I friggin love your vids. Northern NJ and NYC holds a special place in my heart and it's crazy how these vids really make you feel like you are on your way there..
Riding freeways is like shooting to the stars. Being in transit is always more fun than the destination, because it's like your constantly alive never indolent and bored. Plus power lines, overhead freeway message signs, and huge industrial parks that go on forever bring immense character to this experience. Love this vid.
Nice ride- I love seeing these eastern highways- especially the NJ turnpike- always impressive to see- Loved seeing the area where the airport is- especially with the big bird taking off! In addition to freeways- I've always been nutsy about big planes! Great ride- and an awesome tune to go with it! I always did like the Stones!
I vaguely remember when the "western spur" opened...not long before Giants Stadium was built...used to beg my dad to drive by the stadium on Rt. 3 during construction...when they tore it down to build the cluster-F that is now MetLife I can remember going to the track and seeing the stadium...my second home...being ripped apart...was so sad...thanks Jim just discovered your videos and they are awesome...especially love the old maps...J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets!!!
Thanks for all of the incredibly fascinating videos. I am from Georgia, so I am intensely familiar with all of your Atlanta videos; however, this past week I made the 2500 mile trek to Connecticut and then home. It was quite fun seeing the roads in person versus on film. PS: I would be exit 142 on I-75!
I was born in Connecticut and lived in Georgia since I was 10. Made the trip many times to visit family. What a drive when I got to do it for the first time as an adult in august. It’s so oddly different from Atlanta traffic
There's something about being in the New York area that gives you that calm energy and focus. I got some of that just by watching this. Great song I forgot existed, it went great with the video.
Freewayjim Your very welcome. As a child, we would take this route to CT. to visit relatives. I thought N.Y. state was tiny because we went through it's narrowest part. The industrial smells back then were very interesting.
Great video! I'm a big fan. I love the open road and everything that comes with it. The sights, sounds and smells. NYC is one of the few American cities that make you feel like ANYTHING can happen. It's so dramatic, and energetic that it makes you feel like a star! I love this video with the clouds, rain and the industry. I love the anticipation of when you know you are getting closer to a city and you make a turn or get over a hill and you finally see the skyline.
Yes!!! You are correct. I think Long Beach compares to NJ. I love so many cities but only a few have the same vibe. To me they are NY, LA, DC &.... You might disagree but Atlanta.I went there for the first time last month. I dont know how you locals feel, but I feel it has similar energy. As a matter of fact one of the kids from Stranger Things was on my flight, LOL.
This was incredibly well done! The cloudy dreary skies really helped elevate this video to the next level. I am a firm believer that almost any Rolling Stones song can work with an NYC area road video. Again, excellent work and soundtrack, Jim! Favorited!
Grew up in North Jersey (Passaic County) now live in western NJ I-78 Exit 3 and this road and the Cross Bronx Expressway are my favorite roads to drive, tough roads beautiful scenery (industrial, etc) As the comparison to other parts of the US this is 75 miles of 12 lane, 4 carriageways (with a couple of short stretches of 10 lane) roadway. Great road. Got to work on interchange 15 as a young engineer in 1966-68, when that section widened to 12 lanes from 6, awesome experience. Great video. After 57 years of driving and living here the views of NYC never, ever fail to impress.
Smile when you say Industrial Wasteland; I was born in that area in 1946. We moved to CT in 1954 and came back a few times a year to visit relatives, usually in Rutherford. I remember that we used Rt. 17 to go between the cities when I was little. It seemed to be mainly lined with used car lots back then. I remember the triangular colored flags flapping in the wind.
Cool drive! I definitely have to agree with you in saying that seeing all that industrial stuff right alongside the interstate makes the drive pretty interesting. Those giant clouds in the sky looked pretty cool too.
I came from this area and haven't been there in years. I always thought the "ugly" industrial sections of the NJ Turnpike had an weird sort of dystopian beauty. I can see why you'd find it fascinating.
Such a cool ride...only thing that can really match this, with such a lengthy setup is the 401 in Toronto. Except the 401 doesn't have all the popular culture references attached to it, like the NJTPK. Nice video, I liked how this came out in the light drizzle. I, too, have always found industrial areas to be quite interesting. Just long as I don't have to live near an industrial park, I'm good, lol.
I grew up in that area, and I agree, that industrial stretch of the Turnpike has an ugly-but-functional industrial thing going on that I too find fascinating. Thanks for the nostagia kick.
My first drive into NY area, I visited some family in Vauxhall NJ and we took the Garden State parkway......I 💘 that drive especially when you get to the industrial area of N. Jersey that's when you know you are close to NY.
To do that drive at night in the early 60s was surreal. It was much more industrial and dirty then. A hundred smoke stacks belching benzene and other Petro by-product fumes that tickled your nose, shooting flames (by-product burn offs). A dozen or more 'interesting' smells, and a million little white lights against the black of night, stretching for miles. Might the Houston- Galveston corridor look like that now?
I would have loved to have seen that....have not been to Galveston but TX-225 from I-610 east of Houston to TX-146 & Fred Hartman Bridge looks like this to some degree.
Wow, shockingly I only saw the flights take off southward from Newark Liberty International Airport once on ground, most of the time it is landing from south to north and take off from south to north, not take off from north to south, and landing from south to north (oddly I always get it that way every 3 out of 4 flights from EWR). You got one of the lucky days I guess, I travel a good chunk of the turnpike north of Woodbridge at least once per month. NJ Turnpike always screams ROAD TRIP! for New Yorkers like me.
