County Route 537 (New Jersey)

County Route 537
CR 537 highlighted in red
Route information
Length:	67.91 mi[1] (109.29 km)
Major junctions
West end:	CR 737 in Camden
	I-676 in Camden US 30 in Camden US 130 in Pennsauken Township Route 73 in Maple Shade Township US 206 in Springfield Township I-195 in Millstone Township/Jackson Township Route 33 in Freehold Township US 9 in Freehold Boro Route 18 in Colts Neck Township Route 35 in Eatontown
East end:	Myrtle Avenue in Long Branch
Location
Counties:	Camden, Burlington, Ocean, Monmouth
Highway system
County routes in New Jersey 500-series ← CR 536 CR 538 →

County Route 537, abbreviated CR 537, is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends 67.91 miles (109.29 km) from Delaware Avenue (CR 737) in Camden to Myrtle Avenue in Long Branch. It is the state's third longest 500 series county route.

Route description

Camden and Burlington counties

CR 537 begins at an intersection with CR 737 in the downtown area of Camden in Camden County, heading east on four-lane undivided Federal Street. West of this intersection, Federal Street continues to the Camden Waterfront on the Delaware River. The road runs east passing a few parking lots, turning into a one-way eastbound street at 3rd Street. CR 537 Spur (Market Street) to the north is one-way westbound, serving as the westbound direction of CR 537 through downtown Camden. From here, Federal Street passes downtown businesses as it alternates between two and four lanes, crossing New Jersey Transit's River Line at the 5th Street junction. The route intersects CR 551 and the northern terminus of CR 561 before coming to an interchange with I-676. After this, CR 537 Spur merges onto CR 537 and the road becomes two-way and two lanes wide as it passes under a railroad line that carries Conrail Shared Assets Operations and the River Line. The route interchanges with US 30 and crosses the Cooper River and intersects CR 543. The road passes through urban areas of businesses and industry, crossing CR 601 and becoming lined with businesses. CR 537 comes to junctions with CR 610 and CR 609 as it heads into more residential areas, intersecting CR 611. At this point, the road becomes the border between Pennsauken Township to the north and Camden to the south, meeting CR 663. The route fully enters Pennsauken Township and turns north and east as a four-lane divided highway, interchanging with US 130 in commercial areas. CR 537 becomes two lanes and undivided again as it heads into suburban Merchantville, passing through wooded areas of homes. The road intersects CR 612 and CR 613 prior to passing a few businesses as it reaches the junctions with CR 626, CR 621, and CR 622. The route passes more homes, crossing CR 616 and then passing over New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line on a bridge. CR 537 then passes businesses as it intersects CR 615. At a point shortly before the intersection with CR 644, CR 537 becomes the border between Pennsauken Township to the north and Cherry Hill to the south. Shortly after this crossing, the road heads through more residential surroundings.^[1][2]

Upon crossing the Pennsauken Creek, CR 537 enters Maple Shade Township in Burlington County and becomes West Main Street, passing a mix of homes and businesses before heading into the commercial downtown of Maple Shade. The name of the route changes to East Main Street after crossing Fork Landing Road and intersects CR 610 as it continues into residential and business areas and meeting CR 609. After an interchange with Route 73, the road crosses the North Branch of the Pennsauken Creek into Moorestown Township and becomes Camden Avenue as it passes a few businesses before crossing CR 608. At this point, CR 537 enters wooded areas of homes and reaches the CR 611 junction, where the route turns northeast onto West Main Street. The road passes homes and businesses in the downtown area of Moorestown, crossing CR 607 and becoming East Main Street. The route passes more homes and briefly joins CR 603 before coming to CR 615. CR 537 becomes Marne Highway at this intersection and turns east as it runs immediately to the south of a Conrail Shared Assets Operations line, passing a mix of business parks and fields. Upon intersecting Centerton Road, the route turns north as a four-lane divided highway and heads through fields, crossing the railroad tracks and continuing into Mount Laurel Township. At the CR 614 junction, CR 537 turns southeast as a two-lane undivided road, turning east and running parallel to the north of the Conrail tracks again as it passes under I-295 and the New Jersey Turnpike, within a short distance of each other. The road heads through a mix of farms and homes as it crosses CR 686 before continuing east into areas of residential subdivisions as it crosses CR 635. The route heads through more wooded areas of residences as it intersects CR 636 and enters Hainesport Township. CR 537 passes between homes and businesses to the north and industrial areas to the south as it comes to the CR 674 junction. The road passes over the South Branch of the Rancocas Creek and passes more residential areas as it intersects CR 641.^[1][2]

