Elizabeth River (New Jersey)

The Elizabeth River runs through Essex and Union counties, New Jersey in the United States for 11.9 miles (19.2 km) before draining into the Arthur Kill.[1]

Elizabeth River
Midtown/Downtown Elizabeth
Location
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Region	Essex Union
Physical characteristics
Source	Watchung Mountains
• location	surfaces Irvington/Newark
• coordinates	40.736566°N 74.228531°W
Mouth	Arthur Kill
• location	Elizabeth
• coordinates	40°38′39″N 74°11′24″W
• elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Length	11.9 mi (19.2 km)
Discharge
• location	Arthur Kill

Course

The headwaters of the Elizabeth are in East Orange in Essex County.[1] The river rises in an urban area at the border between Irvington and the Vailsburg neighborhood of Newark.[2] It flows in a generally southern direction through the center of Irvington in a concrete channel with masonry walls built in the 1920s and 30s[3][4] passing along the east side of Civic Square. Further south, it forms the west boundary of the 19th century Clinton Cemetery.[5] At the southern end of the cemetery, the river passes under the Garden State Parkway near Exit 143 and disappears as a surface waterway.

The Elizabeth River reemerges just south of the Union County line near Garden State Parkway Interchange 142 between Union and Hillside. After passing under I-78 it runs through the Elizabeth River Parkway. Here, the river is joined on its left bank by its first significant tributary, Lightning Brook. The Elizabeth River then flows under the Garden State Parkway again. After passing under US 22, the river turns eastward and is joined by the West Branch Elizabeth River. The river then flows past historic Liberty Hall and Kean University. Much of the river is contained by levees in this section.[6]

At Trotters Lane, the river enters Elizabeth, where the river runs for 4.0 miles (6.4 km), passes under numerous bridges, and for a greater extent is channelized.[1] At the bridge on the South Front Street it flows into the Arthur Kill.

Elizabeth River Parkway

Broad Street entrance to Elizabeth River Trail

The Elizabeth River Parkway is a set of parklands that hugs the river from Hillside through Elizabeth[7][8][9][10] It was designed in for the Union County Parks Commssion in the 1920s by the historic firm Olmsted Brothers, and is one of the three "emerald necklaces" in the county park system, the others being Rahway River Parkway and Passaic River Parkway.[11] The firm also designed Warinanco Park[12]

Elizabeth River Trail

The Elizabeth River Trail is a project to construct a park and riverside trail from South Broad Street in Downtown Elizabeth to the river's outlet into the Arthur Kill, a distance of 2-1/2 miles. Phase I, between Broad and Bridge streets near St. John's Parsonage, opened in 2012.[13][14][15][16] Phase II was completed and opened in August 2018.[17]

Crossings

This list is for the crossings in Union County

South Front Street Bridge

Elzabeth River downstream of the New Jersey Turnpike

Mile Point	Crossing	Carries	Coordinates	References
0.0	South Front Street Bridge		40°38′40″N 74°11′27″W	[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]
0.4	South First Street/Amboy Avenue		40°38′32″N 74°11′54″W	[25][21][26]
0.7	Elizabeth River Bridge Conrail (CRCX)	Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad Garden State Secondary	40°38′43″N 74°12′10″W	[27][28][29][23]
0.9	New Jersey Turnpike	Interstate 95	40°38′44″N 74°12′13″W	[30] Baltic Street eliminated in 1959[31]
	Trenton Avenue/Atlantic Street		40°38′51″N 74°12′18″W
1.7	South Fifth Street/Summer Street		40°39′00″N 74°12′35″W
	Elizabeth River Viaduct	U.S. Route 1/9	40°39′30″N 74°12′34″W	[21][32][33][34]
	South Street		40°39′29″N 74°12′38″W
2.1	Bridge Street		40°39′40″N 74°12′42″W
	South Broad Street		40°39′40″N 74°12′55″W	[35][36]
	Rahway Avenue		40°39′42″N 74°13′03″W
	Elizabeth River Bridge	Northeast Corridor Amtrak (Northeast Regional) New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor Line North Jersey Coast Line	40°39′43″N 74°13′05″W
	Murray Street		40°39′48″N 74°13′08″W
	West Jersey Street		40°39′53″N 74°13′08″W
	West Grand		40°39′59″N 74°13′07″W
	Central Railroad of New Jersey ROW		40°40′01″N 74°13′07″W
	Westfield Avenue	New Jersey Route 27	40°40′05″N 74°13′10″W	[37]
	Morris Avenue	CR 629	40°40′12″N 74°13′09″W
	Orchard Street		40°40′16″N 74°13′10″W
3.7	Trotters Lane		40°40′30″N 74°13′20″W
3.8	Ursino Dam		40°40′31″N 74°13′21″W	[38][39]
	North Avenue	New Jersey Route 439	40°40′39″N 74°13′32″W
	Kean University Footbridge		40°40′51″N 74°13′37″W
	Conrail New Jersey Transit	Lehigh Line Raritan Valley Line	40°41′10″N 74°14′04″W
	Liberty Avenue/Salem Road	New Jersey CR 509	40°41′23″N 74°14′16″W	[40][21]
	Salem Dam		40°41′24″N 74°14′16″W	[41]
	U.S. Route 22		40°41′52″N 74°14′48″W	[21][42]
	Garden State Parkway		40°42′04″N 74°14′57″W	[43]
	Phillipsburg-Newark Expressway	Interstate 78	40°42′20″N 74°14′50″W	[44]
	Union Avenue		40°42′26″N 74°14′49″W	[21]
	Garden State Parkway Interchange 142		40°42′34″N 74°14′46″W	[45]
Elizabeth River becomes sub-surface waterway