Wow, now that's what I'm talking about! Superb, the open airy scenery, just before you arrive into the overly congested NYC. Love this video (Freewayjim)!!!
Really cool that you caught the flight coming out of EWR in the video; it's been some time since I've cruised NJTPK. Last time I was up there, they still had the old electronic speed limit signs, and since there was a dusting of snow on the road, they dropped the speed limit to 35 mph
This lamb enjoyed watching this video. While there may not be a lot of places along the northern part of the New Jersey turnpike for lambs to graze, the amazing scenery make up for it. Plus it was put to an amazing Rolling Stones song. Excellent job!
Thank you Freewayjim for another stellar video. This made me happy in the end of my day - thanks for putting my frown from upside down to upside up. :)
very interesting, i came across your video while trying to replicate the route taken on the Sopranos intro. Although I believe he is heading South. Greetings from Melbourne, Australia.
Thank you for uploading a good video, so I can enjoy the drive. I have one question. The screen doesn't shake, how did you attach the camera to the car? And what camera did you shoot with?
Thank you! My gear is listed in the closing credits, I'm using a Sony Handycam that has very good image stabilization mounted on a tripod in the passenger seat area, over time I figured out how keep the tripod stable as well, attention to detail is key :).
Great video. I drive the section from Exit 9/NJ-18 to Exit 16E/NJ-3 pretty often. You're right about the scenery. Really unique. Nearly each time I drive it, I see a plane land and a train calling on Secaucus Junction. Southbound, as I'm crossing the Passaic River, I can sometimes see the line of planes approaching EWR from the south. Really cool.
I have totally never heard of this stretch of the Interstate before. Nice video. One question, I looked up the meaning of turnpike, and it is a.k.a. toll road. Is that right? Turnpike simply means a toll road?
Yes, that is correct, and this is a toll road that works by toll tickets you take when you enter and pay when you exit, the still frame of the toll booth at the end is where I paid my toll for that ride.
Back before cars many unpaved roads were privately built and maintained. At toll gates they would use a large horizontal pole on a pivot to block traffic until the toll was paid. Then it was pivoted out of the way to let you through. This movable barrier was a turnpike.
When the NJ Turnpike fully opened in 1952, that, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and the NY State Thruway were one of the first superhighways in the U.S. - pre-dating the Interstate Highway System by (with the PA Turnpike between Irwin (nr. Pittsburgh) and Carlisle (nr. Harrisburg), by nearly two decades. Later, the NJ Turnpike north of Exit 10 (I-287 West) became part of I-95, but because the Somerset Freeway connecting I-95 & I-295 north of Trenton with I-287 was cancelled, an exit connecting I-95 with the PA Turnpike (I-276) near Bristol, PA allowed the most notorious gap in the Interstate Highway System to be finally closed on September 24, 2018, as I-95 enters NJ via the Turnpike Connector Bridge and joins the NJTP at Exit 6.
Liked your annotation at 1:21-1:24 and my answer would be I'm from exit 14 or exit 9 since I-78 can also connect to the NJ turnpike via I-287 and RT-18. the NJ turnpike main line has also fines doubled 65 mph corridor signs
Nice job. I can't wait until you return and do an I-95 video showing the newly re-routed route (via the I-95/PA Turnpike interchange) to NJ using the final three miles of the (now unsigned) Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Thanks Jim, am from New jersey. That area heavley Industrial.. but so much more.. exit 14 , 5 major highways , 5 bridges 2 tunnels. Staten Island , port Newark... go past exit 11 south , and its the Garden State , jersey shore , Great Adventure 6 flags. AC And Cape May AC
I used this high way many times going back and forth from Connecticut to Fort Dix NJ years ago... I went to Florida and back not to long ago.. I remember this well.. Never will forget the GWB though..
Great ride on the NJ Turnpike. The drizzling rain actually IMO played into the vibe of the video. Was that the Pulaski Skyway you passed under at the 5:42 mark? Anyway, another winner as I'm enjoying your series.
Love your work, especially the New Jersey dusk to dark one, really wish you could allow these new ones to be played on other platforms other than just PC :)
Very good, in my view one of your best ones, Jim! Very dense, and the Stones song very much fitting (didn't even know that one)! Why is it that most signs tell you to use the two left lanes for through traffic and not all three? Won't drivers change lanes unnessecarily?
Thank you very much!...good question on the signs, I'm guessing the two arrows are just to designate general travel flow and are not necessarily lane specific.
I like the drive at dusk in the rain.Nice touch.I agree about the Industrial areas having unique character.Northwest Indiana and New Jersey are probably the two biggest in the country.
Last time we went to the US with my wife - and without a GPS - I found the road signs some times have to much information: with the help of a map we got lost only one time, but it was really stressing -we had a couple of arguments - trying to understand clearly everything and not missing our exit. I'm pretty sure this is because we are not used to this amount of info, but I still consider some times, in many US roads, things could get very complex even for people from the US not familiar with the zone, what do you think? As always, thanks for sharing such a nice video!
man i love the jeresy turnpike when i always come up for the summer i would look at the industrial wasteland it amazes me how many factory;s are they're
I think widening the 'Pike south of Exit-8A was TOTALLY unnecessary! What SHOULD'VE happened was that they should have upgraded US-1 between I-295 and NJ-18 to Interstate status and had 95 use that as its new route.
