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 rejoining NJ 3 and 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 long-standing bottleneck at the interchange with NJ 21 in Clifton is scheduled for remedy in the early 2010s with the replacement of the 1948-vintage Passaic River drawbridge. A new crossing of the river and adjacent freeway, complete with collector/distributor lanes, is scheduled to be built, with total road capacity across the river increasing from six to ten lanes in a 2-3-3-2 configuration. As of late 2009, the first phase of the project, the replacement of the overpass on Park Avenue in Rutherford, is underway.
| Mile | Street Name | Feature (West to East) |
| 0.00 | NJ 3 BEGINS, Clifton City | |
| 0.00 | NJ 3 | US 46 {merge} |
| 0.10 | NJ 3 | Ramp from Valley Rd to US 46 {underpass, eastbound only} |
| 0.13 | NJ 3 | US 46 {underpass, westbound only} |
| 0.51 | NJ 3 | Grove St, CR 623 {underpass} |
| 1.26 | NJ 3 | Broad St, CR 509 {underpass} |
| 1.44 | NJ 3 | Garden State Parkway southbound, NJ 444 {overpass} |
| 1.53 | NJ 3 | Garden State Parkway northbound, NJ 444 {underpass} |
| 1.78 | NJ 3 | Hepburn Rd {underpass} |
| 2.64 | NJ 3 | Bloomfield Ave, CR 622 {overpass} |
| 2.84 | NJ 3 | Erie Railroad {overpass} |
| 3.42 | NJ 3 | Passaic Ave, (CR 603) [0.24 mile to NJ 7] {overpass} |
| 3.82 | NJ 3 | Main Ave, CR 601 {overpass} |
| 3.91 | NJ 3 | Third River {bridge} |
| 4.20 | NJ 3 | Unnamed stream {pipe} |
| 4.23 | NJ 3 | Unnamed stream {pipe} |
| 4.39 | NJ 3 | Yantacaw Pond {bridge} |
| 4.42 | NJ 3 | River Dr, CR 624 {overpass} |
| 4.64 | NJ 3 | Lackawanna Railroad {overpass} |
| 4.89 | NJ 3 | New Jersey Freeway, NJ 21 {bridge} |
| 4.95 | NJ 3 | Passaic River {bridge} |
| 4.95 | Entering Rutherford Boro, Bergen County | |