Garden State Parkway

The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May north to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State". The parkway has an unsigned reference number of Route 444 by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT). At its north end, the road becomes the Garden State Parkway Connector, a component of the New York State Thruway system that connects to the Thruway mainline in Ramapo, New York.

The Garden State Parkway is the longest highway in the state at approximately , and, according to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, was the busiest toll road in the United States in 2006. Most of the highway north of the Raritan River runs through heavily populated areas. Between the Raritan River and Toms River, the highway passes through lighter suburban development, while south of Toms River, the road mostly runs through unspoiled wilderness in the Pine Barrens and swampland, interspersed with small towns and Jersey Shore beach communities. The highway has a posted speed limit of for most of its length and is primarily for passenger vehicle use; trucks weighing over are prohibited north of exit 105.

The parkway was constructed between 1946 and 1957 to connect suburban Northern New Jersey with the Jersey Shore resort areas along the Atlantic coast and to alleviate traffic on traditional north–south routes running through each town center, such as U.S. Route 1 (US 1), US 9 and Route 35. During planning and construction of the first segment, the road was to be a toll-free highway designated as the Route 4 Parkway. However, a lack of funding caused the remainder of the parkway to be built as a toll road. The highway has seen many improvements over the years, including the addition and reconstruction of interchanges, bridge replacements, widening of the roadway, and removal of at-grade intersections. Previously, the road had been maintained by an agency known as the New Jersey Highway Authority, however in 2003, the agency merged into the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA), which now maintains the parkway along with the New Jersey Turnpike.

The parkway uses an open system of toll collection with flat-fee tolls collected at 11 toll plazas along the roadway, as well as at several entrances and exits. Tolls can be paid using cash or via the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system. Along the route are 11 service areas, providing food and fuel to travelers. Historically, the road had ten picnic areas along its length, but only one remains open today.

Route description

thumb|120x120px|Route 444 shield, the Parkway's unsigned designation.

The Garden State Parkway begins at New Jersey Route 109 in Cape May County, at one of the very few expressway interchanges in the United States designated as Exit 0. It runs north along the mainland side of the Jersey Shore, crossing the Great Egg Harbor Bay and passing to the west of Atlantic City. The parkway passes through the sparsely populated Pine Barrens until it reaches Toms River in Ocean County. From here, the road heads into suburban areas. North of Tinton Falls, the route splits into a local-express lane configuration, which it maintains through Sayreville. Here, the highway crosses the Raritan River into Woodbridge Township, where it meets the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95, I-95). North of here, the Garden State Parkway passes through densely populated communities in Middlesex and Union counties and intersects I-78 near Newark. The parkway eventually passes to the south and east of Paterson and meets I-80 in Saddle Brook. After traversing the suburban northern section of Bergen County, the road enters the state of New York where it becomes the Garden State Parkway Connector, continuing north to the New York State Thruway mainline. Commercial trucks with a registered weight of over are not allowed to use the parkway north of exit 105, just past the Asbury Park Toll Plaza. The entire length of the Garden State Parkway carries the unsigned designation of Route 444, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.

Cape May and Atlantic counties

thumb|left|Garden State Parkway southbound, approaching the southern terminus at Route 109 in Lower Township

The parkway begins at an at-grade intersection with Route 109 in Lower Township, Cape May County, where Route 109 continues south toward Cape May and west (north) toward US 9 and the Cape May–Lewes Ferry. The Garden State Parkway runs north as a four-lane freeway on the Cape May Peninsula through the Cape Island Wildlife Management Area, running west of swampland, separating the highway from the Jersey Shore communities. Trees occupy the median and the sides of the road for the next several miles. After passing to the east of Cape May National Golf Club, crossing over Jones Creek, and passing a pond in the median, the highway enters Middle Township and has an interchange with Route 47, which serves The Wildwoods resort area and the community of Rio Grande. North of this point, the parkway crosses over the abandoned Wildwood Branch of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, and afterwards, the trees in the median disappear and the highway has a partial interchange with Route 147, which provides access to North Wildwood, Whitesboro, and Burleigh. Crossing into the county seat of Cape May Court House, the median narrows and U.S. Route 9 appears within yards of the southbound lanes of the parkway as it passes west of The Shore Club golf course. The two highways then split apart and the Garden State Parkway bisects residential areas before reaching an interchange for Stone Harbor Boulevard (CR 657), which serves Cape May Court House, the Cape Regional Medical Center, and Stone Harbor.