I'm from NYC and the NJ turnpike is a VERY important highway in our area. Being such, I was worried if the music you were going to use would have enough "gravitas" to carry this vid. I should never have worried. And because of you, The Rolling Stones are about to get some more money from me through iTunes. BTW one reason that I love the NJ Turnpike is that everyone drives at 80-85mph!! DON'T try that on other NJ highways. :)
Nice video. I couldn't see it on the video but CSX has some freight lines opposite the airport, on the seaport side. Planes, tranes and automobiles! Its fascinating scenery I'd have to agree.
1:19 I have a shirt that says that. Great video, Jim! How many episodes of NYC this season? Oh, and as for the majority of the trip, were these the express lanes you were on? It's just that from the express lanes, there are usually LIMITED exits, I thought.
Thanks, One (long) NYC video going up and two coming back south. There are no express lanes on the NJTPK, just cars (the ones I was in )and trucks, buses and cars to the right. Both roadways have full exits and entrances.
I’ve made this drive a couple times with my family over 8 years ago to Virginia from Connecticut. I recently made the drive by myself and I always know once I get passed the turnpike I’m almost home 😂
When my family goes to New York, we took Exit 13: Interstate 278 (Eastbound) to Goethals Bridge. I sure do miss those old exit signs. (I'd hope I enjoyed watching them while they lasted...)
Love your videos. Are you planning on doing the Garden State Parkway (GSP) ... or as folks from NJ simply call it 'The Parkway?' Going south over the Raritan Bridge, express lanes after the toll, gently sloping and nicely groomed medians. It may be a bit long, but you could splice together a 'Trip to AC' and include the AC expressway and an ending shot of the Jersey Shore. Most of the construction is done, and the newly repaved/relandscaped areas look nice and fresh. For now. ;)
Thanks, the GSP doesn't really excite me in the way the Turnpike does but maybe if I have the time and it's on my way I'd consider filming it. NJ is usually not a destination for me, just part of the trip.
Freewayjim Fair enough. NJ is home for me. I'm usually on the Turnpike for business, and the Parkway for pleasure. I prefer the Parkway - unless its a Friday afternoon in the summer. Then I want to be anywhere but the Parkway!
Nice. Interestingly enough, I rode on the northbound NJ Turnpike just yesterday, although we got off at Exit 13 for the Goethals and Verrazano Bridges. As bad as traffic can be there (which it was), it can be even worse on the Cross Bronx Expressway.
All I can say Is BAMMM Manhattan. Thats how It comes at me when I see it show up. Also I have a strange fascination for seeing industrial sights alongside the road as i'm moving along.
The NJ Turnpike is one of the few remaining toll highways to use sequential exit numbers instead of milepost (or metric-post in the case of Delaware Route 1 between Dover AFB and St. Georges) based exit numbers. Exits 15X on the NJTP's Eastern Spur is for the Seacaucus Junction used by the NJ Transit Railroad system to provide a link between the Northeast Corridor and those train routes that originate/terminate at Hoboken Terminal (with ferry access to Manhattan). Exit 15X comes after Exit 15E, which is I-280 West accessible only by the Eastern Spur northbound (counting up from the Delaware Memorial Bridge toll plaza - Exit 1 near the junction of I-295 and U.S. 40 near Penn's Grove) and reflects that it is the newest exit on the Eastern Spur. Confusing as north of Exit 16E (NJ 495 East-Lincoln Tunnel) is Exit 18E (George Washington Bridge toll plaza), however Exit 17, which is north of the Exit 18E toll barrier, is for NJ 495 from the southbound NJTP Eastern Spur, while U.S. 46, marked as Exit 18E-W on a map, is actually unmarked, and the junction with I-80 is marked as Exit 80 (reflecting I-95's old routing along the long-cancelled Somerset Freeway from Trenton to I-287) instead of Exit 12x as reflected from the junction of the NJTP at I-295 in Penn's Grove (or I-95's current routing using the PA Turnpike, Turnpike Connector Bridge, and Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension, a.k.a. Exit 6).
It was great to see the Turnpike. I live here in N.O., but I'm originally from Long Island. I know the Turnpike well. Driven on it numerous times. Going all over Jersey. Excellent looking video even with the sky turning grey and dark. The Stones song was great, added a whole lot to the video. Thanx for posting this.
walking on moonshine - Interstates 278 and 287, are not the same highways. I 278 crosses Northern Staten Island and it passes by NYC as a west to east route. I 287 is a 3/4 circle route around NYC.
Interesting factoid about Exit 15X at Secaucus Junction: The train scene from the second season opening theme montage of "That Girl" was filmed there back in the 1960's.
What the hell? You drove the NJT and didn't play "You Can't Catch Me" by Chuck Berry? That I would have listened to. By the way, the best views of NYC are ALWAYS from a distance.
What the hell, I guess I didn't, are you always so negative? You do realize you are in the vast minority with your music opinions so why not save them for yourself or someone who cares.
I believe I hit this patch of highway last year but used the Mario Cuomo Bridge to get back home(Massachusetts). It's congested but moves along pretty well. I do remember seeing New York City in the distance which was it was pretty cool.
I was kinda hoping you'd start the vid in the lower numbers to see how the construction was going. Good vid, nonetheless. I'm back in NY now, but 7A was my exit.
You know, I would think the "What exit" question applies to the parkway, moreso than the turnpike. The turnpike has relatively few exits, and the parkway does cover southern New Jersey, too.