The road crosses CR 541 and runs near more homes, intersecting CR 692 before it heads into Mount Holly Township and becomes Washington Street. The route passes businesses as it crosses CR 691 and continues into the commercial downtown of Mount Holly as Mill Street, coming to a junction with CR 612 as it curves northeast and east past more homes. CR 537 turns northeast onto Branch Street, with CR 621 continuing along Mill Street. The route intersects CR 617 and continues northeast along Garden Street. Upon crossing into Eastampton Township, CR 537 becomes Monmouth Road and passes more residences before passing businesses at the junction with CR 630. The road continues into a mix of farmland, woodland, and homes after this intersection and meets CR 684 before entering Springfield Township. The route heads through open farm fields here and intersects CR 669 prior to crossing US 206. The road passes through more agriculture and woods with occasional residences as it intersects CR 684 before CR 670 briefly joins the road. Farther northeast, CR 537 crosses Route 68 and turns more to the east as it passes woods to the north and agricultural areas to the south. After intersecting CR 545 in commercial areas, the route enters Chesterfield Township and passes more farms before passing through rural areas of homes and crossing into North Hanover Township. The road heads through more farmland as it comes to the CR 665 junction before passing near residential subdivisions and crossing CR 528. After this junction, the road becomes concurrent with CR 528 Truck and passes through woods before heading into open farmland.^[1][2]

Monmouth and Ocean counties

CR 537 eastbound on the border of Monmouth and Ocean counties

After crossing Province Line Road, CR 537 becomes the border between Upper Freehold Township, Monmouth County to the northwest and Plumsted Township, Ocean County to the southeast. The road heads through a mix of farms, wooded areas, and some development, intersecting CR 27/CR 8. Farther northeast, the route passes near businesses as it intersects another segment of CR 27 as well as CR 26 prior to crossing CR 539, where CR 528 Truck turns south along CR 539. Past CR 539, CR 537 enters more forested areas with a few homes and farms, becoming the border between Upper Freehold Township to the northwest and Jackson Township at the CR 640 junction. The route heads into dense forests and becomes the border between Millstone Township to the northwest and Jackson Township to the southeast, passing to the west of Prospertown Lake before coming to the entrance of Six Flags Great Adventure, which is located in Jackson Township. CR 537 intersects an exit from the amusement park before coming to an interchange with a westbound exit and eastbound entrance that serves Six Flags. At this point, the route widens into a six-lane divided highway with a jersey barrier and jughandles, passing a mix of woods and businesses before reaching the I-195 interchange. At this interchange, CR 537 narrows back into a two-lane undivided road and passes the Jackson Premium Outlets before crossing CR 526/CR 571. Past this junction, the road heads into forested areas with some residences.^[1][2]

