New Jersey Route 133

Route 133 was going to be part of Route 92 until the 1990s

The original conception for a bypass of Hightstown date back to 1929, when local members of community brought up the thought for a solution to relieve traffic on current-day CR 571 away from the downtown. However, nothing was ever produced, until 1938, when the New Jersey State Legislature brought forth the designation of State Highway Route 31A, a modern expressway crossing from the borough of Princeton eastward to Hightstown and further to the Atlantic Ocean along current-day Route 33.[3] In 1950, governor Alfred E. Driscoll exercised the need for the statewide expressway, citing that "it is unwise to expect city streets to bear the brunt of through, truck and passenger traffic."[4] However, State Highway Route 31A was decommissioned in the 1953 state highway renumbering to a short portion of highway in West Windsor as Route 64.[5]

View west along Route 133 just west of US 130

During the 1950s, the New Jersey State Highway Department released plans to construct the Princeton–Hightstown Bypass, a 14-mile (23 km) long, four-lane freeway connecting US 206 in the Montgomery Township community of Skillman to Route 33 in East Windsor Township. The freeway, designated as Route 92, was to connect US 206 with Route 27, US 1, and US 130, Route 33 and the New Jersey Turnpike. While the eastern terminus was to be at the New Jersey Turnpike, the western terminus of Route 92 was to be at an interchange with the Somerset Freeway (I-95) near Rocky Hill.[6][7] Although plans for Route 92 remained, the Somerset Freeway proposal was decommissioned in 1982, leaving open funds for use on other projects. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) suggested serving funds to the Route 92 project along with five other transportation projects. The project was working on its final studies and proposals in 1986, which was the year new interstates could be proposed to the Federal Highway Administration, however, the portion west of US 1 was dropped from the plans a year later.[8]

Signage for the interchange with US 130 in East Windsor. Although Route 133 is a freeway, none of its interchanges have exit numbers.

After Route 92 was shifted northward by NJDOT due to the belief that it would better serve residents further north, the proposal went into shadows.[9] In 1994, six years after plans changed for the Route 92 Freeway, NJDOT revived the plans, attempting to build the freeway from Princeton to Hightstown. However, the next year, the plan had to be altered due to public opposition from the communities of Princeton and Plainsboro. This plan was to construct a 3.8 miles (6.1 km) bypass of Hightstown and East Windsor, now designated as Route 133. The bid for the construction of the new four-lane freeway was accepted from the Schiavone Construction Company in 1996 for a cost of $57 million (1996 USD). Design began that June and construction of the new freeway started on September 20. The project was constructed as New Jersey's first Modified-Design Build freeway, which helped save money and costs for construction, reducing 26 months off the average construction time for the style of freeway.[10] On November 30, 1999, the roadway, which was completed, was opened to commuter traffic,[11] over a year later than originally estimated (July 1998).[10] Part of this delay was due to passage of Hurricane Floyd over the region during September 1999, whose heavy rains resulted in substantial erosion at the project site.[12] At the time of the opening, the freeway carried a 45-mile-per-hour (72 km/h) speed limit; this was increased to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) in August 2001.[13]

Entire length of Route 133 with the new Turnpike interchange

On December 31, 2006, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority released its proposals regarding interchange 8 of the New Jersey Turnpike and its possible replacement. The current interchange 8 would be demolished and replaced with a new interchange. The new exit 8 would end at the intersection with Route 33, Milford Road, and the Route 133 bypass (on the east side of the expressway, instead of the west). This new exit 8 would grant direct access to the bypass (without going through any traffic lights), as well as to Route 33, using grade-separated interchanges. The new toll gate would feature a total of 12 booths at the toll gate. The second option would be a grade-separated diamond interchange would be constructed, which would lead the ramps towards Route 33. At the intersection with Route 33 and the interchange ramps (from the turnpike and 133), a traffic signal would be built underneath the exit 8 ramps/Route 133. In lieu of a connector road, a jughandle would be built on Route 33 west. This would intersect at Route 33 (with a traffic light) and become the relocated Milford Road (after crossing Route 33).[14]

The third option was an unusual cloverleaf interchange would be built in lieu of a diamond interchange. After exiting the turnpike from the toll gate, a ramp on the right would lead to Milford Road or Route 33. The mainline of the Turnpike ramp would cross over 33 and turn into Route 133. A relocated Milford Road would be built across from Monmouth Street (CR 633) and Route 33 (without connecting Monmouth and Milford) towards the intersection with the current Milford Road and Daniel Street. The new Milford would cross over the turnpike ramps. A leaf would be built from the turnpike ramp approaching the exit 8 toll gate, which would connect to Milford Road. An entrance ramp would be constructed from Milford Road to the exit 8 toll gate. Traveling north on Milford Road, a ramp would be constructed, which would diverge into two ways; one way would merge into the turnpike ramp heading towards Route 133, and the other would intersect at a new traffic light at Route 33, 0.1 miles (0.16 km) east of the current Route 33/133/Milford Road intersection.[14]

Ultimately, the Turnpike Authority chose the first option for the interchange. But the connector road was eliminated and an exit ramp from the new tollgate to Milford Road south was added to the proposal.

The new exit 8 interchange and toll plaza partially opened in January 2013 with a combination of some temporary and some permanent ramps connecting to the Turnpike, at which point the old interchange was closed,[15] though the old interchange remains in use to access an maintenance depot. The new overpass crossing over Route 33 was opened in September 2013, followed by completion of the interchange by 2014.