That "Wasteland" built the American empire of the 20th C. Now, like the empire it built, that "Wasteland" is deconstructing back into the swamp. (Although, we call it the Meadowlands.)
Ah so this is only a short distance away from NYC. I was *wondering* where in NJ this was! LOL I can never remember if the Turnpike is close to or far away from NYC. lol
Freewayjim True, I miss the old signage though; the old calculator display speed limit signs are something I'll never forget, even as the digital age reaches the NJTPK.
I must have been riding in the car up this road more than any other. Those that say the industrial part is ugly probably haven't been up this road as much as I have. I do remember though when the New Jersey Turnpike had the pollution that the road has been known for. I remember seeing it when I was riding in the car going up the New Jersey Turnpike back in the early 70's. I used to live in New Jersey (off exit 9).
KTNUSA Yes I got that part, the rest of your comment didn't make any sense about the song fitting....it fits this video MUCH better than it did that one, in fact that is one of my least favorite videos that I've ever done.
Honestly I find the 401 or 427 express and collector lanes to be more interesting. You flying through skyscrapers on either side but your still 20 kms from the downtown.
+AJTLfilms I'm aware of that, one of the songs is banned in 241 countries, nothing I can do about it, that might correct itself at some point, I don't know.
One thing I never understood is why they divided the highway into two separate highway's, one in the center and one on the outer, when neither of them are express lanes and they both share the same exits and even the same signs / route markers.
Outer lanes are for all traffic, inner lanes are for cars only. This is also a nice layout because you can freely divert traffic from certain exits to one portion, and the rest can freely use the other parts when needed.
Freewayjim. I just subscribed to your channel, but can you please switch the restrictions on mobile devices of your videos off so I can like your videos. I can't watch them right now.
"What exit are you from" has to be the most annoying question ever asked to people from NJ. I speak as someone who lived nowhere near the road. My hometown isn't even on the maps shown.
Those aren't express lanes, they are car and truck lanes (although cars can drive in the truck lanes if they so choose) but it is not like the I-271 setup in that respect, it just looks like it.
I'm pleased at your appreciation of industrial areas not as ugly, but rather as critical knots in the fabric of our country!
monoceros1222 Thanks, I've always been impressed with "Man-Made America".
@Ezekiel Mohammad bot
I friggin love your vids. Northern NJ and NYC holds a special place in my heart and it's crazy how these vids really make you feel like you are on your way there..
Thank you very much, glad you enjoy them!
Exit 12 Carteret and Rahway port reading was mine 1970_2015 great video jim thanks
Thank you!
Riding freeways is like shooting to the stars. Being in transit is always more fun than the destination, because it's like your constantly alive never indolent and bored. Plus power lines, overhead freeway message signs, and huge industrial parks that go on forever bring immense character to this experience. Love this vid.
l3tt3rbox Thanks and I agree.
Nice ride- I love seeing these eastern highways- especially the NJ turnpike- always impressive to see- Loved seeing the area where the airport is- especially with the big bird taking off! In addition to freeways- I've always been nutsy about big planes! Great ride- and an awesome tune to go with it! I always did like the Stones!
Thank you! I'm not a huge Stones fan (more of a Beatles guy) but that is my favorite song of theirs.
I vaguely remember when the "western spur" opened...not long before Giants Stadium was built...used to beg my dad to drive by the stadium on Rt. 3 during construction...when they tore it down to build the cluster-F that is now MetLife I can remember going to the track and seeing the stadium...my second home...being ripped apart...was so sad...thanks Jim just discovered your videos and they are awesome...especially love the old maps...J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets!!!
Thank you for watching!
Thanks for all of the incredibly fascinating videos. I am from Georgia, so I am intensely familiar with all of your Atlanta videos; however, this past week I made the 2500 mile trek to Connecticut and then home. It was quite fun seeing the roads in person versus on film. PS: I would be exit 142 on I-75!
Thanks for watching and glad that you had a fun, safe trip up and back.
I was born in Connecticut and lived in Georgia since I was 10. Made the trip many times to visit family. What a drive when I got to do it for the first time as an adult in august. It’s so oddly different from Atlanta traffic
The Pulaski skyway @ 5:31, what an incredible vintage structure that is! So many things to love about this vid...
Thank you!
There's something about being in the New York area that gives you that calm energy and focus. I got some of that just by watching this. Great song I forgot existed, it went great with the video.
Thank you very much!
Freewayjim Your very welcome. As a child, we would take this route to CT. to visit relatives. I thought N.Y. state was tiny because we went through it's narrowest part. The industrial smells back then were very interesting.
Freewayjim Have you ever checked out the (also) historic Merrit Pkwy. in CT? Almost every overpass is built in a different classical style.
Great video! I'm a big fan. I love the open road and everything that comes with it. The sights, sounds and smells. NYC is one of the few American cities that make you feel like ANYTHING can happen. It's so dramatic, and energetic that it makes you feel like a star! I love this video with the clouds, rain and the industry. I love the anticipation of when you know you are getting closer to a city and you make a turn or get over a hill and you finally see the skyline.
Thank you very much! Driving in the Los Angeles area has a similar vibe as to what you described, thanks for the comment and for watching.
Yes!!! You are correct. I think Long Beach compares to NJ. I love so many cities but only a few have the same vibe. To me they are NY, LA, DC &.... You might disagree but Atlanta.I went there for the first time last month. I dont know how you locals feel, but I feel it has similar energy. As a matter of fact one of the kids from Stranger Things was on my flight, LOL.
