Princeton and south, US 206/CR 533

Courtesy Barry Caselli, two county routes end at each other in Vincenttown - or do they? The NJDOT Straight Line Diagrams show CR 642 continuing across US 206, ending at Main St. CR 681 picks up on Main St. heading north from there, while the southern segment is oddly town-maintained. All of Main St. is old US 206 through the town. If the posted routes are correct and not the SLD routes, that explains why the south piece of Main isn't a county route.

Further confirmation of the posted situation, also from Barry.


Southbound at a dual route end. CR 530 could very well be NJ 38, but 38 was intended to be more than just a four-lane surface road, and was supposed to cut northeast to NJ 138, where I-195 now ties in; I-195 would have instead cut southeastward as a different route, 37. 530 was actually truncated here after having originally extended to where 38's divided highway ends.


Both courtesy Scott Colbert, the old shield is NB, and the wide shield is SB. CR 670 used to be CR 528 SPUR (along with CR 616 to the east), so this shield is as old as the removal of that designation.

My own wide shield, NB.


The ACE never puts arrows in the right place.


Somewhere in the Burlington County Fairgrounds, courtesy Barry Caselli. I can't quite figure out how this sign is oriented.


Northbound, pointing up old US 206 in Columbus, briefly NJ 170 but now Burlington CR 690.


Scott Colbert found this new ugly SB shield that's probably permanent, thanks to reconstruction at the northern end of NJ 68. At least the ones below are still there.


This is the beginning of NJ 68, which goes southward and, without intersecting any other state routes, ends at the AFB. There is a way to cut down toward CR 530, but it's not signed well from the latter road, and at the time I was here, my family did not feel like experimenting heading SB as we were late already.


Northbound.


Old white square lives! NB, with a mismatched gold banner/white shield thrown in as well.

Something old SB as well.


SB at Old York Road, this is the northernmost close connection between I-295 and the Turnpike; traffic is advised to use I-195 even further north, but it goes 5 miles west and then I-295 comes way back east from there. Here, though, there's a truck stop in the way, so to get to or from Exit 56, traffic uses Old York Road and Rising Sun Road. It's all well-signed, at least, even on the Turnpike exit - just not on the Turnpike mainline, because gee, you don't want toll road traffic to stop paying the state. Hint to NJDOT: the land's all clear between the US 206 trumpet and I-295. Now that the Turnpike Authority is distracted with their widening project, go connect directly from Exit 56 to Interchange 7. Oh, and have money ready for the truck stops, because there's no way they'll be happy with losing business.


NB at US 130, courtesy Scott Colbert.


NB signage through the brief US 130/US 206 multiplex. State-name shields for all!


SB signage, same area.


South of US 130 and southbound, a white Turnpike entrance sign (there's one on NJ 3 with green reflectors in the letters), and then on the Turnpike Exit 7 ramp itself.


Northbound in the same spot and then again on the Exit 7 ramp, first in 1970 and then in 1973 when the original signage was still up, courtesy Michael Summa. You can tell that the PA Turnpike trailblazer's a few years newer than the other sign, because the PA Turnpike hadn't yet been completed when the NJ one opened.


Northbound at I-195, which has a complicated interchange here because White Horse and the roads leading to the eponymous circle have been around for quite awhile with a well-established neighborhood. Traffic from US 206 NB to I-195 EB should have used US 130 North awhile ago, and thus traffic using CR 524 to make the connection up here is minimal.


Ghosts of signs past, courtesy Chris Mason and Ray Martin.


Old Trenton street sign, of which there are many along US 206 south of center city.


SB in Trenton just after leaving former Alternate US 1/signed Business US 1 (neither of which actually exist). US 206 follows a rapid left turn followed by the right seen here (apologies for the poor quality, but this sign is gone now).


Olden Ave. EB at US 206/CR 583. 583 ends multiplexed with 206 at Calhoun St., where it used to run to the river but has been replaced by CR 653, which makes no sense to me and ought not to you either.


Tiny shield (typical only along US 206 in Mercer County) where US 206 SB turns right to multiplex with CR 583 into Trenton. To visit Trenton, see the big Alternate US 1 link at bottom.


For all the old Mercer County signs and state-name shields, this SB run of signage is ruined by the one overhead tiny shield. They're all over this area and all ugly. The 2nd and 3rd photos are top and bottom of the same gantry, and you can click on either one for the full image.


Speaking of which, here's another where CR 569 NB turns off US 206 SB just after it came on from Fackler Rd.


The oldest bridge in the state, according to the state. They would know. That makes the Kingston bridge on NJ 27 only the second-oldest (1798) - this one dates to 1792 but has no plaque as evidence of that date. It also has a mysterious wall on the south side that may be the remains of an early mill.


Seen from the east side on the one-way part of CR 533, the only route in the state with no one-way counterpart in the middle of the route. (It had been two-way but was deemed too narrow, curvy, and dangerous to continue that way.)


Princeton Ave. WB, marking the boundary between Mercer and Somerset Counties with these most curious shields. Both sides of the intersection have turns displaced onto side streets to minimize cross traffic and make the most use of green time at a grossly under-capacity junction. One or both of Princeton Ave./Cherry Valley Rd. and US 206 needs 4 lanes here. I'd argue all of US 206 needs 4 lanes from Princeton to Somerville.


The SB guide sign at Duffy Pl., one of the side streets mentioned above. Did they take a normal font and stretch it for no reason?


On the US 206/CR 533 duplex SB, technically in Montgomery Twp. but still using the word "Princeton." 533 begins at US 206 and then comes back again before finally leaving on its own in Somerset County.

Northward to US 206 in Somerset County
US 206 and former Alternate/unofficial Business US 1
Onto CR 533 alone
Back to US 206 main page

Southward onto NJ 54
Onto NJ 38
Onto CR 630
To the Atlantic City Expressway
Onto CR 543
Onto CR 545
Onto Old York Rd., Burlington CR 660
To I-295
Onto US 130
Onto the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95)
Onto I-195
Onto CR 524
Onto CR 583
To regular US 1
Onto I-95
Onto CR 546
Onto CR 569
Proposed US 206 Atlantic Co. freeway on Steve Anderson's phillyroads.com
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