thumb|right|Garden State Parkway northbound in Cape May Court House

Past this point, the road comes to an interchange for Crest Haven Road (CR 609), which provides access to the Cape May County Park & Zoo and a building complex containing the Cape May County Technical School District. After a southbound entrance ramp from U.S. Route 9, the parkway leaves Cape May Court House and returns to a desolate wooded setting with a wide tree-filled median. Continuing north, the parkway has an interchange with Avalon Boulevard (CR 601), serving Avalon and Swainton. North of this point, the highway enters Dennis Township and has a partial interchange with Sea Isle Boulevard (CR 625), serving Sea Isle City before reaching the Bruce Willis Service Area in the median. Past the service area, the parkway enters Upper Township and reaches the Cape May Toll Plaza northbound immediately before meeting the southern terminus of Route 50, which serves Seaville, at a partial interchange. After passing east of several homes and a golf course, the parkway has the John B. Townsend Shoemaker Holly Picnic Area in the median before it crosses over the abandoned Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines Ocean City Branch. Continuing north, the highway comes to a diamond interchange with U.S. Route 9 and Roosevelt Boulevard (CR 623), which serves Ocean City and Marmora. North of this exit, U.S. Route 9 begins to run concurrently with the Garden State Parkway, and the two routes run east of the community of Beesleys Point before the median narrows, and they cross the Great Egg Harbor Bay on the Great Egg Harbor Bridge. North of the interchange, the Garden State Parkway passes over the Southern Secondary railroad line operated by the Delaware and Raritan River Railroad and bisects residential neighborhoods before crossing the Swimming River into Middletown Township, where the road has an interchange with CR 520, which contains a park and ride and serves Red Bank and Lincroft. The parkway then passes over Normandy Road, which serves as a road and railroad link between the two sections of Naval Weapons Station Earle. Continuing northwest past houses and parks, the route has an interchange with Red Hill Road (CR 52) as it enters Holmdel Township, where it serves the PNC Bank Arts Center and the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. Upon entering Hazlet, the parkway crosses NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line before reaching an interchange for Route 35 and Route 36, which serves Keyport. At this point, the express roadway in each direction gains a third lane. Immediately north of here is a southbound exit and entrance at Lloyd Road (CR 3), where the parkway briefly enters Aberdeen Township and passes over the Matawan Creek before crossing the North Jersey Coast Line for a second time while the southbound lanes of the parkway briefly enters Matawan. Upon entering Old Bridge Township, Middlesex County, and reaching an interchange for Matawan Road (CR 626) serving Matawan, the highway enters Cheesequake State Park. On the bridge, the northbound lanes are divided into two roadways; only the eastern roadway has access to exit 127, an interchange for U.S. Route 9 and Route 440, providing access to the Outerbridge Crossing to Staten Island. Just north of exit 127 in Woodbridge Township, the parkway runs in between the northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. Route 9. After passing under Conrail Shared Assets Operations' Perth Amboy Running Track, U.S. Route 9 splits off to the east and the parkway reaches an interchange with the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95). Running northwest through Woodbridge as a ten-lane roadway, the highway has an interchange with US 1 and crosses under Conrail Shared Assets Operations' Port Reading Secondary line as it enters the community of Iselin, passing to the east of several corporate offices. Immediately after passing under Amtrak's Northeast Corridor east of the Metropark station serving Amtrak and NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor Line, the GSP has an interchange with Route 27, which serves Rahway to the northeast. North of this point, the parkway curves northeast through densely populated neighborhoods, passing the Colonia South and Colonia North service areas. Following World War II, traffic increased substantially on highways along the New Jersey coast. Due to the high traffic volume and presence of numerous traffic lights, it took motorists over three hours to travel between Paterson and Atlantic City. In 1946, plans were changed to construct a high-speed parkway to provide a bypass of Route 4, which, prior to 1953, ran from Cape May north to the George Washington Bridge by way of Paterson, largely following present-day US 1, US 9, and Route 35. This highway would be constructed using state funds and be known as the Route 4 Parkway. Construction began in 1947, and the first section to open ran from Route 27 north to Cranford and opened on June 29, 1950.

The landscape architect and engineer in charge of the newly named Garden State Parkway was Gilmore David Clarke of the engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff, who had worked with Robert Moses on the parkway systems around New York City. Clarke's design prototypes for the parkway combined the example of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a model of efficiency with parallels in the German autobahn routes of the 1930s, with the Merritt Parkway model that stressed a planted "green belt" for beauty. Both design models featured wide planted medians to prevent head-on collisions and mask the glare of oncoming headlights. The Garden State Parkway was designed to have a natural feel. Many trees were planted, and the only signs were those for exits—there were no distracting billboards. Most of the signs were constructed from wood, or a dark-brown metal, instead of the chrome bars used on most other highways. The guardrails were also made from wood and dark metal. Most early overpasses were stone, but were later changed to concrete, with green rails and retro etchings, popular around the 1950s and 1960s. The parkway was designed to curve gently throughout its length so that drivers would remain alert and not fall asleep at the wheel. In Cape May County, a bypass of Cape May Court House opened on July 29, 1951, from exit 12 to the point where the parkway directly parallels U.S. Route 9 north of Burleigh. However, due to a lack of funds, construction of the Route 4 Parkway stalled. The only segment to open was 1952, only the bypass of Toms River was opened on July 3. The solution was for the state to establish the New Jersey Highway Authority (NJHA) in April 1952 to oversee construction and operation of the remainder of the parkway as a self-liquidating toll road from Cape May to the New York state line. The parkway was extended north to Union Township on July 16, 1953. On September 16, 1953, pedestrians were banned from the parkway in order to increase safety on the segment with at-grade intersections.

