The New Jersey Turnpike might be my least favorite road in America.
That might seem like a bold statement, but think about it: why do so many people from around the US dislike New Jersey? Certainly, it’s a pretty nice place to live: nice houses, nice neighborhoods, good roads (though the drivers aren’t good). I’d be willing to bet that it’s the Turnpike that makes New Jersey disliked among at least the Northeast. Most people from out of state will only have the Turnpike as a frame of reference. Unfortunately, it’s a pretty rough frame of reference.
The problem for out-of-state drivers is the sheer amount of industry that’s congregated by this poor road. There are so many factories and pieces of infrastructure that it’s hard not to feel depressed when driving on it. Take the Garden State Parkway, a wonderful road, for example, it’s mostly flanked by trees and greenery, as well as lively towns and cities. The Turnpike, however, is a monolithic slab of smog and teeth-pulling monotony. The amount of industry also gives it a weird smell, which is really noticeable when coming from out of state. It also has a ridiculous amount of cemeteries and graves on both sides of it. Whenever I look out of the car windows on this highway, I get reminded of my own mortality.
Even for in-state driving, the Turnpike is horrible. It’s constantly under construction. Somewhere on the road, there’s construction happening. It’s not even particularly fast construction! It just never ends. It feels like the workers are just trying to maximize their wages. The traffic is also abhorrent. For at least three hours a day, it seems, the Turnpike is clogged by cars. This isn’t really the road’s fault in and of itself. New Jersey is by far the most densely populated state. Of course there would be a bunch of cars there. It doesn’t help that the Turnpike is undeniably the most important road in the state. So many imports by truck happen there. It’s a shame it’s so utterly bad.
All in all, the NJ Turnpike is a rough road. Every adult driver I’ve asked has agreed that it’s extremely rough to drive through. My only solution is to remove Newark and put the road through it. At least then, it’ll do some good.