I agree with you on ATL (where I've lived for 41 years), I'd aslo put Seattle, Houston and Dallas in that class.
This was incredibly well done! The cloudy dreary skies really helped elevate this video to the next level. I am a firm believer that almost any Rolling Stones song can work with an NYC area road video. Again, excellent work and soundtrack, Jim! Favorited!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
When I used to see those skies years ago, they had more of a yellowish cast to them. They've cleaned up the air since then.
Grew up in North Jersey (Passaic County) now live in western NJ I-78 Exit 3 and this road and the Cross Bronx Expressway are my favorite roads to drive, tough roads beautiful scenery (industrial, etc) As the comparison to other parts of the US this is 75 miles of 12 lane, 4 carriageways (with a couple of short stretches of 10 lane) roadway. Great road. Got to work on interchange 15 as a young engineer in 1966-68, when that section widened to 12 lanes from 6, awesome experience. Great video. After 57 years of driving and living here the views of NYC never, ever fail to impress.
Smile when you say Industrial Wasteland; I was born in that area in 1946. We moved to CT in 1954 and came back a few times a year to visit relatives, usually in Rutherford. I remember that we used Rt. 17 to go between the cities when I was little. It seemed to be mainly lined with used car lots back then. I remember the triangular colored flags flapping in the wind.
Thank you for the comment and for watching!
The weather looks like a visual effect from a movie, but its not because you filmed this so perfectly. Keep up the good work.
Thank you very much!
Cool drive! I definitely have to agree with you in saying that seeing all that industrial stuff right alongside the interstate makes the drive pretty interesting. Those giant clouds in the sky looked pretty cool too.
Thank you!
I came from this area and haven't been there in years. I always thought the "ugly" industrial sections of the NJ Turnpike had an weird sort of dystopian beauty. I can see why you'd find it fascinating.
That's a good way to describe it, thanks.
Such a cool ride...only thing that can really match this, with such a lengthy setup is the 401 in Toronto. Except the 401 doesn't have all the popular culture references attached to it, like the NJTPK. Nice video, I liked how this came out in the light drizzle. I, too, have always found industrial areas to be quite interesting. Just long as I don't have to live near an industrial park, I'm good, lol.
Thank you! Yeah, Industrial areas are nice to see once in a while but you would not want a steady diet.
Both your videos and your music choices are amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the comment and for watching.
I grew up in that area, and I agree, that industrial stretch of the Turnpike has an ugly-but-functional industrial thing going on that I too find fascinating. Thanks for the nostagia kick.
Thank you for watching!
Man, the song makes this video. Perfect. THANK YOU for the drive and the music.
You are very welcome, wish everyone else agreed with you on the music :)
My first drive into NY area, I visited some family in Vauxhall NJ and we took the Garden State parkway......I 💘 that drive especially when you get to the industrial area of N. Jersey that's when you know you are close to NY.
To do that drive at night in the early 60s was surreal. It was much more industrial and dirty then. A hundred smoke stacks belching benzene and other Petro by-product fumes that tickled your nose, shooting flames (by-product burn offs). A dozen or more 'interesting' smells, and a million little white lights against the black of night, stretching for miles. Might the Houston- Galveston corridor look like that now?
I would have loved to have seen that....have not been to Galveston but TX-225 from I-610 east of Houston to TX-146 & Fred Hartman Bridge looks like this to some degree.
Wow, shockingly I only saw the flights take off southward from Newark Liberty International Airport once on ground, most of the time it is landing from south to north and take off from south to north, not take off from north to south, and landing from south to north (oddly I always get it that way every 3 out of 4 flights from EWR). You got one of the lucky days I guess, I travel a good chunk of the turnpike north of Woodbridge at least once per month. NJ Turnpike always screams ROAD TRIP! for New Yorkers like me.
Wow, now that's what I'm talking about! Superb, the open airy scenery, just before you arrive into the overly congested NYC. Love this video (Freewayjim)!!!
Thank you much!
Nice ride Jim and you know I'm a Stones fan. Enjoyed it very much.
Thanks John, thought you might like that tune.
Really cool that you caught the flight coming out of EWR in the video; it's been some time since I've cruised NJTPK. Last time I was up there, they still had the old electronic speed limit signs, and since there was a dusting of snow on the road, they dropped the speed limit to 35 mph
This lamb enjoyed watching this video. While there may not be a lot of places along the northern part of the New Jersey turnpike for lambs to graze, the amazing scenery make up for it. Plus it was put to an amazing Rolling Stones song. Excellent job!
Thank you very much
Upeedina Lamb
Thank you Freewayjim for another stellar video. This made me happy in the end of my day - thanks for putting my frown from upside down to upside up. :)
You are welcome! glad I could help :)
Cuantas veces he manejado por esta vía. Desde. Delaware y siempre. Ha sido facinante y me produce cierto éxtasis estar cada vez más cerca de NYC
Awesome dusk effect with the low clouds, Also great takeoff @ 4:16
very interesting, i came across your video while trying to replicate the route taken on the Sopranos intro. Although I believe he is heading South. Greetings from Melbourne, Australia.
Thank you for watching!
Another winner. The lighting values made this one seem more crisp despite the precipitation.
Thanks, nice observation too.
Im. From new jersey i love the video of new jersey turnpike great video
Thank you for uploading a good video, so I can enjoy the drive. I have one question. The screen doesn't shake, how did you attach the camera to the car? And what camera did you shoot with?