thumb|left|Garden State Parkway southbound in Toms River

Sections opened in quick succession in 1954; these were the first to be tolled. The first tolled segment was opened on January 13, 1954, from US 22 to Mill Road. Due to poor weather conditions, tolls were not collected until January 15. The Toms River bypass was extended south to Manahawkin on July 15, and north to the Eatontown Spur (now Route 36) on July 30, 1954. The bridge carrying the parkway over the Raritan River was also opened to northbound traffic on this day, extending the highway south to U.S. Route 9 in Sayreville. The southbound lanes were opened on the bridge south to Eatontown on August 4, and an extension to New Gretna opened the day after. Closing the northbound gap from Eatontown to Sayreville on August 7 provided for 90 miles of unbroken highway. Within Atlantic County, a large section from Tilton Road in Egg Harbor Township to the south bank of the Mullica River opened on August 11, though north of the White Horse Pike the road initially operated as a temporary super two on the southbound lanes until August 21. This was extended south to Somers Point on August 27 (again as a super-two before the northbound lanes opened on September 22), then connected across the Mullica River to the existing section on August 28 over a temporary super-two, with the other lanes opened a few weeks later. The Cape May section of highway was also extended north to Route 50 at Seaville that day, which then was extended south to Route 47 on September 4, and north to Beesley's Point Bridge on October 6. The entire highway south of Irvington was declared finished on October 9, 1954. The lone exception was across the Great Egg Harbor; the parkway temporarily detoured onto U.S. Route 9 and over the Beesley's Point Bridge at this point. Literature from the time suggested that the parkway would become toll-free once bonds used for its construction were paid off. However, this speculation never became a reality. An extension north also proved tumultuous: though scheduled to open on January 4, the extension to North Arlington Avenue opened a day earlier than scheduled. Mayor William McConnell ordered a blockade on this section of the highway on January 4, stating that North Arlington Avenue would be unable to handle traffic coming from the parkway. It was only when the southbound section was opened to exit 148 on January 8 that the blockade was lifted on the southbound section. At this point, Bloomfield mayor Donald E. Scott prevented the opening of the northbound lanes until the completion of a new bridge carrying Bloomfield Avenue over Second River needed to carry exiting traffic. Though this bridge was not completed for some time, the highway opened fully to U.S. Route 46 on January 19, negating this prerequisite. However, Mayor Scott still barred all entrances and exits except for the southbound entrance from Bloomfield Avenue, until an inspection proved the highway safe; the exits were finally opened on January 21. During this conflict, the section from Route 3 to Hazel Street in Clifton opened on January 4. A similar blockade was threatened to be placed, but the announcement of speedy construction of fencing prevented this. On May 10, 1955, legislation was passed that made it legal for emergency vehicles to not pay tolls when on duty. The bridge over the Passaic River opened on May 26, 1955. This extended the parkway's northern terminus to U.S. Route 46US 46 in present-day Elmwood Park. In late 1955, construction of a northbound roadway began in Cape May. The new roadbed was opened north of Seaville by October 17, south of Cape May Court House by October 25, and fully by October 28. On April 16, 1956, the parkway's trailblazer was posted. The final stretch of permanent roadway was opened alongside the Great Egg Harbor Bridge, completing the parkway as outlined in original plans. It was originally proposed as part of a northern extension of the unbuilt Route 101, a highway that was intended to run from Kearny to Hackensack. The extension, Route S101, would have continued northward from Hackensack to the state line via Paramus. Approximately in length, the extension was planned to run north through the Bergen County municipalities of Paramus, Washington Township, Hillsdale, Woodcliff Lake, and Montvale to the state line, where the parkway would meet with a connecting spur from the mainline of the New York State Thruway. Part of the extension to Chestnut Ridge opened on July 3, 1957, and the Thruway's Garden State Parkway Connector opened on August 29 that year. In only 36 hours, the extension reported 8,000 drivers.

On February 7, 1958, U-turning was banned in order to increase safety. This was enforced at both the toll plazas and on the main roadway, and was considered a violation even if done to correct error.

thumb|right|Garden State Parkway southbound approaching exit 154 with U.S. Route 46 in Clifton

By the time the parkway had been extended to the New York State Thruway, the need for a full interchange at the exit 154 was noted. Following the recommendation of a survey to do so, By August 1958, the piers for the new viaduct from U.S. Route 46 eastbound to the parkway northbound were finishing up. In September, the completed piers had roadway construction on top of them. The new ramps opened on January 1, and the toll booths on the ramps opened the in February, replacing the toll booths on the grounded ramps, which were later demolished. The total cost of the project was $2.25 million, which was half a million higher than the original estimate. Dedication of the overpasses occurred on January 15, 1959, when the Highway Authority and several city officials attended a ceremony and a luncheon. During 1959, traffic counts noted 1.5 million cars used the ramps.

In June 1958, the southbound road between the exit 117 and the Asbury Park Toll Plaza was widened from two lanes to three lanes. On June 19, 1959, the northbound roadway equivalent was widened, completing the project.

1960s

On February 1, 1961, the state banned motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles from the entire road. This ban was approved by the highway department's safety committee and state attorney for the toll-free segments and NJHA's safety committee for the tolled ones. This followed a year involving 20 motorcycle accidents that resulted in two fatalities. Motorists who were caught using these modes of transportation on the parkway faced either a fine of $200 or 30-day jail sentence.

On December 5, 1962, a new ramp from exit 120 onto the northbound lanes opened to traffic, serving direct access to them without traveling through Cheesequake State Park.

thumb|left|Garden State Parkway northbound at exit 114 in Middletown Township

In March 1961, the Highway Authority announced that plans were being made to construct a new interchange at either Red Hill Road or Nutswamp Road. By June, the Highway Authority announced that the interchange would be built at Red Hill Road. In November, it was announced the exit would replace the free exit 116, though rather than being demolished, it would simply be restricted to emergency traffic. Exit 114 would help relieve local congestion that traveled to the new Bell Labs Holmdel Complex and other industrial parks operating in the area. On December 14, the Highway Authority made an appropriation of $50,000 for the engineering work on the interchange. Construction began on the exit 114 ramps on July 30, 1962, when construction equipment was taken to the site. The exit was opened to traffic on December 20, 1962. with two toll facilities also being constructed. Exit 116 was closed as planned;

On June 18, 1963, a meeting was held between NJHA officials, Senator Charles W. Sandman Jr., and the Cape May County Board of Freeholders. They discussed safety issues found at exit 12's exit ramp. A northbound-only ramp that traveled at-grade across the southbound lanes; it had been described as a "serious hazard" by the NJHA's safety committee. After an agreement was settled on and approval came from the State Highway department, it was announced to the public on June 26 that the northbound ramp would close permanently. When this occurred on July 2, all northbound traffic that previously utilized the ramp was advised to use exit 13, only to the north, instead. The entrance onto the northbound lanes from U.S. Route 9 was left unaltered.

On July 31, 1964, a project to construct exit 38 was completed. The cloverleaf interchange, which cost approximately $800,000, was built to serve as a link to the newly constructed Atlantic City Expressway.

