Route 15 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Route information | ||||
Maintained by NJDOT | ||||
Length: | 19.16 mi (30.84 km) | |||
Existed: | 1953 – present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end: | US 46 in Dover | |||
I-80 in Wharton Route 181 in Sparta Route 94 in Lafayette |
||||
North end: | US 206 / CR 565 in Frankford Township | |||
Location | ||||
Counties: | Morris, Sussex | |||
Highway system | ||||
|
New Jersey State Highway Routes
Route 15 is a state highway in New Jersey, spanning Morris and Sussex counties, which heads for 19.16 miles (30.84 km) from U.S. Route 46 (East McFarland Street) in Dover to an intersection with U.S. Route 206 in Frankford Township. It becomes a divided highway in Jefferson Township until becoming a freeway bypass near Sparta. Route 15 was originally Route 6A from 1927 until 1953, when a renumbering occurred and the route was given its current number. Since the finishing of the Sparta Bypass, the New Jersey Department of Transportation and North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority have considered more bypasses and alignment changes for 15.
Route 15 begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 46, slightly to the east of the underpass Route 15 used to use to pass under U.S. Route 46 and access Dover. Route 15 then winds through Dover concurrent with several streets. The road remains two lanes past the turn for the Rockaway Townsquare Mall, in the township of Rockaway. For a very short distance Route 15 becomes a freeway as it crosses the Interstate 80 interchange. A mile north, the road becomes a four lane divided highway with exits for a few businesses and Picatinny Arsenal. At that point, Route 15 leaves Rockaway Township and enters Jefferson Township. In Jefferson Township, the northbound and southbound lanes become about a quarter mile apart as it climbs up a steep mountain. The Southbound lanes have businesses, easy access to them, and a speed limit of 40 mph as this was the original lanes of Route 15 when it was only a 2 lane highway. The northbound lanes are nearly a freeway with limited access to businesses on the southbound lanes. The northbound lanes have a speed limit of 50 mph as well. These two lanes were built in the late 1960s.