Is there a worse road in the country than Route 22 in NJ?

[Judge Smails]

Sweet merciful Christ! It's been years since I've had to travel on this thing and I had blocked it out. Today I was visiting a friend in Overlook Hospital and I couldn't avoid it. I think it's actually gotten worse than I remembered it.

For those of you not lucky enough to have experienced it - let me try to explain it: It's a highway with every manner of chain store, restaurant and car dealership under God's green earth located on it. There are two lanes in each direction with no shoulders, for the most part, so that cars are pulling into 50mph traffic out of parking lots and side streets. But wait, there's more! It's not enough to have stores lining the side of the highway. There are also stores located on the median. So you have cars pulling into traffic out of lots into both the right AND left lanes. Also, there are U-turn lanes every mile or so that also pull out into the left lanes. Factor in the fact that most people drive like assholes to begin with and it's like fucking Mad Max out there.

Sweet Jesus! What a clusterfuck! I once heard that this stretch of road has more accidents, on a daily basis, than any road in the country. I was there on a regular day at rush hour. I can only imagine what it would be like at say Christmas time.

[donnie_darko]

man i miss 22
and don't pass where you're going cause you gottta go alllllll the way down to a jug handleeeee

[Crippler]

Sweet Jesus! What a clusterfuck! I once heard that this stretch of road has more accidents, on a daily basis, than any road in the country. I was there on a regular day at rush hour. I can only imagine what it would be like at say Christmas time.

With a Best Buy, Wal Mart, Target, Circuit City/6th Ave, & a PC Richards all within a one mile stretch...on Black Friday if you don't have use of a helicopter you just want to pretend that little area of NJ doesn't exist because no deal they're offering is worth the physical & mental damage you'll sustain.

and don't pass where you're going cause you gottta go alllllll the way down to a jug handle

And it's gotten worse in the last year (if you can imagine that) since they closed the jughandle near the IHOP, you gotta go all the way east to the flagship or all the way west to the Target to turn around. Good god that road is awful.

[Big_Joe]

I hate driving anywhere in Jersey. I'm not going to bitch about one specific road. :tongue:

[Bob Impact]

Never driven Route 22, but iff we're voting for worst ever I submit 84 and 95 in CT.

[El Mudo]

Route 1 in Maryland from Laurel through College Park and West Hyattsville


I'm sure our Northern Virginia friends can beat that though

[west milly Tom]

One plus about rt 22 is one of those median businesses is Hot 22. The skeeziest strip joint in NJ. You can bring your own beer and they let you touch the girls, only you don't want too cause you might catch the clap.

[ahhdurr]

22 between 287 and eastward (including 78 and east) sucks ass.

Just animals everywhere.

Strangely if you go past Bridgewater and keep going west it's rural almost immediately. There's actually an observatory on the way to PA somewhere out there.

Then you wind up in Easton area I think.

[mendyweiss]

Come Down To DC, Judge. We'll Have Lunch On Rockville Pike On A Saturday Afternoon !!

[Tall_James]

Route 28 in Cape Cod during the summer.

Torturous.

[~Katja~]

22 between 287 and eastward (including 78 and east) sucks ass.

Just animals everywhere.

Strangely if you go past Bridgewater and keep going west it's rural almost immediately. There's actually an observatory on the way to PA somewhere out there.

Then you wind up in Easton area I think.

I like 22 past Somerville because it is rural and not too many traffic lights. It merges into 78 though and picks up in Phillipsburg where it sucks again. Of course this is where I have to travel it daily... ugh

[jetdog]

Route 28 in Cape Cod during the summer.

Torturous.

gotta love those two lane traffic circles.

[biggestmexi]

yes, yes there is.

[boonanas]

I agree with you. I don't think I've ever travelled on 22 without it being backed up nearly to the GSP exit. Clusterfuck is truly the word to describe it. But they do have the PC Richards in that former boat and all the other stores including Five Below and every eatery you can imagine. So maybe it's worth it?

[topless_mike]

For those of you not lucky enough to have experienced it - let me try to explain it: It's a highway with every manner of chain store, restaurant and car dealership under God's green earth located on it. There are two lanes in each direction with <s>no</s> shoulders, for the most part, so that cars are pulling into 50mph traffic out of parking lots and side streets. But wait, there's more! It's not enough to have stores lining the side of the highway. There are also stores located on the median. So you have cars pulling into traffic out of lots into both the right AND left lanes. Also, there are U-turn lanes every <s>mile</s> 1/8th and 1/4 mile or so that also pull out into the left lanes. Factor in the fact that most people drive like assholes to begin with and it's like fucking Mad Max out there.

Considering i actually live on rt 22, its not as bad as you think it is. (i can see hooters out my window)


I was there on a regular day at rush hour. I can only imagine what it would be like at say Christmas time.
you dont even want to know.

With a Best Buy, Wal Mart, Target, Circuit City/6th Ave, & a PC Richards all within a one mile stretch...on Black Friday if you don't have use of a helicopter you just want to pretend that little area of NJ doesn't exist because no deal they're offering is worth the physical & mental damage you'll sustain.
And it's gotten worse in the last year (if you can imagine that) since they closed the jughandle near the IHOP, you gotta go all the way east to the flagship or all the way west to the Target to turn around. Good god that road is awful.

its not so bad, if you know how to navigate it.