In May 1962, plans were announced to widen the segment from exit 154 to just near exit 158 from two lanes to three lanes. As part of this project, the Passaic River Bridge was to be reconstructed with a wider superstructure and piers. The Bergen Toll Plaza also was rebuilt to give each direction dedicated toll canopies instead of all traffic merging into a single canopy, as then existed. This part of the project was completed in December 1963. Construction also began on a new exit 159. This interchange would serve I-80 with direct connections and Midland Avenue with indirect connections. In preparation for this construction, the northbound exit and southbound entrance of exit 158 were closed permanently on March 16, 1963, with the remaining connections closed on June 22. In November of that year, the northbound exit and southbound entrance at exit 157 were permanently closed, to encourage use of exit 159.

On March 8, 1965, a project began to improve the segment between the Cape May Toll Plaza and exit 30. It involved a major reconstruction of exit 29, replacing the at-grade intersection with a new grade-separated northbound exit and southbound entrance. Exit 30 also had its northbound entrance and southbound exit closed and a toll plaza constructed. Additionally, the Great Egg Toll Plaza was replaced by a new, wider plaza north of the old one, and the Cape May toll plazas had two extra collection lanes constructed. While initially planned for competition by July 1, competition was delayed to July 15.

In the mid-1960s, a project to reconstruct interchanges in Essex County was undertaken. On January 1, 1966, a project was completed that constructed longer deceleration lanes and widened the exit and entrance ramps of exits 148 and 144. On January 10, tolling began on exit 148. In December 1965, a related project began to reconstruct exit 143. It would contain a collector-distributor roadway. The project was completed on April 12, 1966, These projects were carried out to reduce congestion, which had previously run rampant due to its interchanges being largely free of tolls.

The Highway Authority rebuilt exit 4 into a full interchange, with new ramps being built and old ones being reconstructed to provide full connections. The project, completed on May 24, 1968, also involved the construction of two new toll facilities. and on August 8, exit 116 was reopened with a new exit number.

thumb|right|Garden State Parkway and US 9 northbound in Upper Township

In May 1966, the borough of Paramus and the New Jersey Highway Authority announced plans to replace exit 165, as well as widening of the segment to three lanes. It would have involved construction of new overpasses and demolition of the old ones, including a new pedestrian overpass to serve a nearby school. On December 29, the dual ramps on the northbound direction opened. On February 13, tolls went into effect on the Ridgewood Avenue intersection. On January 6, 1967, exit 166 was closed to prevent traffic from traveling through them. The reasoning for this was that traffic heading onto them congested many of the local roads. By September, it had been forcibly reopened after a gag order was secured to prevent local authorities from affecting parkway operations. In early 1967, the parkway was widened from four lanes to six lanes between the Bergen Toll Plaza and exit 161 in Paramus. In 1968, the road was widened from four lanes to six lanes between exit 163 and exit 165. In early 1969, the roadway was widened between exit 163 and exit 161. These widenings made the entire stretch from Ocean County to Paramus at least six lanes wide. When the parkway was opened through Clifton in 1955, a spur was supposed to open south of its exit to Broad Street at exit 155P. However, by 1965, no other construction had occurred, and the parkway's spur had been canceled. Because of this, in 1967, work began on a project to construct the remaining ramps at exit 155P (now exit 155A); instead of serving as a spur of the parkway, they would serve Route 20 (now Route 19) instead. The ramps were opened to traffic on October 20, 1969.

1970s

thumb|left|Garden State Parkway in the 1970s

In 1972, the dualization of the Great Egg Harbor Bridge eliminated the final two-lane segment of the parkway. On September 18, 1969, a new exit 129 were opened, the remaining ramps were opened to traffic by early 1970. This replaced the existing interchange, and made it so that the turnpike had direct connections to both directions and vice versa. On November 24, 1970, southbound parkway traffic from there south to the Raritan River was redirected onto a new roadway that lied in the median of the old one, the old were not demolished however, but rather became an exit onto U.S. Route 9, effectively creating a collector-distributor road. This bypass effectively eliminated the two former exits, while these still exist, they are now Route 9 exits. On August 17, 1971, the same switch occurred to the northbound roadway, the old one also became a collector-distributor road, though it rather served as a U.S. Route 9 ramp to connect to the northbound GSP as well as the New Jersey Turnpike.

An expansion of the Driscoll Bridge across the Raritan River was completed on September 2, 1971. Work then began on widening the Sayerville side and repairing and widening the existing part of the bridge deck, work was completed by beginning of 1972. On January 17, 1973, exit 127 was opened to Route 440 south. By June, the link to Route 440 north had opened. In May 1973, exit 98 was opened to northbound traffic. On July 3, 1973, the southbound exit 98 opened, completing the project. this exit replaced the preexisting exits 96, 97, and 97A, with the new exit featuring a right hand collector-distributor roadway combining the cloverleafs at exits 97 and 97A as well as the left-hand ramp at exits 97, which had its southbound ramp closed on July 1, 1973.

The speed limit was raised from on January 3, 1974. Additionally, on February 21 of that year, a project to rebuild exit 91 to increase safety was completed, as part of this project, an at-grade intersection at the toll plazas was constructed. On February 27, 1974, exit 117A (now exit 118) opened to the public; a temporary northbound ramp was opened while exit 117 was reconstructed into a right side exit. Alongside this project came new ramps onto exit 105. The segment of roadway from Keyport to the Tinton Falls toll plaza was opened on August 2 of that year. Particular pushback was made by Malcolm Forbes, who filed two lawsuits to stop this ban. On April 14, 1976, exit 142 was opened to traffic. This interchange constructed by the highway department was first proposed in 1966. The parkway was planned to have an interchange with Route 55 constructed at milepost 19. This was canceled in 1975 after the conclusion that the highway ran through too many wetland areas. The idea has since been revisited after frequent traffic jams on Route 47. The parkway was also planned to be the southern terminus of the unbuilt Driscoll Expressway, a toll road that was planned in the early 1970s to run from Toms River to the New Jersey Turnpike in South Brunswick; this plan was abandoned in 1977.

