New Jersey Route 79
Route 79 is a state highway located in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It runs from an intersection of US 9 in Freehold Township north to an intersection of Route 34 and Main Street in Matawan. The route is a mostly two-lane undivided road that passes through a mixture of suburban residential, urban commercial, and open rural areas. The route interchanges with Route 33 in Freehold Township, intersects with Business Route 33 and CR 537 in Freehold, interchanges with Route 18 and intersects with CR 520 in Marlboro, and intersects with CR 516 in Matawan.
In 1927, the current alignment of Route 79 was designated as a part of Route 4, which was to run from Cape May to the George Washington Bridge, and US 9 was additionally designated along the route by the 1940s. After US 9 and Route 4 were moved to a new routing between Freehold and Cheesequake, the former route became Route 4A, a spur of Route 4. In 1953, Route 4A became Route 79 between Freehold and Matawan and an extension of Route 34 between Matawan and Cheesequake.
Route description
Route 79 begins at an intersection of US 9 in Freehold Township, heading north on South Street, a two-lane divided highway that soon becomes an undivided road. It interchanges with Route 33 and continues through a mix of residential and commercial areas. The route enters Freehold, where it crosses the intersection of Park Avenue. Route 79 heads into Downtown Freehold, where it crosses the Freehold Industrial Track railroad line operated by the Delaware and Raritan River Railroad and intersects with West Main Street. Here, the route heads northeast on West Main Street to run concurrently with CR 537 for a short distance. It eventually splits from CR 537 by forking to the left to head northeast on Broadway while CR 537 continues east-northeast on East Main Street. The route continues to travels north on Broadway, as it heads past homes and eventually passes by Freehold High School at the intersection of Route 79 and Dutch Lane Road. Route 79 crosses back into Freehold Township, where it continues through suburban residential areas, with intermittent farms and woods. It heads into Marlboro. The route passes some businesses before it widens into a four-lane divided highway and comes to an interchange with Route 18.Past this interchange, Route 79 heads through a mix of homes and businesses, narrowing back into a two-lane undivided road. The route continues as Route 79 at the intersection of School Road. The road passes through residential and commercial areas with some farm fields, along with passing by Marlboro High School, and then intersecting with Newman Springs Road. Past this intersection, Route 79 continues north and heads into more suburban areas, with the Henry Hudson Trail parallel to the west of the road before it splits to the west. The road heads through wooded areas with some development, intersects with Tennent Road in Morganville and forms a short concurrency with that route that lasts until CR 3 heads northeast on Lloyd Road. Route 79 continues north through wooded neighborhoods and enters Matawan, where it becomes Main Street. It passes through residential areas and heads across the Henry Hudson Trail before the road crosses the intersection of Broad Street/New Brunswick Avenue in a commercial area. Route 79 continues a short distance north past this intersection to its northern terminus at the intersection of Route 34. At this intersection, unsigned CR 516 Spur continues northeast on Main Street.