New Jersey Route 173

View east at the western terminus of Route 173 at US 22 and I-78 in Pohatcong Township

Route 173 begins at an interchange with Interstate 78 and U.S. Route 22 in Pohatcong Township, Warren County, where the route continues to the northwest as part of U.S. Route 22, a six-lane, divided highway that heads towards Phillipsburg. From this interchange, Route 173 heads east on a two-lane, undivided road that parallels Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 to the south, immediately entering Greenwich Township and passing through farmland and some suburban residential developments.[1][2] County Route 644 (Greenwich Church Road) loops to the north of Route 173 as the route features three crossings of the Pohatcong Creek. Route 173 intersects County Route 637 (Main Street/Maple Drive), County Route 639 (Warren Glen Road), and the northern terminus of County Route 579 (Church Street).[1] Past the County Route 579 intersection, the route parallels the Musconetcong River and intersects County Route 632 (Asbury Road), which provides access to westbound Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22.[1]

Route 173 crosses the Musconetcong River into Bloomsbury, Hunterdon County. It comes to another interchange with Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22, where Route 173 takes on the name Brunswick Pike and closely parallels the interstate to the north.[1] The route enters Bethlehem Township and passes under Norfolk Southern's Central Running Track line, continuing east through farmland[1][2] The route parallels Norfolk Southern's Lehigh Line for a short distance, running farther to the north of Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22, before intersecting County Route 643 (West Portal-Asbury Road).[1][2] Past this intersection, Route 173 heads south and then east through the Musconetcong Mountains as a five-lane road with a center left-turn lane.[2] The route crosses into Union Township, where it becomes Old Highway 22.[1]

View west along Route 173 at Asbury-West Portal Road (CR 643) in Bethlehem Township

The route becomes a divided highway and meets County Route 614 (Little York Road) at a traffic circle near an interchange with Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22. Route 173 has direct ramps to and from the westbound direction of the interstate with access to and from the eastbound direction provided by way of County Route 614.[1] Route 173 narrows back to a two-lane, undivided road and closely follows Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 to the north, meeting County Route 625 (Mechlin Corner Road) and County Route 635 (Charlestown Road) near another interchange with Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22. There is direct access to and from the westbound direction of Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 while access to and from the eastbound direction of Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 is provided by County Route 625.[1] The route continues east and splits into a one-way pair. At this point, eastbound Route 173 crosses over Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 and makes a left turn to merge onto eastbound Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22. The westbound direction of Route 173 splits from Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 and continues west to join back with eastbound Route 173.[1][3]

Route 173 heading eastbound concurrent with CR 513 in Clinton

Route 173 follows Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 for a little over a mile in Franklin Township until an interchange County Route 513 (Pittstown Road), where the eastbound direction merges onto this route and heads into Clinton. It meets the westbound direction of Route 173, which splits at this point and heads west on West Main Street to merge into westbound Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 in Union Township.[1][3] In Clinton, Route 173 crosses over the South Branch Raritan River and splits from County Route 513 where that route heads north on Leigh Street.[1] The route crosses into Clinton Township and it features ramps connecting to Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22, with access from westbound Route 173 to westbound Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 and from eastbound Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 to eastbound Route 173.[1] Route 173 turns north to interchange with Route 31 and end at County Route 626 (Beaver Avenue).[1]

Route 173 westbound at the I-78/US 22 interchange in Bloomsbury

Prior to 1927, Route 173 was part of Pre-1927 Route 9, which was designated in 1917 to run from Phillipsburg to Elizabeth.[4] In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, the route became Route 28.[5][6] In addition, it was also designated as part of U.S. Route 22.[7] In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, which eliminated long concurrencies between U.S. and State Routes, the Route 28 designation was removed along this portion of the route, leaving U.S. Route 22 the sole number along the route.[8] In the late 1950s, construction began on Interstate 78 through the area. Construction of the portion of Interstate 78 built between Exit 11 (County Route 614) and Exit 13 in Union Township, completed in 1962, modified the alignment of U.S. Route 22 between these two points. It involved the creation of new eastbound lanes for Interstate 78 and conversion of the eastbound lanes of U.S. Route 22 into the westbound lanes of Interstate 78. The westbound lanes of U.S. Route 22 were turned into a two-lane frontage road.[9] In 1969, U.S. Route 22 was moved to the Interstate 78 alignment between Exit 3 in Pohatcong Township and Exit 18 in Clinton Township.[10] The former U.S. Route 22 became Route 173 between Exit 3 and Route 31 in Clinton Township, with the remainder of the former U.S. Route 22 alignment becoming county-maintained Beaver Avenue (currently County Route 626).[10][11]

•  U.S. Roads portal
•  New Jersey portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Jersey Route 173.

• New Jersey Roads: Route 173
• Route 173 Photos
• New Jersey Highway Ends: Route 173
• Speed Limits for State Roads: Route 173