Route 495 is a freeway 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.
Route description
thumb|left|The beginning of eastbound Route 495 at the [[New Jersey Turnpike]]
Route 495 officially begins at the exit 16E off-ramp from the northbound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike near the boundary of Secaucus and North Bergen. The main roadway heads east through North Bergen as a six-lane freeway maintained by the NJTA. The route has an interchange with Route 3, with access to eastbound Route 3 and U.S. Route 1/9 (US 1/9) for traffic in the eastbound direction and to westbound Route 3 in the westbound direction, a major intersection for Route 495 and Route 3, as many people use Route 3 to get to Route 495 for the Lincoln Tunnel. Route 3 ends almost immediately after its interchange with Route 495, at US 1/9. The three routes form a triangular-like junction, however, Route 495 doesn’t have direct access to US 1/9; instead drivers must take the Route 3 exit to get there. Past this interchange, Route 495 becomes a six-lane freeway maintained by NJDOT that passes over New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway's New Jersey Subdivision line and Conrail Shared Assets Operations' Northern Branch line before intersects US 1/9 at a partial interchange, with a westbound exit and eastbound entrance. Past US 1/9, the freeway has an interchange with County Route 501 (CR 501, John F. Kennedy Boulevard), which uses 30th Street and 31st Street as collector–distributor roads. The route has a westbound exit and eastbound entrance for and from CR 677 (John F. Kennedy/Hudson Boulevard East). After interchanging with Boulevard East, the road enters the Lincoln Tunnel. At the New York state line, which is located at the midpoint of the Hudson River, the road continues as NY 495, which is separate from I-495, and heads into Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is used by buses headed east from the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 3, mainly to the Port Authority Bus Terminal just past the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan, serving over 1,800 buses and 65,000 bus commuters on regular weekday mornings, (6-10 a.m.). This bus lane is the busiest in the United States.
Each of the travel lanes in the Lincoln Tunnel's center tube is reversible. In general, both of the lanes, including the exclusive bus lane, serve Manhattan-bound traffic during the weekday morning rush hour, both of the lanes serve New Jersey-bound traffic during the weekday evening rush hour, and one lane is provided in each direction during other time periods. New Jersey-bound traffic normally uses both lanes of the north tube and Manhattan-bound traffic normally uses both lanes of the south tube.
Route 495 is a busy route that carries approximately 74,571 vehicles at its western terminus and approximately 119,432 vehicles by the time it reaches the Lincoln Tunnel.