1980s

In 1979, proposals for an exit at milepost 124 were proposed; in 1980 construction of this interchange became a priority. In March of that year, Hardroads Inc., a firm located in East Brunswick, was hired to construct this new interchange. They quickly acquired land for the interchange, and construction began shortly after. On October 25, 1982, this exit was partially opened to traffic. Later, on November 19, the final part of the ramp was completed. In 1980, plans was proposed to construct exit 84, which would have consisted of a southbound exit and northbound entrance onto Indian Head Road. They also would have widened the New Gretna Toll Plaza. However, it was declared unbeneficial after a study deemed it to likely discourage use of public transit,

In 1980, plans were made to construct exit 171, which would serve the boom of office complexes replacing farmland across Chestnut Ridge road. In March 1985, the entrance leading onto the southbound parkway was opened, with the exit ramp opening on July 25 of that year. In 1973, plans were made to widen a segment in Toms River. While this widening was planned to be completed by 1975, however, its competition was delayed to 1978. By 1979, work on the Toms River segment was completed, at this point the project transitioned to widening the segment between the Asbury Park toll plaza and exit 100 from two to four lanes, as well reconstructing exits 102, and widening the segment in Lakewood from two lanes to three lanes. On November 17, 1980, the road was widened from three to four lanes between exits 129 and exits 141. These new lanes were HOV lanes that were restricted to vehicles with three or more occupants, though this was later lowered to two or more occupants in June 1981. They were converted into general use lanes in 1982 after almost universal criticism. In late 1983, a project to widen the segment of roadway near the Raritan Toll Plaza from five to six lanes began. The entire project was completed by 1984. Work on the rest of the project was completed at the end of 1985. Also as part of this project the Asbury Park and Union toll plaza were reconstructed with dedicated canopies in each direction. This project made it so that the entire segment between Woodbridge and East Orange was at least four lanes wide.

On November 19, 1986, exit 131B was opened to traffic. The interchange, which was constructed as part of a related upgrade to Metropark station, cost $4.4 million to construct. In 1987, the NJHA purchased the of road that had been constructed by what is now the New Jersey Department of Transportation. These state-maintained segments were located in Cape May County between exits 6 and exits 12, in Ocean County between exit 80 and exit 83, and between exit 129 and exit 140. NJDOT sold the sections for one dollar with the requirement that tolls were never to be charged on them. That same year, the roadway between mileposts 99.5 and 83.5 was restriped from two lanes with a shoulder to three lanes with no shoulder. In December 1986, a new right hand ramp at exit 100 was opened, the existing the left-hand one was then closed permanently. Work also began in March 1987, to construct new overpasses, implode the existing ones, replacing lighting and signage, reconstructing the unaltered exits to meet with the new overpasses, and widening the parkway in the area from four lanes to six lanes. Work on the project was fully complete by December 1987. In 1988, the northbound exit 105 ramp was reconstructed, a new loop ramp was built to feed onto NJ route 18 northbound was built, and the existing deceleration lane was replaced by a new one. In addition, an on-ramp was built that allows southbound Route 18 traffic to enter the southbound local roadway.

1990s

In 1994, a third lane was added to the segment between mileposts 81 and 82. In April 1997, plans to construct an jughandle overpass from southbound exits 159 onto eastbound I-80 were made. Also as part of this, new traffic signals would be installed at the Midland avenue ramps, and its overpass crossing the parkway would be reconstructed to be wider. Work on this project began immediately, and the ramp was opened to traffic in January 1998, six months ahead of schedule. Despite the fact it was not designed with it in mind, the overpass carrying I-80 traffic was not rebuilt, instead, a retaining wall was constructed instead

On April 1, 1998, a project to construct a new northbound ramp to Lomell lane at exit 83 was completed. Later that year, a traffic signal was installed at exit 81, in addition to other safety improvements. Later that year, large portions of the roadway had their speed limit increased to . In June 1999, a project to expand the Barnegat toll plaza was completed and with it eliminated the final single canopied mainline plaza. Also included in this project was new fencing, new electrical work, increased landscaping, and a toll re-coordinating shed. E-ZPass was first installed at the Pascack Valley Toll Plaza in December 1999, with the Raritan Toll plaza following in April 2000. By August, installation of the system had been fully completed. Later that year, a law was also passed that required tolls to be kept as long as there are construction projects occurring, effectively shooting down any proposals to de-toll the tolled segments.

On July 9, 2003, Governor Jim McGreevey's plan to disband the New Jersey Highway Authority and give control of the parkway to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) was completed. Additionally, in November of that year, construction was completed on the $16.23 million exit 89, a new southbound exit and northbound entrance in Lakewood. This new exit featured a toll facility, and was located in the same general area as exit 88. Due to featuring collector-distributor lanes, the Cedar Bridge Road bridge had to be demolished and a replacement with a wider superstructure built in its place.

In 2005, the entrance and exit at exit 123 were both widened from one lane to two lanes, a southbound entrance was constructed at exit 131, and missing links were constructed at exit 114 as well as exit 13.

In 2006, exit 77, an entirely new interchange, was opened to traffic. The interchange, which had the northbound and southbound ramps constructed away from each other to avoid demolition of the nearby Double Trouble State Park, contains one toll facility in each direction. Later that year, a project was also completed that rebuilt the overpass carrying NJ 138 eastbound over the Parkway. This allowed the roadway underneath it to be widened from three to four lanes, as well as eliminating a curve the old overpass contained.

In March 2007, a project to reconstruct exit 69 was completed. New ramps were built, and the existing ones were demolished. Unlike them, the new ramps had full connections; the new ones were also tolled, with two plazas being built on each side. This also came with replacement of the overpass carrying traffic over the parkway with a longer one.

In September 2006, construction began on improvements to exit 145. This project, which replaced the ramps with longer and wider ones as well as building new EZ-Pass lanes at the ramps toll plaza, was completed in November 2007 at the price of $11 million, and was completed three years ahead of schedule.

