State Highways of New Jersey


NJ 20 was built in the 1930s as part of NJ 3, which was originally planned to stretch from North Bergen to Greenwood Lake, passing through Paterson and Pompton Lakes along the way. A 1931 state planning map has NJ 3 crossing the Passaic River along with NJ 6 (now US 46), and then heading down the east side of the river to Garfield before crossing the crest of Wood-Ridge and then going through the Hackensack meadows, joining up with today’s NJ 120 near the current site of the Meadowlands Sports Complex. To the north and west of Paterson, NJ 3 would have most likely climbed Pompton Road and then followed the Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike to Pompton Lakes, where it would turn right along the Greenwood Lake Turnpike.

By the 1950s, the plan to build NJ 3 in both directions out of Paterson had been abandoned. A new road, NJ S-3, was carrying traffic from NJ 6 on the west end of Clifton to NJ 3 in East Rutherford; the connection from NJ 23 to NJ 6 to NJ S-3 was deemed sufficient to bring traffic from northern Passaic County to the Lincoln Tunnel. In 1953, NJ S-3 was renamed NJ 3, and the already-built portions of NJ 3 in both East Rutherford and Paterson became NJ 20.

A third road also bore the NJ 20 designation for a number of years. A spur off the Garden State Parkway was planned to reach the Passaic River just downstream from the Great Falls and encircle Paterson, hooking into the existing NJ 20. The connection was never built, and in 1985 the spur was renamed NJ 19.

Mile Street Name Feature
4.15 Northern terminus of NJ 20, Paterson City, Passaic Co
4.15 2 Ave | 1 Ave CR 653East 19 St   Lincoln AveSR 504CR 653
4.09 2 Ave | 1 Ave CR 649Madison Ave Signal Madison AveCR 649
3.97 1 Ave     Passaic Co jurisdiction
      Bridge to Maple Ave SR 507
McLean Blvd     NJDOT jurisdiction
3.82 2 Ave
McLean Blvd		 Passaic Co jurisdiction
NJDOT jurisdiction		    
3.49 McLean Blvd 4 Ave Signal 4 Ave
3.45 McLean Blvd   Signal Fair Lawn Ave, to CR 76
3.35 McLean Blvd CR 6525 Ave Signal  
3.24 McLean Blvd Connector to 5 Ave Signal  
2.68 McLean Blvd CR 65110 Ave Signal  
2.63 McLean Blvd CR 651East 33 St Signal East 33 StCR 651, to Morlot AveCR 78
2.57 McLean Blvd U-turn ramp, southbound to northbound Signal U-turn ramp, southbound to northbound
1.92 McLean Blvd Edward St, ramp from NJ 4 west Signal  
1.86 McLean Blvd NJ 4Broadway underpass Broadway NJ 4
1.68 McLean Blvd Ramp from NJ 20 north to NJ 4 east underpass  
1.27 McLean Blvd   Signal U-turn ramp, northbound to southbound
0.85 McLean Blvd Susquehanna Railroad underpass Susquehanna Railroad
0.81 McLean Blvd I-80 interchange ramp underpass I-80 interchange ramp
0.70 McLean Blvd I-80Bergen-Passaic Expwy underpass Bergen-Passaic ExpwyI-80
0.57 McLean Blvd I-80 interchange ramp overpass I-80 interchange ramp
0.20 NJ 20 US 46 west overpass US 46 west
0.08 NJ 20 Paterson City, Passaic Co
Ramp from US 46 west to CR 630 Signal Crooks AveCR 630
Clifton City, Passaic Co
0.00 NJ 20 US 46 merge US 46
0.00 Southern terminus of NJ 20, Clifton City, Passaic Co
  Road continues westward as US 46

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