CR 537 eastbound at split with CR 524 in Freehold Township

CR 537 fully enters Monmouth County and becomes the border between Millstone Township to the northwest and Freehold Township to the southeast, passing through more forests before coming to an intersection with CR 524. CR 524 forms a concurrency with CR 537 at this point, with the two routes continuing northeast. Upon crossing CR 527 in Smithburg, the road forms the border between Manalapan Township and Freehold Township as it passes near farms and homes. In the community of Elton, CR 524 splits from CR 537 by turning east onto Elton-Adelphia Road, with CR 537 continuing northeast past residential subdivisions. Upon crossing Thompson Grove Road, the route fully enters Freehold Township and becomes West Main Street, passing more housing developments along with some farms. The road widens to four lanes and briefly becomes a divided highway after intersecting Gravel Hill Road. From here, the route becomes undivided shortly before passing CentraState Medical Center to the north and enters several business areas. After intersecting Wal-Mart Drive and Castranova Way, the road reaches an interchange with the Route 33 freeway. From this interchange, CR 537 passes the entrance to the Freehold Raceway Mall, as well as a farm to the south, prior to interchanging with US 9. At this point, the road heads into Freehold Borough on Main Street and passes homes as it intersects Route 33 Business. The route narrows to two lanes as it intersects CR 24 and continues into the commercial downtown of Freehold. At this point, CR 537 crosses a Conrail Shared Assets Operations line at the CR 522 junction before coming to Route 79. Here, Route 79 forms a brief concurrency with CR 537 before it heads north on Broadway. CR 537 continues east-northeast along East Main Street, passing through residential areas. The route crosses back into Freehold Township and becomes Colts Neck Road as it passes through more areas of housing developments and intersecting CR 55.^[1][2]

