New Jersey Route 120

Route 120 is a state highway located in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It extends 2.65 mi (4.26 km) from an interchange with Route 3 in East Rutherford to another interchange with Route 17 in Carlstadt, where it continues to the west as County Route 120. Route 120 serves the Meadowlands Sports Complex - which consists of MetLife Stadium, Meadowlands Racetrack, and the Meadowlands Arena - and the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex. It heads north from Route 3 as a six-lane freeway through the sports complex to an interchange with the southern terminus of County Route 503. From here, Route 120 heads northwest along the northern edge of the sports complex as a four-lane divided at-grade Paterson Plank Road, passing through industrial and commercial areas.

Route 120 marker

Route 120

Larry Doby Highway[1]
Paterson Plank Road
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT
Length2.65 mi[1] (4.26 km)
Existed1990s–present
Major junctions
South end Route 3 in East Rutherford
Major intersections CR 503 in East Rutherford
North end Route 17 in Carlstadt
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Jersey
CountiesBergen
Highway system
← Route 109→ US 122

In 1927, Route 3 was legislated along the Paterson Plank Road portion of present-day Route 120. It was eventually designated along the entire portion of current Route 120. In 1953, Route 3 was moved to its current freeway alignment, replacing Route S3, and a portion of Route 20 was designated to run from current Route 3 north to Paterson Plank Road while Paterson Plank Road was removed from the state highway system. The portion of Paterson Plank Road that lost its state highway status in 1953 gained it back in 1972, when it became an extension of Route 20 as a result of the construction of the Meadowlands Sports Complex. As this route was not connected to the mainline of Route 20, it was designated Route 120 by the 1990s. As a result of the construction of American Dream, the interchange between Route 3 and Route 120 was improved. An overpass between eastbound Route 3 and northbound Route 120 was completed in 2009 and a flyover from southbound Route 120 to eastbound Route 3 was completed in 2010.

Route description
View northbound along Route 120 past Route 3 in East Rutherford. MetLife Stadium is on the left, and American Dream Meadowlands is on the right.

Route 120 begins at an interchange with Route 3 in East Rutherford, heading north-northeast on a six-lane freeway through the Meadowlands Sports Complex.[1] Here, MetLife Stadium, home field of the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League, and the Meadowlands station at the terminus of NJ Transit's Meadowlands Rail Line is on the west side of the road, while the closed Meadowlands Arena and the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex are on the east side of the road.[2] There is an exit for an access road to the complex. The freeway comes to an end at an interchange where the road continues northeast into Moonachie as County Route 503 (Washington Avenue), while Route 120 exits onto the Paterson Plank Road and heads northwest as a four-lane divided surface road along the border of Carlstadt to the northeast and East Rutherford to the southwest.

View northbound along Route 120 past CR 503 in East Rutherford

Route 120 passes one of Meadowlands Racetrack's grandstands and parallels NJ Transit's Meadowlands Rail Line on the East Rutherford side of the road, while commercial and industrial development dominates the Carlstadt side of the road, intersecting with Gotham Parkway. The route has a southbound exit and entrance to the Meadowlands Sports Complex before it crosses Berrys Creek. Upon crossing the creek, Route 120 continues northwest through more commercial and industrial development, intersecting with Murray Hill Parkway towards East Rutherford and 20th Street towards Carlstadt.[2] A short distance past this intersection, the road becomes a four-lane undivided road that crosses over NJ Transit’s Pascack Valley Line before coming to an interchange with Route 17.[1][2] Here, Route 120 terminates and County Route 120 continues to the west as Paterson Avenue.[1]

County Route 120

After crossing the Passaic River into Bergen County, the road is called Paterson Avenue and designated as County Route 120, in Wallington, in a residential and light-density commercial area. The road becomes the border between Wallington to the north and East Rutherford to the south. At the end of Wallington, Paterson Avenue is the border between Carlstadt and East Rutherford for a short distance but then the road dips into East Rutherford to avoid a hill (the bypass, which goes over the hill, is called Hoboken Road). The road returns to the Carlstadt/East Rutherford border at Route 17 which it crosses over via an overpass, and is then designated as Route 120 and Paterson Plank Road for a distance.[3]

History
Route 120 northbound at the exit for CR 503 in East Rutherford

In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 3 was legislated to run along the Paterson Plank Road portion of today’s Route 120 as part of its route between Secaucus and Greenwood Lake.[4][5] By 1947, Route 3 had been designated along the entire alignment of current Route 120.[6] When New Jersey renumbered its state highways in 1953, Route 3 was moved to a new freeway alignment that was Route S3. As a result of this realignment, the portion of the route between modern Route 3 and Paterson Plank Road became a portion of Route 20 while the section along Paterson Plank Road was removed from the state highway system.[7][8] Paterson Plank Road between County Route 503 and Route 17 joined the state highway system again as an extension of this portion of Route 20 in 1972 when the Meadowlands Sports Complex was slated to be built.[9] At this point, Route 20 had consisted of three disconnected segments. Since none of these segments were connected, this portion of road was redesignated Route 120 by the 1990s.[10][11]

With the construction of American Dream, several improvements to Route 120 took place. The interchange with Route 3 was reconstructed with an overpass between eastbound Route 3 and northbound Route 120 that was completed in May 2009 at a cost of $38.1 million.[12] Also, a flyover from southbound Route 120 to eastbound Route 3 was completed in early 2010 at a cost of $13 million.[13]

By Joint Resolution No. 6, approved September 9, 1997, the New Jersey Legislature designated Route 120 in East Rutherford, where it runs through the Meadowlands Sports Complex, as the Larry Doby Highway. Former Paterson resident Larry Doby, a professional baseball player with the Newark Eagles of the Negro leagues, later played in the Cleveland Indians and was the first African American to break the color barrier in the American League.[14]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Bergen County. All exits are unnumbered.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
East Rutherford0.000.00
 Route 3 to N.J. Turnpike / Meadowlands Parkway – Clifton, Secaucus, Lincoln Tunnel, New York City		Southern terminus
0.27–
0.74		0.43–
1.19		Sports Complex, American Dream
1.031.66
 CR 503 north (Washington Avenue) – Moonachie		Southern terminus of CR 503
North end of freeway
Carlstadt2.654.26 Route 17 / Paterson Plank Road (CR 120)Interchange; continues as CR 120
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References
  1. "Route 120 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  2. Google (June 30, 2009). "overview of New Jersey Route 120" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
  3. "County Route 120 Straight Line Diagram" (PDF). Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Department of Transportation. 2009. p. 1. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  4. State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.
  5. Williams, Jimmy and Sharon. "1927 New Jersey Road Map". 1920s New Jersey Highways. Archived from the original on October 31, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  6. Newark 1:250,000 quadrangle (Map). United States Geological Survey. 1946. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
  7. 1953 renumbering. New Jersey Department of Highways. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
  8. "New Road Signs Ready in New Jersey". The New York Times. December 16, 1952. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
  9. State of New Jersey, Laws of 1972, Chapter 209.
  10. State Farm Road Atlas (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally. State Farm Insurance. 1983.
  11. United States-Canada-Mexico Road Atlas (Map). Rand McNally. 1996.
  12. Brennan, John (May 1, 2009). "Newstracker: Road, rail improvements on track for Xanadu project". The Record. Highbeam Research. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013. (subscription required)
  13. Brennan, John (November 17, 2008). "Finally on Track: Sports complex rail, roads racing to the finish line". The Record. vLex. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013. (subscription required)
  14. State of New Jersey; Laws of 1997, Joint Resolution No. 6
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