Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Our drive begins an interchange over U.S. Route 9 in Manalapan Township called Gordons Corner.
As we head north through Nanalapan Township and Marlboro Township, it's hard to imagine that this landscape was once dominated by orchards and vegetable farms. The township's name comes from marl, a calcium-rich soil once mined here and spread across fields to improve crop yields. Before synthetic fertilizers became common, farmers considered marl valuable enough to dig from the ground by the wagonload. It's probably one of the few places where people became excited about dirt.
Today's story really belongs to Route 18. Like many highways in New Jersey, it wasn't built all at once. Instead, it gradually grew over several decades as central New Jersey transformed from farmland into one of the nation's busiest suburban regions. In a way, Route 18 is less a road than a timeline poured in asphalt.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
* The information presented in the overlay of the video is for demonstration purpose only.
0:00 Tennent Road / Morganville Road (CR 3) / Gordons Corner Road – Tennent, Englishtown
Location: US-9 North, Manalapan Township, Monmouth County, NJ
2:13 Union Hill Road
Location: US-9 North, Marlboro Township, Monmouth County, NJ
3:06 CR 520 (Robertsville Road) – Jamesburg, Holmdel
Location: US-9 North, Marlboro Township, Monmouth County, NJ
4:20 Route 18 – Asbury Park, New Brunswick, Shore Points
Location: US-9 North, Old Bridge Township, Middlesex County, NJ
10:41 To CR 527 north / Main Street – Spotswood, The Amboys
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
13:27 CR 535 (Cranbury Road) – South River, Cranbury
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
13:42 Milltown Road – South River, Milltown
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
16:32 CR 527 south (Old Bridge Turnpike) / Edgeboro Road – East Brunswick, South River
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
17:39 Eggers Street / Kennedy Boulevard
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
18:10 I-95 Toll / N.J. Turnpike
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
18:41 US 1 – Newark, Trenton
Location: NJ Route 18 west, New Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
19:46 Route 172 to Route 27 – Cook/Douglass Campus, Highland Park
Location: NJ Route 18 west, New Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
20:58 George Street – College Avenue Campus
Location: NJ Route 18 west, New Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
21:52 Raritan River
Location: NJ Route 18 west, Raritan River, Middlesex County, NJ
22:13 River Road – Piscataway, Highland Park
Location: NJ Route 18 west, Piscataway, Middlesex County, NJ
22:32 Campus Road – Busch Campus, Rutgers Stadium
Location: NJ Route 18 west, Piscataway, Middlesex County, NJ
23:00 Metlars Lane – Rutgers RAC, Livingston Campus / Davidson Road – Rutgers RAC, Livingston Campus
Location: NJ Route 18 west, Piscataway, Middlesex County, NJ
26:56 I-287
Location: NJ Route 18 west, Piscataway, Middlesex County, NJ
Our drive begins an interchange over U.S. Route 9 in Manalapan Township called Gordons Corner.
As we head north through Nanalapan Township and Marlboro Township, it's hard to imagine that this landscape was once dominated by orchards and vegetable farms. The township's name comes from marl, a calcium-rich soil once mined here and spread across fields to improve crop yields. Before synthetic fertilizers became common, farmers considered marl valuable enough to dig from the ground by the wagonload. It's probably one of the few places where people became excited about dirt.
Today's story really belongs to Route 18. Like many highways in New Jersey, it wasn't built all at once. Instead, it gradually grew over several decades as central New Jersey transformed from farmland into one of the nation's busiest suburban regions. In a way, Route 18 is less a road than a timeline poured in asphalt.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
* The information presented in the overlay of the video is for demonstration purpose only.
0:00 Tennent Road / Morganville Road (CR 3) / Gordons Corner Road – Tennent, Englishtown
Location: US-9 North, Manalapan Township, Monmouth County, NJ
2:13 Union Hill Road
Location: US-9 North, Marlboro Township, Monmouth County, NJ
3:06 CR 520 (Robertsville Road) – Jamesburg, Holmdel
Location: US-9 North, Marlboro Township, Monmouth County, NJ
4:20 Route 18 – Asbury Park, New Brunswick, Shore Points
Location: US-9 North, Old Bridge Township, Middlesex County, NJ
10:41 To CR 527 north / Main Street – Spotswood, The Amboys
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
13:27 CR 535 (Cranbury Road) – South River, Cranbury
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
13:42 Milltown Road – South River, Milltown
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
16:32 CR 527 south (Old Bridge Turnpike) / Edgeboro Road – East Brunswick, South River
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
17:39 Eggers Street / Kennedy Boulevard
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
18:10 I-95 Toll / N.J. Turnpike
Location: NJ Route 18 west, East Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
18:41 US 1 – Newark, Trenton
Location: NJ Route 18 west, New Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
19:46 Route 172 to Route 27 – Cook/Douglass Campus, Highland Park
Location: NJ Route 18 west, New Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
20:58 George Street – College Avenue Campus
Location: NJ Route 18 west, New Brunswick, Middlesex County, NJ
21:52 Raritan River
Location: NJ Route 18 west, Raritan River, Middlesex County, NJ
22:13 River Road – Piscataway, Highland Park
Location: NJ Route 18 west, Piscataway, Middlesex County, NJ
22:32 Campus Road – Busch Campus, Rutgers Stadium
Location: NJ Route 18 west, Piscataway, Middlesex County, NJ
23:00 Metlars Lane – Rutgers RAC, Livingston Campus / Davidson Road – Rutgers RAC, Livingston Campus
Location: NJ Route 18 west, Piscataway, Middlesex County, NJ
26:56 I-287
Location: NJ Route 18 west, Piscataway, Middlesex County, NJ
