New Jersey Route 18

Route 18
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT
Length	47.92 mi[1] (77.12 km)
Existed	1939[2]–present
History	Designated in 1927 as Route S28
Major junctions
South end	Route 138 in Wall Township
Major intersections	Route 33 in Neptune Township Route 66 in Neptune G.S. Parkway / Route 36 in Tinton Falls Route 34 in Colts Neck Township CR 537 in Colts Neck Route 79 in Marlboro Township CR 520 in Marlboro US 9 in Old Bridge Township CR 527 in Old Bridge CR 535 in East Brunswick I-95 / N.J. Turnpike in East Brunswick US 1 in New Brunswick Route 27 in New Brunswick
North end	I-287 in Piscataway
Location
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Counties	Monmouth, Middlesex
Highway system
New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← Route 17 → Route 18N

Route 18 is a 47.92-mile-long (77.12 km) state highway in the central part of the US state of New Jersey. It begins at an intersection with Route 138 in Wall Township, Monmouth County, and ends at Interstate 287 (I-287) in Piscataway, Middlesex County. Route 18 is a major route through Central New Jersey that connects the Jersey Shore to the Raritan Valley region, connecting the seats of Monmouth County (Freehold) and Middlesex County (New Brunswick) respectively. The route runs through Ocean Township, Marlboro, East Brunswick, and is the main thoroughfare for Rutgers University. Much of the route is a freeway (including the entire portion in Monmouth County and much of the northern end through New Brunswick and Piscataway). The remainder of the route is an arterial road with traffic lights in the East Brunswick and Old Bridge areas, and a boulevard in the remainder of Piscataway. Route 18 was designated in 1939 as a proposed freeway from Old Bridge to Eatontown.^[2] The section west of Old Bridge was formerly designated as part Route S28, a prefixed spur of State Highway Route 28 from Middlesex to Matawan. The designation, assigned in the 1927 renumbering, remained until a second renumbering in 1953. At that point, Route S28 was redesignated as Route 18, though the section from Old Bridge to Matawan was signed as TEMP 18, as this section would be decommissioned when the Route 18 freeway was built.

The route originally ended at Route 27 at the border between Highland Park and New Brunswick, but was extended northward to then-County Route 514 Spur (CR 514 Spur), now CR 622, in 1983. The freeway through New Brunswick was constructed during the 1980s over the Delaware and Raritan Canal. Route 18 was further extended to Hoes Lane in Piscataway in 2004 and presently ends at I-287 in Piscataway. The route south of exit 6A in Wall Township was also originally intended to extend to the Brielle Circle and terminate at Route 34, Route 35, and Route 70 but there are no plans to do so currently.