In 2001, plans to reconstruct exit 63 and add missing connections were announced. This project was completed in late 2008. That same year, the speed limit was reverted to between mileposts 80 and 100 in order to reduce accidents. On May 20, 2009, all northbound traffic was shifted back onto the original spans, and the new one was made exclusively for southbound traffic.

left|thumb|Historical picture of a Garden State Parkway toll plaza

To reduce congestion, all of the parkway's toll plazas were converted into one-way plazas between 2004 and 2010 except for Toms River Toll Plaza which is a two-way toll plaza. The Cape May (in Upper Township), New Gretna (in Bass River Township), Asbury Park (in Tinton Falls), Union (in Hillside), and Bergen (in Saddle Brook) toll plazas were converted to northbound-only plazas, while the Great Egg (in Somers Point), Barnegat (in Barnegat Township), Raritan (in Sayreville), Essex (in Bloomfield), and Pascack Valley (in Washington Township) toll plazas became southbound-only plazas. The tolls at these plazas were doubled upon conversion. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) awarded the project contract to the engineering firm Gannett Fleming for the design, and to Union Paving & Construction Company for building the ramps. The ramp connecting the parkway northbound with I-78 westbound opened on September 16, 2009, with a ribbon cutting ceremony led by Governor Jon Corzine. The ramp connecting the parkway southbound with I-78 eastbound opened on December 10, 2010. However, the idea was quickly abandoned after the agency found the road had engineering concerns that would not accommodate trucks on this segment.

A project that rebuilt the Watchung Avenue overpass at exit 151 in order to add shoulders to the segment underneath and increased safety by being wider and more friendly to pedestrians was completed in 2013. Additionally, both existing ramps were widened from two lanes to three lanes, and both of the entrance ramps onto the Parkway were entirely rebuilt.

On July 22, 2014, the NJTA filed a federal lawsuit against Jersey Boardwalk Pizza, a pizza chain in Florida, for using a logo too similar to the Garden State Parkway's trailblazer. Federal Judge William Martini dismissed the suit on March 26, 2015.

thumb|right|Former traffic light at exit 9 (Shell Bay Avenue) before construction of overpass in 2014

As originally built, in Cape May County, the parkway had three at-grade intersections (at exits 9, 10, and 11), but a project to eliminate began in early 2013, when construction began on three overpasses in Cape May Court House. The plan was delayed because it had not been approved by the federal government. The $125 million project was largely complete by September 2015, with the Mechanic Street interchange also being closed around this time.

On September 5, 2016, a project to rebuild exit 0 was completed. It involved constructing a new ramp from NJ 109 southbound onto the parkway northbound, relocating the ramp itself onto a new, shorter alignment, and reconfiguring the traffic signal with pedestrian crosswalks and other safety features.

In 2012, a project to reconstruct the roadway between mileposts 83 and 100 in order to add shoulders was started. On November 9, 2014, exit 88 was permanently closed. On June 11, 2015, the northbound replacement exit 89 were opened to traffic. It was completed in May 2017, when the reconstruction of exits 91 into a full interchange was completed, ten months behind schedule because the legislature failed to raise the state's gas tax.

thumb|right|Garden State Parkway northbound at Route 17 in Paramus

In April 2014, a $68 million project to eliminate the left-hand ramps at exit 163 began. Due to this, a half mile stretch of the GSP mainline was shifted towards the median, with the existing ramps retained but now passing under the Parkway and joining it from the right. This major project was completed in September 2017, with minor work continuing into mid-October.

In 2012, the improvement of exit 105 southbound at the intersection with NJ route 36 on the local lanes was proposed. It involved replacing the single-lane ramp which provided access to Route 36 with a new one. This ramp would have two lanes and a wider shoulder, and would also provide access to Route 18 via Wayside road. Additionally, the northbound ramp onto route 36 would be constructed, as opposed to locating traffic onto route 36, it would instead carry traffic into an intersection with Wayside Road . Also, in both directions, the deceleration lanes were increased in length and widened to two lanes in addition to lighting improvements and replacing the underhead signage southbound with new overhead ones, and replacing the sign heads northbound. Construction began in 2013, and was completed by the end of 2017.

In May 2005, Governor Richard Codey announced plans for a widening of the parkway between exit 63 in Stafford Township and exit 80 in the borough of South Toms River from two to three lanes in both directions. However, the NJTA later made plans to widen the parkway from exit 80 all the way south to exit 30 in Somers Point. In 2008, planning began on a project to construct a southbound entrance and northbound exit at exit 67. By March 27, it was revealed that the new ramps would not be tolled. Construction began in the summer of 2008. While initially planned for completion on May 20, 2009, it was ultimately completed in October 2010. The project was divided into three phases. The first of these, the one from exits 80 to 63, was completed in May 2011. In November 2014, a widening project was completed between exits 63 and 48. Exit 41 was opened on March 13, 2015. Previously, drivers who wanted to go to Jimmie Leeds Road had to cut through the parking lot of the Atlantic City Service area, though they still can, In August 2015, a project which constructed missing movements at exits 44 was completed. In June 2017, three projects to improve exits 36, 37, and 38 were completed. A new ramp was built at exit 38 order to reduce unsafe weaving, exit 37 had its deceleration lane reconstructed to be longer, and exit 36 was rebuilt to eliminate its stop-and-go pattern. In 2018, a widening from exits 48 to milepost 30 was completed, it included reconstruction of overpasses, and the opening of new bridges across the Mullica River from Port Republic to Bass River, after which point the older ones had their superstructures replaced.

The southbound bridge over Great Egg Harbor Bay was replaced with a wider span parallel to the older span as part of a $79.3 million project. Construction began in 2013. The new bridge was opened in 2016, the old one was then permanently closed. While the northbound bridge was kept open briefly, all traffic was moved onto it in 2017 so the old bridge could be demolished and the northbound span could undergo strengthening and a superstructure replacement. Work on the project was considered mostly complete by October 2019.