Thank you! My gear is listed in the closing credits, I'm using a Sony Handycam that has very good image stabilization mounted on a tripod in the passenger seat area, over time I figured out how keep the tripod stable as well, attention to detail is key :).
Great video. I drive the section from Exit 9/NJ-18 to Exit 16E/NJ-3 pretty often. You're right about the scenery. Really unique. Nearly each time I drive it, I see a plane land and a train calling on Secaucus Junction. Southbound, as I'm crossing the Passaic River, I can sometimes see the line of planes approaching EWR from the south. Really cool.
I have totally never heard of this stretch of the Interstate before. Nice video.
One question, I looked up the meaning of turnpike, and it is a.k.a. toll road. Is that right? Turnpike simply means a toll road?
Yes, that is correct, and this is a toll road that works by toll tickets you take when you enter and pay when you exit, the still frame of the toll booth at the end is where I paid my toll for that ride.
Back before cars many unpaved roads were privately built and maintained. At toll gates they would use a large horizontal pole on a pivot to block traffic until the toll was paid. Then it was pivoted out of the way to let you through. This movable barrier was a turnpike.
The barrier was a pike which you then turned.
When the NJ Turnpike fully opened in 1952, that, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and the NY State Thruway were one of the first superhighways in the U.S. - pre-dating the Interstate Highway System by (with the PA Turnpike between Irwin (nr. Pittsburgh) and Carlisle (nr. Harrisburg), by nearly two decades. Later, the NJ Turnpike north of Exit 10 (I-287 West) became part of I-95, but because the Somerset Freeway connecting I-95 & I-295 north of Trenton with I-287 was cancelled, an exit connecting I-95 with the PA Turnpike (I-276) near Bristol, PA allowed the most notorious gap in the Interstate Highway System to be finally closed on September 24, 2018, as I-95 enters NJ via the Turnpike Connector Bridge and joins the NJTP at Exit 6.
@@newtoncooper4085 also the interstates got the nickname of "freeways " due to not having to pay to use
Very nice! Rain and transition to darkness work well.
Liked your annotation at 1:21-1:24 and my answer would be I'm from exit 14 or exit 9 since I-78 can also connect to the NJ turnpike via I-287 and RT-18. the NJ turnpike main line has also fines doubled 65 mph corridor signs
Nice job. I can't wait until you return and do an I-95 video showing the newly re-routed route (via the I-95/PA Turnpike interchange) to NJ using the final three miles of the (now unsigned) Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Thanks, I'm sure I'll get to it eventually, could be a couple years though.
Thanks Jim, am from New jersey. That area heavley Industrial.. but so much more.. exit 14 , 5 major highways , 5 bridges 2 tunnels. Staten Island , port Newark... go past exit 11 south , and its the Garden State , jersey shore , Great Adventure 6 flags. AC And Cape May AC
I used this high way many times going back and forth from Connecticut to Fort Dix NJ years ago... I went to Florida and back not to long ago.. I remember this well.. Never will forget the GWB though..
Great ride on the NJ Turnpike. The drizzling rain actually IMO played into the vibe of the video. Was that the Pulaski Skyway you passed under at the 5:42 mark? Anyway, another winner as I'm enjoying your series.
Thank you, and yes that was the Pulaski Skyway.
WHOA this highway is huge please do more videos like this pleaseeeeeee!!!
Thanks...there are over 500 videos on this channel, that should hold you for a while :)
Great little video and nice little accompanying tunes! Thanks very much sir! :)
Thanks!
-New here and glad I found you! I have a question, what kind of vehicle do you drive? Camera setup? Thanks Jim!! Cheers!- Just found all my answers!
Good deal, glad to have you aboard, here is a video of how I setup in the car. Freewayjim In-Car Video Camera Setup
Love your work, especially the New Jersey dusk to dark one, really wish you could allow these new ones to be played on other platforms other than just PC :)
Cool video even while you were in that big storm over the turnpike. So next is a 24-minute NYC tour? Nice! Can't wait for more!
Yes sir! Starting at the GWB in the same storm.
A perfect representation of the airport starting at 4:15- good timing, LOL.
Thank you!
Very good, in my view one of your best ones, Jim! Very dense, and the Stones song very much fitting (didn't even know that one)!
Why is it that most signs tell you to use the two left lanes for through traffic and not all three? Won't drivers change lanes unnessecarily?
Thank you very much!...good question on the signs, I'm guessing the two arrows are just to designate general travel flow and are not necessarily lane specific.
I like the drive at dusk in the rain.Nice touch.I agree about the Industrial areas having unique character.Northwest Indiana and New Jersey are probably the two biggest in the country.
Last time we went to the US with my wife - and without a GPS - I found the road signs some times have to much information: with the help of a map we got lost only one time, but it was really stressing -we had a couple of arguments - trying to understand clearly everything and not missing our exit. I'm pretty sure this is because we are not used to this amount of info, but I still consider some times, in many US roads, things could get very complex even for people from the US not familiar with the zone, what do you think?
As always, thanks for sharing such a nice video!
Thanks, even for Americans, being in other strange big cities can be complex, no shame in that :)
man i love the jeresy turnpike when i always come up for the summer i would look at the industrial wasteland it amazes me how many factory;s are they're
I think widening the 'Pike south of Exit-8A was TOTALLY unnecessary! What SHOULD'VE happened was that they should have upgraded US-1 between I-295 and NJ-18 to Interstate status and had 95 use that as its new route.