Upon entering Colts Neck Township, the road comes to an interchange with the Route 18 freeway. CR 537 continues past Colts Neck High School, along with more homes, and passes Hominy Hill Golf Course to the south in the Bucks Mill section of the township, before coming to the Route 34 junction. At this intersection, CR 537 becomes County Road East (unsigned) and heads into agricultural areas. After passing under Normandy Road, which serves as a road and railroad link between the two sections of Naval Weapons Station Earle, the route heads northeast through a mix of farms and housing developments. Upon intersecting CR 50, CR 537 heads into Tinton Falls and turns southeast onto Tinton Avenue. The road enters wooded areas of homes, coming to junctions with CR 13A and CR 38. After the latter intersection, the route turns east and passes over the Garden State Parkway. The road passes more homes before crossing CR 51 into Eatontown. In this area, CR 537 passes more development and crosses a Conrail Shared Assets Operations line before intersecting Route 35 at the former entrance to Fort Monmouth. Here, CR 537 turns south to follow Route 35 four-lane Broad Street in the commercial downtown of Eatontown before turning east onto two-lane Route 71. The road passes through residential areas, intersecting the northern terminus of CR 547 before it becomes the border between Oceanport to the north and Eatontown to the south. CR 537 splits from Route 71 by continuing east along Eatontown Boulevard past more homes. The road turns southeast and enters West Long Branch, becoming Broadway and crossing Route 36 in commercial areas. CR 537 continues past a mix of homes and businesses, intersecting CR 15 and CR 11 before continuing into Long Branch and reaching its eastern terminus at Myrtle Avenue. Past the eastern terminus, Broadway continues through Long Branch toward the Atlantic Ocean.^[1][2]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Camden	Camden	0.00	0.00	CR 737 north (Delaware Avenue)	Western terminus
		0.52	0.84	CR 551 (Broadway)
		0.64	1.03	CR 561 south (8th Street)
		0.81	1.30	I-676	I-676 exit 5B
		0.91	1.46	CR 537 Spur west (Market Street)
		1.15	1.85	US 30 (Admiral Wilson Boulevard) – Ben Franklin Bridge, Cherry Hill	Interchange
		1.34	2.16	CR 543 north (River Road)
	Pennsauken Township	3.46	5.57	US 130 – Burlington, Westville	Interchange
Burlington	Maple Shade Township	7.67	12.34	Route 73 to N.J. Turnpike	Interchange
	Hainesport Township	17.62	28.36	CR 541 (Mt. Holly Bypass) – Burlington, Lumberton
	Springfield Township	22.22	35.76	US 206 – Trenton, Hammonton
		27.40	44.10	Route 68 – Bordentown, Fort Dix
	Springfield–Chesterfield township line	28.38	45.67	CR 545 (Wrightstown-Georgetown Road) – Bordentown, Wrightstown, McGuire AFB
	North Hanover Township	32.11	51.68	CR 528 (New Egypt Road)	West end of CR 528 Truck overlap
Monmouth–Ocean county line	Upper Freehold–Plumsted township line	35.76	57.55	CR 539 / CR 528 Truck east (Hornerstown-Whiting Road) – Allentown, Manchester	East end of CR 528 Truck overlap
	Millstone–Jackson township line	40.23– 40.38	64.74– 64.99	Six Flags	Interchange
		41.67	67.06	I-195 to N.J. Turnpike / G.S. Parkway – Trenton, Shore Points	I-195 exit 16
		42.21	67.93	CR 526 / CR 571 (Trenton Lakewood Road) – Allentown, Clarksburg, Shore Points
Monmouth	Millstone–Freehold township line	46.31	74.53	CR 524 west (Stagecoach Road) – Allentown, Clarksburg	West end of CR 524 overlap
		46.72	75.19	CR 527 (Smithburg Road/Siloam Road)
	Manalapan–Freehold township line	47.54	76.51	CR 524 east (Elton-Adelphia Road)	East end of CR 524 overlap
	Freehold Township	50.81	81.77	Route 33 to US 9 – Hightstown, Trenton, Asbury Park	Interchange
	Freehold Township–Freehold Borough line	51.32	82.59	US 9	Interchange
	Freehold Borough	51.56	82.98	Route 33 Bus. (Park Avenue) to N.J. Turnpike / G.S. Parkway – Asbury Park
		52.15	83.93	CR 522 west (Throckmorton Street)
		52.20	84.01	Route 79 south (South Street)	West end of NJ 79 overlap
		52.38	84.30	Route 79 north (Broadway)	East end of NJ 79 overlap
	Colts Neck Township	55.24	88.90	Route 18 – New Brunswick, Shore Points	NJ 18 exit 22
		57.92	93.21	Route 34 – Matawan, Brielle
	Eatontown	64.50	103.80	Route 35 north – Red Bank	West end of NJ 35 overlap
		64.72	104.16	Route 35 south / Route 71 begins – Asbury Park	East end of NJ 35 overlap, west end of NJ 71 overlap
		65.71	105.75	CR 547 south (Wyckoff Road) to G.S. Parkway
	Eatontown–Oceanport line	66.06	106.31	Route 71 south (Monmouth Road) – Asbury Park	East end of NJ 71 overlap
	West Long Branch	67.11	108.00	Route 36 to G.S. Parkway – Highlands, Tinton Falls
	Long Branch	67.91	109.29	Myrtle Avenue / Broadway	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Bannered routes

County Route 537 Spur
Location:	Camden
Length:	1.08 mi[3] (1.74 km)

• Country Route 537 Spur extends 1.08 miles (1.74 km) from Delaware Avenue to County Route 537 in Camden. The route is one-way westbound and serves as the westbound direction of CR 537 through downtown Camden.^[3]

Major intersections
The entire route is in Camden, Camden County.

mi[3]	km	Destinations	Notes
1.08	1.74	CR 737 south (Delaware Avenue)	Western terminus
0.56	0.90	CR 551 (Broadway)
0.27	0.43	I-676	I-676 exit 5B
0.00	0.00	CR 537 (Federal Street)	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

History

Another County Route 537 Spur previously existed, which is now Burlington County Routes 613 and 614.^[4] First paved after the first ever Monmouth County Freeholder meeting voted to pave the road from The Hall of Records in Freehold (formerly the court house) to the State Capitol which was Mount Holly in Burlington County.

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• New Jersey portal

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to County Route 537 (New Jersey).

Route map: Bing / Google

• Monmouth County CR 537 Corridor Study
• New Jersey 5xx Routes (Dan Moraseski)
• CR 537 pictures