From the junction of NJ 6 (now US 46) and Valley Road in Clifton, NJ S-3 headed in a roughly southeasterly direction across Clifton, Rutherford, and the Meadowlands, eventually crossing Paterson Plank Road twice before hooking up with the Lincoln Tunnel approach.
NJ S-3 was renamed NJ 3 in the 1953 state highway renumbering, which eliminated spur routes. The parts of old 3 that remained in Paterson and the Meadowlands were reassigned as NJ 20, but other stretches were turned back to their respective counties. (Some maps show Lexington Avenue in Passaic and Clifton (connecting today’s NJ 20 with Paterson Avenue) as part of old NJ 3, but I am not certain whether that road was ever under state control. If it was, then it is possible that the connection was over Hamilton Avenue, State Street, and River Drive in Passaic.)
The section through Rutherford was widened from four lanes to six in the early 1970s, at about the time the new junction with NJ 17 was constructed. This removed a bottleneck through Rutherford, but created one at the Passaic River bridge, a drawbridge that had been open since 1952. That span was replaced in a project that ended in 2013, but now the bottleneck has shifted to the newly built collector lanes.
The Berry's Creek bridge, a humpback bridge that also created massive traffic jams, was replaced in stages through 1994. It is now an eight-lane crossing that better feeds the Sports Complex and the western alignment of the New Jersey Turnpike. The bridge itself spans two service roads and a railroad track as well as the creek.
| Mile | Street Name | Feature (West to East) |
| 4.95 | Entering Rutherford Boro, Bergen County | |
| 4.95 |  |
Passaic River {bridge} |
| 5.01 | |
Riverside Ave  {bridge} |
 NJ 3 eastbound approaching Park Avenue, an overpass since replaced. of this photo. Note the scrunched “Ave.” on the exit sign; it was misprinted as “Dr” when he sign was mounted. | ||
| 5.16 | |
Park Ave  {underpass} |
 Westbound at Park Avenue overpass, entering the collector/distributor lane for NJ 21. | ||
 Westbound a little bit ahead of that Park Avenue overpass. | ||
| 5.67 | |
Ridge Rd {underpass} |
 NJ 3 westbound approaching the Ridge Road overpass. | ||
 Advance sign at Orient Way for the second eastbound NJ 17 South exit; this one leads to Polito Avenue. | ||
| 5.93 | |
Orient Way {underpass} |
 NJ 3 eastbound, from the Orient Way overpass. We’re close to “the city” now. | ||
 Westbound ahead of Orient Way. | ||
| 6.36 | |
 Southbound {underpass} |
| 6.39 | |
Northbound {underpass} |
 Nice mix of old and new signage on one gantry, westbound just before NJ 17. |
||
| 6.82 | |
Service road {bridge} |
| 6.86 | |
Erie Railroad {bridge} |
| 6.86 | Entering East Rutherford Boro | |
| 6.92 | |
Berrys Creek {bridge} |
| 6.96 | |
Service road {bridge} |
 Eastbound, coming off the Berrys Creek bridge approaching the Sports Complex. | ||
| 7.58 | |
  ramp 16W {underpass} |
 The eastbound and westbound lanes split prior to NJ 120. | ||
| 7.96 | |
( {underpass}) |
 The eastbound lanes pass under NJ 120 and the Turnpike. | ||
| 8.08 | |
[ ramp {underpass}] |
| 8.14 | |
New Jersey Turnpike {underpass} |
| 8.49 | |
Hackensack River {dual bridges} |
| 8.49 | Entering Secaucus Town, Hudson County | |