@@thespeez wow I haven't been up there since 2017 they was working on that when I was up there
@@TheIcpfan23 - In late-2018, they finally completed the interchange that connected I-95 with the PA Turnpike which in turn completed I-95.
@@thespeez dang that's whats up I know they been working on that for years on out
5:30 the LEGENDARY General Pulaski skyway. Long live Jersey City
I'm from NYC and the NJ turnpike is a VERY important highway in our area. Being such, I was worried if the music you were going to use would have enough "gravitas" to carry this vid. I should never have worried. And because of you, The Rolling Stones are about to get some more money from me through iTunes.
BTW one reason that I love the NJ Turnpike is that everyone drives at 80-85mph!!
DON'T try that on other NJ highways. :)
LOL, Thanks, glad you liked the tune.
I live in Staten Island and it's very interesting to see this video of the NJ Turnpike despite the industrial factories.
Nice video. I couldn't see it on the video but CSX has some freight lines opposite the airport, on the seaport side. Planes, tranes and automobiles! Its fascinating scenery I'd have to agree.
Thanks, and yes you are correct about the trains on the seaport side.
The first time I saw that view of Manhattan, I was in awe.
1:19 I have a shirt that says that.
Great video, Jim! How many episodes of NYC this season? Oh, and as for the majority of the trip, were these the express lanes you were on? It's just that from the express lanes, there are usually LIMITED exits, I thought.
Thanks, One (long) NYC video going up and two coming back south. There are no express lanes on the NJTPK, just cars (the ones I was in )and trucks, buses and cars to the right. Both roadways have full exits and entrances.
I’ve made this drive a couple times with my family over 8 years ago to Virginia from Connecticut. I recently made the drive by myself and I always know once I get passed the turnpike I’m almost home 😂
When my family goes to New York, we took Exit 13: Interstate 278 (Eastbound) to Goethals Bridge.
I sure do miss those old exit signs. (I'd hope I enjoyed watching them while they lasted...)
Love your videos. Are you planning on doing the Garden State Parkway (GSP) ... or as folks from NJ simply call it 'The Parkway?' Going south over the Raritan Bridge, express lanes after the toll, gently sloping and nicely groomed medians. It may be a bit long, but you could splice together a 'Trip to AC' and include the AC expressway and an ending shot of the Jersey Shore. Most of the construction is done, and the newly repaved/relandscaped areas look nice and fresh. For now. ;)
Thanks, the GSP doesn't really excite me in the way the Turnpike does but maybe if I have the time and it's on my way I'd consider filming it. NJ is usually not a destination for me, just part of the trip.
Freewayjim Fair enough. NJ is home for me. I'm usually on the Turnpike for business, and the Parkway for pleasure. I prefer the Parkway - unless its a Friday afternoon in the summer. Then I want to be anywhere but the Parkway!
Nice. Interestingly enough, I rode on the northbound NJ Turnpike just yesterday, although we got off at Exit 13 for the Goethals and Verrazano Bridges. As bad as traffic can be there (which it was), it can be even worse on the Cross Bronx Expressway.
All I can say Is BAMMM Manhattan. Thats how It comes at me when I see it show up.
Also I have a strange fascination for seeing industrial sights alongside the road as i'm moving along.
Also, what's the deal with some exits having X at the end of the exit numbers.
The NJ Turnpike is one of the few remaining toll highways to use sequential exit numbers instead of milepost (or metric-post in the case of Delaware Route 1 between Dover AFB and St. Georges) based exit numbers. Exits 15X on the NJTP's Eastern Spur is for the Seacaucus Junction used by the NJ Transit Railroad system to provide a link between the Northeast Corridor and those train routes that originate/terminate at Hoboken Terminal (with ferry access to Manhattan). Exit 15X comes after Exit 15E, which is I-280 West accessible only by the Eastern Spur northbound (counting up from the Delaware Memorial Bridge toll plaza - Exit 1 near the junction of I-295 and U.S. 40 near Penn's Grove) and reflects that it is the newest exit on the Eastern Spur. Confusing as north of Exit 16E (NJ 495 East-Lincoln Tunnel) is Exit 18E (George Washington Bridge toll plaza), however Exit 17, which is north of the Exit 18E toll barrier, is for NJ 495 from the southbound NJTP Eastern Spur, while U.S. 46, marked as Exit 18E-W on a map, is actually unmarked, and the junction with I-80 is marked as Exit 80 (reflecting I-95's old routing along the long-cancelled Somerset Freeway from Trenton to I-287) instead of Exit 12x as reflected from the junction of the NJTP at I-295 in Penn's Grove (or I-95's current routing using the PA Turnpike, Turnpike Connector Bridge, and Pearl Harbor Memorial Extension, a.k.a. Exit 6).
It was great to see the Turnpike. I live here in N.O., but I'm originally from Long Island. I know the Turnpike well. Driven on it numerous times. Going all over Jersey. Excellent looking video even with the sky turning grey and dark. The Stones song was great, added a whole lot to the video. Thanx for posting this.
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
have the Stones ever played Time Is On My Side, at a concert &, if so when was the last time?
I have no idea.
so there is an interstate 287 and interstate 278 in such a close radius of each other? how many tourists have been confused by that
walking on moonshine - Interstates 278 and 287, are not the same highways. I 278 crosses Northern Staten Island and it passes by NYC as a west to east route. I 287 is a 3/4 circle route around NYC.
@@maksimbryksin442 Thanks I think he knew that, If only you read his comment…
I am from So Cal but lived up there for awhile. Exit 13 was my exit over to Piscataway.
