Route 28 is a state highway in the central part of New Jersey, United States that is long. Its western terminus is at U.S. Route 22 (US 22) in Bridgewater Township, Somerset County, while its eastern terminus is at Route 27 in Elizabeth, Union County. From its western terminus, Route 28 heads east through Raritan, intersecting County Route 567 (CR 567) and then US 202 and US 206 at the Somerville Circle before heading through the central part of Somerville. Past Somerville, the route has interchanges with Interstate 287 (I-287) in Bridgewater Township before intersecting many 500-series county roads including CR 525 and CR 527 in Bound Brook, CR 529 in Dunellen, Middlesex County, CR 531 in Plainfield, Union County, and CR 509 in Westfield. Route 28 continues east, intersecting Route 59 and the Garden State Parkway in Cranford before heading to Elizabeth, where it crosses Route 439 before ending at Route 27. Route 28 is a two- to four-lane road its entire length that passes through suburban areas and runs within a close distance of New Jersey Transit’s Raritan Valley Line for much of its length.
Prior to 1927, Route 28 was known as Route 9, which was designated in 1917 to run from Phillipsburg east to Elizabeth. With the creation of the U.S. Highway System in 1926, US 22 was designated along with Route 28. In 1927, most of pre-1927 Route 9 became Route 28, with the exception of the route through Elizabeth, which became Route 27-28 Link as Route 28 followed present-day Route 439 to the Goethals Bridge. Also legislated at this time was a spur of Route 28 called Route S28, which became Route 18 in 1953. By 1941, US 22 was moved off the Route 28 alignment in Phillipsburg, and US 22 Alternate (US 22 Alt., now Route 122) took its place, as well as east of Bridgewater Township, where it was realigned to follow Route 28-29 Link and Route 29 to Newark. In 1953, the western terminus of Route 28 was moved to the intersection of the current CR 614 and Route 22, in Branchburg Township. Sometime after 1990 it was moved east to its current location to allow for more local control of speed limits along Easton Turnpike, and the de-designated stretch was designated CR 614. A portion of the route in Elizabeth was realigned to replace Route 27-28 Link, with the former route becoming Route 439.
Route description
Somerset County
thumb|left|Westbound along Route 28 before [[County Route 567 (New Jersey)|CR 567 on the Bridgewater–Raritan municipal line]]
Route 28 begins at an interchange with US 22 in Bridgewater Township, Somerset County, heading to the southeast on Easton Turnpike, a two-lane undivided road. Past this interchange, Easton Turnpike continues to the northwest as CR 614. This traffic circle has been modified to allow US 202 to pass over and interchange with the circle, while US 206 and Route 28 continue through the circle. With the establishment of the U.S. Highway System in 1926, US 22 was concurrently designated along the entire length of Route 9. A year later, in the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 28 was legislated to run from Phillipsburg east to the Goethals Bridge, replacing pre-1927 Route 9 between Phillipsburg and present-day Route 439 in Elizabeth, and following current Route 439 toward the Goethals Bridge. Meanwhile, the former alignment of pre-1927 Route 9 east became Route 27-28 Link, as it provided a connection between Route 27 and Route 28. A spur of Route 28, named Route S28, was also legislated in the 1927 renumbering and was to run from Route 28 in Middlesex southeast to Route 4 (now Route 79) in Matawan. What was built of this route became Route 18 in the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering. By 1941, US 22 was eventually moved from Route 28 to follow Route 28-29 Link and Route 29 between the Somerville area and Newark. Also, US 22 was realigned to its current alignment along Route 24 and Route 24-28 Link in Phillipsburg, with the alignment along Route 28 becoming US 22 Alt. (now Route 122). In the 1953 renumbering of state highways, which eliminated long concurrencies between U.S. and state highways, the western terminus of Route 28 was placed at the intersection of US 22 and Easton Turnpike in Branchburg Township, with the designation west of there dropped in favor of US 22 and US 22 Alt. In addition, Route 28 was moved to its current alignment in Elizabeth, replacing Route 27-28 Link; Route 439 was designated along the former alignment of Route 28 that ran to the Goethals Bridge.