This list is for the crossings in Essex County from Union County line to source

Crossing	Carries	Coordinates	References
Elizabeth River runs as sub-surface waterway under the Garden State Parkway
Mill Road
Chancellor Avenue	CR601
Yale Avenue			[4]
Lyons Avenue	CR602	40.728822°N 74.233985°W	[4]
Nye Avenue			[4]
Springfield Avenue	CR603		[4]
Bridge at Civic Square
Bridge at Civic Square
Clinton Avenue	CR665	40.728822°N 74.233985°W
Madison Avenue
Valley Street			[4]

See also

• List of rivers of New Jersey
• East Coast Greenway
• Geography of New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary

References

1. Report of the Chief of Engineers U.S. Army (Report). U.S. Government Printing Office. 1972. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
2. "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
3. "Elizabeth river floods Irvington family's dream home, again and again". Retrieved 7 April 2018.
4. "Historic Bridge Survey Essex County (1991-1994)" (PDF). NJDOT. 2001.
5. "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
6. http://www.state.nj.us/njoem/programs/pdf/mitigation2014/2014-Section-5-3.pdf
7. http://ucnj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Lightning-Brook-Section.pdf
8. http://ucnj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Ursino-Park.pdf
9. Parkland on the Elizabeth River https://goo.gl/maps/AEY2bU95BnQ2
10. http://ucnj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2008.pdf
11. "Passaic River Parkway". Union County Department of Parks. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
12. "Warinanco Park" (PDF). Union County Parks. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
13. "Groundwork Elizabeth: Reconnecting the City and the River - Urban Waters Learning Network". Retrieved 7 April 2018.
14. "Elizabeth Opens New River Trail Recreation Space". 28 May 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
15. "Elizabeth River Trail - DCO". www.dcoenergy.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
16. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/bf-ss-groundwork-elizabeth-032911-.pdf
17. "Elizabeth River Trail Phase II Opens". County of Union, New Jersey. 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
18. "Union County, South Front Street Bridge LCD Study, City of Elizabeth, NJ : FAQ". www.southfrontstbridge.org. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
19. "South Front Street Bridge". Bridgehunter.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
20. "Electronic Code of Federal Regulations Title 33 → Chapter I → Subchapter J → §117.718 Elizabeth River". January 18, 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
21. "Historic Bridge Survey Union County (1991-1994)" (PDF). NJDOT. 2001.
22. South Front Street Bridge, BridgesNYC, December 20, 2011. Accessed March 16, 2015.
23. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Hudson County". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
24. "BridgeReports.com - Bridges of Elizabeth, New Jersey". uglybridges.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
25. "South First Street Bridge". Bridgehunter.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
26. http://www.njtpa.org/getattachment/Archive/TIP-Archive/Union-County/Union2007TIP.pdf.aspx
27. "CRCX - Elizabeth River Bridge". Bridgehunter.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
28. "CNJ -Elizabeth River Drawbridge (Old)". Bridgehunter.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
29. Staten Island Bridges Program, Modernization and Capacity Enhancement Project: Environmental Impact Statement (Report). 1. United States Coast Guard. 1997.
30. "NJTurnpike/I-95 Straight Line Diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
31. Baptista, Robert J (2015). "Elizabeth, New Jersey Then and Now". Retrieved 15 February 2018.
32. Unit, NJDOT Web Development. "NJDOT holds groundbreaking ceremony for the new Route 1 & 9 Viaduct over the Elizabeth River". www.state.nj.us. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
33. "US 1 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
34. "Rt. 1&9, Section 4T - George Harms Construction Company". ghcci.com. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
35. "South Broad Street Bridge". Bridgehunter.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
36. "South Broad Street Bridge, Spanning Elizabeth River, Elizabeth, Union County, NJ". Retrieved 6 February 2018.
37. "Route 27 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
38. Elizabeth River Basin Ursino Dam 00387 (PDF) (Report). USACE. December 1979. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
39. "USGS Current Conditions for USGS 01393450 Elizabeth River at Ursino Lake at Elizabeth NJ". waterdata.usgs.gov. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
40. "County Route 509 (straight line diagram)" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
41. Turner, Jean-Rae; Koles, Richard T. (2001), Hillside, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 9780738508641
42. "US 22 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
43. "Garden State Parkway straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
44. "I-78 Straight Line Diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
45. "Garden State Parkway Interchange 142 - Structural Engineering - CME Associates". www.cmeusa1.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.