This is another great video.
Thank you very much!
Interesting factoid about Exit 15X at Secaucus Junction: The train scene from the second season opening theme montage of "That Girl" was filmed there back in the 1960's.
Good factoid indeed!
That exit and the train station were built not that long ago.
What the hell? You drove the NJT and didn't play "You Can't Catch Me" by Chuck Berry? That I would have listened to. By the way, the best views of NYC are ALWAYS from a distance.
What the hell, I guess I didn't, are you always so negative? You do realize you are in the vast minority with your music opinions so why not save them for yourself or someone who cares.
Freewayjim, ur videos are great but I can't view them it says it can't play on this platform. I want to see ur great vids but I can't! PLEASE HELP
It’s almost 10 years since this video was published
I believe I hit this patch of highway last year but used the Mario Cuomo Bridge to get back home(Massachusetts). It's congested but moves along pretty well. I do remember seeing New York City in the distance which was it was pretty cool.
I was kinda hoping you'd start the vid in the lower numbers to see how the construction was going. Good vid, nonetheless. I'm back in NY now, but 7A was my exit.
Thanks, the weather would not allow me to film that far south, it was raining pretty heavy.
the song you used made this ride memorable
Thank you very much for that!
Great video and song!
Thanks!
I absolutely love power line views and stuff like that. Smoke stacks as well.
+LegendMeadow So do i.
Brings back some memories
You know, I would think the "What exit" question applies to the parkway, moreso than the turnpike. The turnpike has relatively few exits, and the parkway does cover southern New Jersey, too.
Coming up on 2 years ago I moved from 163 to 63(GSP)and a whole different Garden State.
That "Wasteland" built the American empire of the 20th C.
Now, like the empire it built, that "Wasteland" is deconstructing back into the swamp.
(Although, we call it the Meadowlands.)
Can you list the songs that were playing the background in the video?
There is only one song used in this video, I mentioned it during the ride at 2:05 and it's also listed in the closing credits at 7:14.
Also what's the introduction song?
@@blakematusheski That's just an apple (iMovie) loop called Chelsea Loft, here is the full version. th-cam.com/video/PkOgToM-3V4/w-d-xo.html
Ah so this is only a short distance away from NYC. I was *wondering* where in NJ this was! LOL I can never remember if the Turnpike is close to or far away from NYC. lol
There is a map at 0:38 that illustrates that :)
Indeed. :)
Nice moody video there. Song captured it well.
Thanks, that's what I was going for.
I was hoping in your editing to not see a standard speed limit sign, but the electronic speed limit signs the turnpike has. Overall, a great video.
I tried to photograph them but they didn't come out as you saw, I do what I can.
Freewayjim True, I miss the old signage though; the old calculator display speed limit signs are something I'll never forget, even as the digital age reaches the NJTPK.
I must have been riding in the car up this road more than any other. Those that say the industrial part is ugly probably haven't been up this road as much as I have. I do remember though when the New Jersey Turnpike had the pollution that the road has been known for. I remember seeing it when I was riding in the car going up the New Jersey Turnpike back in the early 70's. I used to live in New Jersey (off exit 9).
The New Jersey Turnpike is featured in the Simon & Garfunkel song "America"
NordikFilm And many other songs.
The Industrial area in this video is pretty interesting and nice too see.
I was from Exit 10 I moved I also really missed the separation between the exit and the main highway mostly being white with some lines at the end
Very cool video, I like it!
Thank you!
I remember the Rolling Stones song from your I-66/I-81 video. That was song was fitting from your last video to be honest.
????
KTNUSA Yes I got that part, the rest of your comment didn't make any sense about the song fitting....it fits this video MUCH better than it did that one, in fact that is one of my least favorite videos that I've ever done.
Honestly I find the 401 or 427 express and collector lanes to be more interesting. You flying through skyscrapers on either side but your still 20 kms from the downtown.
why are there so many people pulled over and stopped in the shoulders?
I don't know.
Video 14-13 is down, are you able to reupload it?
+AJTLfilms I'm aware of that, one of the songs is banned in 241 countries, nothing I can do about it, that might correct itself at some point, I don't know.
+Freewayjim Ok thanks for letting me know, I was a big fan of that video and the songs.
+AJTLfilms Yeah, me too.
Thanks for the good video.
Thanks for watching.
One thing I never understood is why they divided the highway into two separate highway's, one in the center and one on the outer, when neither of them are express lanes and they both share the same exits and even the same signs / route markers.
The outside lanes are fro trucks and buses (cars can use them too) the inside lanes are for cars only.
Outer lanes are for all traffic, inner lanes are for cars only. This is also a nice layout because you can freely divert traffic from certain exits to one portion, and the rest can freely use the other parts when needed.
Freewayjim. I just subscribed to your channel, but can you please switch the restrictions on mobile devices of your videos off so I can like your videos. I can't watch them right now.
"What exit are you from" has to be the most annoying question ever asked to people from NJ. I speak as someone who lived nowhere near the road. My hometown isn't even on the maps shown.
Looking at the express lanes reminds me of I-271 in East Cleveland, only more of a mess........
Those aren't express lanes, they are car and truck lanes (although cars can drive in the truck lanes if they so choose) but it is not like the I-271 setup in that respect, it just looks like it.
Lorries and buses not allowed on left 3 lanes
All vehicles allowed on right 3 lanes
Correct, the inner lanes is for cars only,