lanes.[2][4] In East Amwell Township, the route intersects CR 603, CR 601, and CR 605 (Queen Road), which heads to an interchange with the US 202 freeway.

The road eventually forms the border between West Amwell and East Amwell Township. Route 179 intersects the US 202 freeway at a partial cloverleaf interchange, where the route is entirely in East Amwell Township.[2] Past this interchange, the route runs along the West Amwell/East Amwell township line until it entirely enters East Amwell Township again and heads into the residential community of Ringoes. In Ringoes, Route 179 intersects the old Route 31 (now CR 579), forming a brief concurrency that lasts with that route until CR 579 heads north on John Ringo Road. Route 179 continues northeast through residential areas on Old York Road to its terminus at the combined US 202/Route 31, where Old York Road continues to the northeast as CR 514.[2][4]

History

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Route S29 (1949-1953)
 
Route 179 southbound at the US 202 interchange in Ringoes

The current alignment of PA 179 and Route 179 was a part of Old York Road, a historical 18th-century road that connected Philadelphia to New York City.[5] With the establishment of the U.S. Highway System in 1926, the route was designated as a part of US 122, which became US 202 in the mid-1930s.[6][7][8] In Pennsylvania, the route was initially cosigned with PA 52; that designation was removed by 1930.[7][9] Prior to the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, today's Route 179 was composed of three state routes: Route S29, designated in 1949 from the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge into Lambertville, a part of Route 29 from Lambertville to Ringoes that was designated in 1927, and a concurrency of Routes 29 and 30 northeast from Ringoes that was also designated in 1927.[10][11] In the original 1927 plan, Route 29 would have continued northeast from the end of Route 179 along current CR 514, but it was instead modified to continue north with Route 30 to Flemington and using what had been planned as Route 12 to Somerville.[10][12]

In the 1953 renumbering, the Route S29 and Route 29 designations were removed from the route in favor of US 202, with Route 29 was realigned to follow former Route 29A to Frenchtown. In addition, Route 30 became Route 69 (now Route 31) to avoid conflicting with US 30 in South Jersey.[13] The bypass of Ringoes for US 202 and Route 69 was opened in the 1960s, and Route 179 was designated along the old alignment of US 202 within Ringoes.[14] The new US 202 freeway between the New Hope-Lambertville Toll Bridge and Route 179 southwest of Ringoes was completed in October 1974. As a result, Route 179 was extended along the old US 202 alignment to the state line in Lambertville and PA 179 was designated along the former US 202 through New Hope.[15] Solebury Township is pushing for a roundabout at the intersection of US 202 and PA 179.[16]

Major intersections

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StateCountyLocationmi[1][2]kmDestinationsNotes
PennsylvaniaBucksSolebury Township0.0000.000  US 202 (Lower York Road) – New Jersey, DoylestownSouthern terminus
New Hope1.1671.878  PA 32 (Main Street)
Delaware River1.213
0.00
1.952
0.00
New Hope-Lambertville Bridge
New JerseyHunterdonLambertville0.320.51 
 
Route 29 north (Main Street) – Stockton
South end of Route 29 overlap
0.370.60 
 
 
 
Route 29 south / Route 165 south – Trenton
North end of Route 29 overlap
East Amwell Township5.588.98 
 
 
 
US 202 north to Route 31 – Flemington
No southbound exit
 
 
US 202 south
No northbound exit
6.4110.32 
 
 
 
CR 579 south (John Ringo Road) to Route 31 – Trenton
South end CR 579 overlap
6.5110.48 
 
CR 579 north (John Ringo Road)
North end of CR 579 overlap
7.4612.01   US 202 / Route 31 – Flemington, Lambertville
 
 
CR 514 east (Old York Road) – Reaville
Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Bureau of Maintenance and Operations (January 2015). Roadway Management System Straight Line Diagrams (Report) (2015 ed.). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Route 179 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  3. ^ Bucks County, Pennsylvania (Map) (19th ed.). 1"=2000'. ADC Map. 2006. ISBN 0-87530-774-4.
  4. ^ a b c d "overview of Pennsylvania and New Jersey Route 179" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  5. ^ "History of the City of Lambertville". NY-NJ-CT Botany Online. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  6. ^ Pennsylvania Highway Map (eastern side) (Map). Gulf Oil. 1926. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  7. ^ a b Pennsylvania Highway Map (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1927. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  8. ^ Map of Pennsylvania and New Jersey (Map). Mid-West Map Co. 1937. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  9. ^ Tourist Map of Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1930. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  10. ^ a b State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.
  11. ^ State of New Jersey, Laws of 1948, Chapter 407.
  12. ^ Map of Pennsylvania and New Jersey (Map). Cartography by H.M. Gousha. Mid-West Map Co. 1941. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  13. ^ "1953 renumbering". New Jersey Department of Highways. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2009. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ^ Map of New Jersey (Map). Cartography by H.M. Gousha. Chevron Oil Company. 1969.
  15. ^ "US 202 Straight Line Diagram" (PDF). Internet Archives WayBack Machine. New Jersey Department of Transportation. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-03-18. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
  16. ^ "Roundabouts live up to hype" The Intelligencer, January 7, 2008
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