Classic American Road Trips: Walking Tours of Towns along the New Jersey Turnpike (Look Up, America!)

The New Jersey Turnpike first showed up on a highway engineer's drawing board in the 1930s as two untolled freeways to connect the Hudson River at the George Washington Bridge and the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Money was hard to scrape up in those days, however, and construction did not get underway until 1948 when the road became a single toll road under the authority of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

The southern terminus was linked tot he newly constructed Delaware Memorial Bridge and traffic started rolling on the New Jersey Turnpike in late 1951 and by the following year the original 118-mile roadway was open. An extension to its current 122.4-mile length was not completed until 1971.

The price tag was $255 million and while construction had been a simple matter through South Jersey the road approaching New York City through the New Jersey swamplands required the finest engineering thinking of the day. Viaducts were given high retaining walls to give the motorist the illusion of ground beneath the wheels. The Turnpike was designed for safe speeds of 75 mph with limited curves, long sightlines and 12-foot wide lanes that became the standard for the interstate highway system that followed.

New Jersey officials touted their new road as the finest highway ever constructed and many observers agreed. The New Jersey Turnpike has become a touchstone of American culture. Hollywood has visited many times and the Turnpike has made cameos in songs by Bruce Springsteen, Simon & Garfunkel, and others.

Today the New Jersey Turnpike is ranked as America's sixth busiest toll road. Its exits and corresponding towns are imprinted on millions of motorists' brains. There is no better way to see the towns of off the exits of the New Jersey Turnpike than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. Whether you are visiting a new town or just out to look at your own town in a new way, a walking tour is ready to explore when you are. Each walking tour describes a mix of historical and architectural and ecclesiastical landmarks. A quick primer on identifying architectural styles seen on America’s streets can be found at the end of the book.

Tour Towns Included:

Exit 3 Woodbury
Exit 4 Camden
Exit 5 Burlington
Exit 5 Mt. Holly
Exit 7 Bordentown
Exit 7A Trenton
Exit 9 New Brunswick
Exit 13 Elizabeth
Exit 15 Newark