New Jersey Route 495

Route 495
Lincoln Tunnel Approach
Route information
Maintained by NJTA, NJDOT, PANYNJ
Length	3.45 mi[1] (5.55 km)
Existed	1959 (1937 as Route 3)–present
Restrictions	No hazardous goods in Lincoln Tunnel
Major junctions
West end	I-95 / N.J. Turnpike in Secaucus
Major intersections	US 1-9 / Route 3 in North Bergen CR 501 in Union City
East end	NY 495 at the New York state line in Weehawken
Location
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Counties	Hudson
Highway system
New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← Route 446X → I-676

Route 495 is a 3.45-mile-long (5.55 km) state highway in Hudson County, New Jersey, in the United States that connects the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) at exits 16E-17 in Secaucus to New York State Route 495 (NY 495) inside the Lincoln Tunnel in Weehawken, providing access to Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The road is owned and operated by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) between the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 3, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) between Route 3 and Park Avenue near the Union City–Weehawken border, and by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) east of Park Avenue, including the helix viaduct used to descend the New Jersey Palisades to reach the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel. Route 495 is mostly a six-lane freeway with a reversible bus lane used during the morning rush hour. The bus lane, which runs the entire length of the freeway, continues into the Lincoln Tunnel's center tube.

The first portion of the present-day Route 495, at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, was constructed in 1937 when the Lincoln Tunnel opened. In 1939, the section known as The Helix was finished, which is an oval-shaped loop that descends Route 495 down to the entrance of the tunnel. In that same year, the route’s path was extended west to Route 3 and it became an eastern extension of that route. In 1952, the portion of the route west of Route 3 was opened when the New Jersey Turnpike was completed. In 1959, the road was incorporated into the Interstate Highway System and was designated as part of Interstate 495 (I-495). Since the Mid-Manhattan Expressway that would have connected the route to New York's I-495 (Long Island Expressway) was canceled, I-495 officially became New Jersey Route 495 in 1979, and the signs were changed in 1989.