In April 2016, a project to reconstruct exits 125 into a full interchange commenced. A new southbound exit would be tolled and made exclusively for E-ZPass users; no toll would be added to the new northbound entrance. Also involved in this project was the replacement of the overpasses that carried the parkway over Chevalier Avenue with wider structures, adding an alternate ramp onto Main Street, and constructing a new southbound entrance ramp and demolishing the existing one–this would provide greater access to a new shopping mall in the vicinity that is yet to be completed. It was completed in February 2020.

In 2018, planning began for an improvement project at the northbound ramps at exits 109. The project involved partly winding the ramp and constructing a new ramp to directly allow access to the Lincroft park and ride from the parkway and to allow easier access to Newman Spring Road eastbound. Improvements were also made to the ramps onto the parkway from County Route 520. These include a ramp and overpass being built on Newman Spring Road eastbound, the addition of a traffic light at Schulz Dr, the removal of the U-turn ramp to Half Mile Road and the addition of a left turn signal at the junction to compensate. Bidding for the project was completed in July 2018, and construction began shortly after. It was completed in May 2020.

In June 2018, an improvement project began at the interchange with I-280 and CR 508 (Central Avenue). The project involved widening the entrance ramp to the parkway southbound from one to two lanes and adding a second deceleration lane on the parkway northbound. Due to the addition of the deceleration lane to South Grove St, the northbound toll plaza on the exit was completely removed starting on July 26, 2018, at 10 pm. To accommodate the wider roadway, the overpass carrying Central Avenue over the parkway was also rebuilt.

In October 2019, the branch lanes at the Raritan Toll Plaza were removed.

2020s

On March 24, 2020, the NJTA temporarily suspended cash toll collection due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drivers without E-ZPass transponders had their license plates photographed at the toll plazas and were sent bills in the mail. Cash collection resumed on May 19 of that year. Also around this time, a new high speed toll gantry was completed at the New Gretna Toll Plaza.

In March 2022, exit 105 was closed in multiple stages so that five of the overpasses, of which some date back to 1954 and others to 1974, could be replaced. The project was completed in late 2023. Additionally a temporary crossover was built at mile marker 108.5 that lasted from March 2023 to February 2024.

In 2020, a project that involved making multiple improvements between mileposts 140 and 143 was commenced. It involves repaving the road, adding new lighting, and constructing a median barrier. It also systematically replaces multiple bridges in between the mile markers, including two that carry traffic over U.S. Route 22 and one that carries traffic over NJ 82. It is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2024.

On February 23, 2023, the overpass carrying exit 156 was temporarily closed to traffic. This was because the ramp was in the way of construction on the Passaic River Bridge and needed a retaining wall to be constructed in order to minimize disruption to local communities. This was completed on July 15, and is part of a greater project to reconstruct the Passaic River Bridge, the current superstructure considered functionally obsolete and structurally deficient, in addition to not meeting the greater standards of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. Work on that part of the project is scheduled for competition in fall 2025.

In late 2025, the branch lanes at the Union and Bergen Toll Plazas were removed.

Exit 127 is currently being rebuilt.

Future

There are currently plans to rebuild the segment of road between exits 80 and 83. This segment of road lacks shoulders and other safety features, and only exit 82 is a full interchange.

thumb|left|Southbound approaching exit 30 in Somers Point

In 2020, the NJTA announced plans to reconstruct exit 29 into a full interchange because Exit 30, which carries traffic onto the residential street West Laurel Drive, sees chronic congestion during the summer tourist season as it connects to New Jersey Route 52 via an intersection with U.S. Route 9. If this plan were fulfilled, then the exit 30 would have been demolished, meaning that summer traffic would have had to travel to CR 559 via U.S. Route 9 to reach the road. This proposition was heavily criticized by officials and residents in Somers Point and Ocean City, fearing that traffic congestion would simply be relocated rather than eliminated, as well as reducing business that relies on the interchange. They also announced plans to improve other interchanges, such as exits 6, 13, 17, 20, 40, 123, 124, 147, 153, and 168. These upgrades were suggested either to provide full connections or to improve safety by eliminating obsolete designs such as left hand exits or short deacceleration lanes, as well as to increase future capacity. The turnpike authority also has long-term plans to widen the parkway between exit 98 and exit 125, as well as between exit 142 and exit 163, and exit 129 and 142.

Tolls

thumb|right|Southbound at the Great Egg Toll Plaza

right|thumb|Toll plaza on the southbound entrance ramp at exit 165

The Garden State Parkway uses an open system of tolling in which flat-rate tolls are collected at numerous toll plazas placed along the mainline and at certain interchanges. This contrasts with the New Jersey Turnpike, which uses a ticket system in which tolls are calculated based on distance traveled. Tolls can be paid by using cash or the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system. Additional E-ZPass discounts are available for off-peak travel, senior citizens, drivers of green vehicles, and trailers.

There are three different lane types at the toll plazas. However, not all plazas have every type of lane at all times.

The second type is exact-change lanes. In these lanes, motorists deposit coins in a toll basket and each coin is mechanically counted; historically, these lanes also accepted tokens. The Union Toll Plaza was the first to use an automated toll-collection machine; a plaque commemorating this event includes the first quarter collected at its toll booths. As of 2018, exact-change lanes are only used for exit and entrance ramp toll plazas.

The third type of lane is dedicated for vehicles with E-ZPass tags. Some plazas also feature Express E-ZPass lanes, allowing drivers to bypass the toll plaza at highway speeds. E-ZPass is also accepted in full-service lanes. Express E-ZPass lanes operate at the Pascack Valley, Raritan, Asbury Park, Toms River, Barnegat, New Gretna and Cape May Toll Plazas.

left|thumb|Garden State Parkway tokens, which were discontinued after January 1, 2009

Tokens, available for purchase at full-service toll plaza lanes, were introduced in 1981 at a price of $10 for a roll of 40 tokens; as the toll was $0.25 at the time, most drivers continued to use quarters. However, when the toll was increased to $0.35 in 1989, rolls were priced at 30 tokens for $10; between the slight discount and the convenience of using a single coin, tokens gained in popularity. Additionally, in August of that year, the highway authority installed token only lanes, though it was quickly realized this did not reduce congestion. There were also larger bus tokens, primarily for use by Atlantic City-bound buses. As E-ZPass became more widespread, tokens were phased out. Token sales were discontinued on January 1, 2002,

On September 27, 2022, the NJTA awarded a $914 million contract to TransCore to convert the parkway into an all-electronic toll road, eliminating the toll booths in the process. Although the agreement has been made, the Turnpike Authority has no set date on when the conversion will be completed.

Services

Service areas

thumb|The Jon Bon Jovi Service Area near exit 123

All service areas are located in the center median, unless otherwise noted.

{|class="wikitable sortable"

! scope="col" |Name

! scope="col" |Location

! scope="col" |mi when the permanent service areas were completed. Now site of a Parkway maintenance facility.

! scope="row" |Frank Sinatra (formerly Atlantic)

|Galloway Township

|Both

|Food, restrooms, fuel, and information

|Rebuilt from 2014 to spring 2015

! scope="row" |Celia Cruz (formerly Forked River)

|Lacey Township

|Both

|Food, restrooms, and fuel

|Rebuilt from fall 2019 to summer 2020

! scope="row" |Judy Blume (formerly Monmouth)

|Wall Township

|Both

|Food, restrooms, and fuel

|Rebuilt from fall 2018 to spring 2019

!Eatontown

|Tinton Falls

|Both

|Food, restrooms, and fuel

|Closed on July 1, 1955,

! scope="row" |Colonia North

|Northbound

|Fuel, convenience stores, and restrooms

|Not operated by the NJTA

! scope="row" |Connie Chung (formerly Brookdale South)

|rowspan="2" |Bloomfield

|Southbound

|Food, restrooms and fuel

|Rebuilt from 2022 to 2023

! scope="row" |Larry Doby (formerly Brookdale North)

|Northbound

|Fuel and convenience store

|Rebuilt in 2019

! scope="row" |James Gandolfini (formerly Montvale)

|Montvale

|Both

|Food, restrooms, fuel, and information

|Renovations began in 2024. Reopened 2025.

thumb|right|Assurance sign to the Bruce Willis Service Area (formerly Ocean View at the time of photo seen here)

In the 1950s, four petroleum companies were hired to provide gasoline and vehicular necessities—Esso, Texaco, Atlantic, and Cities Service. The Cities Service company was the petroleum provider at Monmouth, Forked River, Atlantic City (Absecon at the time) and Ocean View (Seaville at the time) and offered a service where female employees were hired for those service area showrooms, wore uniforms and were known as the Park-ettes. Their duties included providing directions and other information to motorists as well as rendering odd bits of service such as sewing a missing button on a patron's coat.

On July 27, 2021, the NJTA unanimously voted in favor of renaming the service areas along the Garden State Parkway after New Jerseyans who were inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. The Ocean View service area was originally slated to be named after Toni Morrison, but the NJTA never received written consents and releases; this prompted the New Jersey Hall of Fame to request the service area be named after Bruce Willis instead.

On January 2, 2022, two service areas that were operated by McDonald's in Brookdale and Union were closed after their contract expired in 2021. These services areas were replaced by 2023.

Picnic areas

right|thumb|The John B. Townsend Shoemaker Holly picnic area

One of the objectives of the parkway was to become a state park its entire length, and its users would enjoy park-like aesthetics with minimal intrusion of urban scenery. Along the ride, users were permitted to stop and picnic along the roadway to further enjoy the relaxation qualities the parkway had to offer. All picnic areas had tall trees that provided shade and visual isolation from the roadway. Grills, benches, running water, and restrooms were provided. Over time as the parkway transformed into a road of commerce, the picnic areas were closed for a variety of reasons. Their ramp terminals became insufficient to accommodate the high-speed mainline traffic and in addition to the decreasing number of users, the picnic areas were becoming more effective as maintenance yards and were converted as such or closed altogether.

The one remaining picnic area, John B. Townsend Shoemaker Holly in Upper Township, is closed from dusk to dawn. Posted signs within the picnic area prohibit fires and camping.

| —

| John B. Townsend was a physician from Ocean City who became the New Jersey Highway Authority's second Vice Chairman in 1955. The word Shoemaker comes from the last name of the landowner in the way of the parkway's alignment during its initial construction. The term Holly comes from the holly tree that was on Shoemaker's property. The tree is presumed to be 300 years old and one of, if not, the oldest holly tree in the United States. The bathrooms at Shoemaker Holly were demolished in August 2014.

! scope="row" | Stafford Forge

| Stafford Township

| Both

| 1990s

! scope="row" | Oyster Creek

| Lacey Township

| Both

| The story was made into a novel and television miniseries on NBC.

! scope="row" | Double Trouble

| Beachwood

| Southbound

| The NJHA chose to abandon the picnic area due to the outbreak of mosquitoes from a nearby cranberry bog.

| 1980s–1990s

| 2010s

| Closed due to illegal use for sex and drugs.

| 1980s–1990s

| Closed due to illegal use for sex and drugs; Other emergency services such as fire and first aid are usually handled by the jurisdictions in which that section of the parkway passes.

Exit list

The parkway was the first highway in the United States to use mileage-based exit numbers. Historically, the exit numbers on the northbound and southbound roadways were not symmetrical. The New Jersey Highway Authority considered each as a separate road and as a result, many exits had non-matching numbers.