One plus about rt 22 is one of those median businesses is Hot 22. The skeeziest strip joint in NJ. You can bring your own beer and they let you touch the girls, only you don't want too cause you might catch the clap.

its nowhere near the median. its on the westbound side next to the bowling alley.

I agree with you. I don't think I've ever travelled on 22 without it being backed up nearly to the GSP exit. Clusterfuck is truly the word to describe it. But they do have the PC Richards in that former boat and all the other stores including Five Below and every eatery you can imagine. So maybe it's worth it?

it rarely backs up that far. only if some major shit happened. i pass that way every day. usually, if the parkway is backed up, it backs up 22 prior to the entrance. once you pass that parkway entrance, its smooth sailing, again unless some major shit went down.



one bonus! i never have to drive more than a mile to get just about anything i need.
booyakasha

[topless_mike]

worst road in the country? not even close.

are we excluding anything in ny or li for some reason? have we not forgotten what animals drive in the city?

try pullin your pud while sitting on the southern state or the lie for a couple of hours.

[JerseyRich]

Eh...

You guys are pussies. It's not that bad.


Are Topless Mike and I the only real men left in NJ?

[KingGeno]

I'd have to say Old Route 61 going through Centralia, PA, or the iLost Highway. Heck, Silent Hill the movie was based on it:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XTDAJMXZQKo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XTDAJMXZQKo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[~Katja~]

I agree with you. I don't think I've ever travelled on 22 without (it) being backed up nearly to the GSP exit.

try colonease...

[King Hippos Bandaid]

I try to avoid that shit stain of a route at all costs

[JPMNICK]

i actually do not find it that bad, but I grew up right next to it. I think Rt. 1 in the Edison area is much worse.

the worst part of 22 is by Pep Boys in Springfield when the bus lets out, and people just mosey across 22 to get to the other side. It is really great in the morning when the sun glare is right in your face.

[samechick]

Route 200 in Ocala Florida is a bitch. I used to have relatives there so I had to deal it.

For about two miles in the heart of Ocala the highway is 2 or 3 lanes (no shoulders) in each direction and there are major malls, hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, etc on either side. Florida doesn't have jug handles like my beloved homeland of NJ does, so between people just making lefts across the highway and the perpetual issue of geriatric drivers and their inability to properly use turn signals, Route 200 gets my vote of worst stretch of road to travel ever.

[Enabler]

Rt.22 also has one of the crappiest/coolest "amusement parks" on it.
http://www.cranford.com/featured_images/1027.gif

[Snoogans]

With a Best Buy, Wal Mart, Target, Circuit City/6th Ave, & a PC Richards all within a one mile stretch...on Black Friday if you don't have use of a helicopter you just want to pretend that little area of NJ doesn't exist because no deal they're offering is worth the physical & mental damage you'll sustain.



And it's gotten worse in the last year (if you can imagine that) since they closed the jughandle near the IHOP, you gotta go all the way east to the flagship or all the way west to the Target to turn around. Good god that road is awful.

booo hoooo hoooo hooo. Try dealin with 17 and route 4 in christmas time. Paramus LAUGHS at you whiny bitches

[JPMNICK]

booo hoooo hoooo hooo. Try dealin with 17 and route 4 in christmas time. Paramus LAUGHS at you whiny bitches

i do not know how people live up there that time of year, or during football season in general. it is a fucking nightmare with traffic


and RT 46 is terrible as well

[topless_mike]

I try to avoid that shit stain of a route at all costs

coming from a man that lives on a landfill.

booo hoooo hoooo hooo. Try dealin with 17 and route 4 in christmas time. Paramus LAUGHS at you whiny bitches

Paramus can't handle the volume, so they feel the need to close on sundays.
Who's the whiny bitches now?

[Snoogans]

coming from a man that lives on a landfill.



Paramus can't handle the volume, so they feel the need to close on sundays.
Who's the whiny bitches now?

thats the whole county, not paramus. We just get sick of all you bums who cant build your own stores

[Thomas Merton]

Route 1 in Maryland from Laurel through College Park and West Hyattsville


I'm sure our Northern Virginia friends can beat that though


Rt 7 going through the Tysons Corner area on any kind of shopping day

[RhinoinMN]

This is just for epo and I, but Hwy 21 through WI sucks balls.

[yojimbo7248]

are we excluding anything in ny or li for some reason? have we not forgotten what animals drive in the city?


Seriously, I had to commute from Brooklyn to the Bronx for awhile and Jersey is traffic heaven in comparison.

[Bunny™]

Any part of US 1 between Key West and Canada is awful.
The Jamaicaway in Boston.
NJ 3 is a cunt, I can hear it from my bedroom window.... I enjoy hearing squealing tires frequently. That NJ 21 / drawbridge interchange is a whore.
The Pulaski Skyway is only drivable while buzzed. Why be sober and full of worry? Chances are you'll wreck anyway...why not be relaxed.
NJ Turnpike in the Linden area.....just because it smells like rotten ass.

[torker]

Thunder Road.

[dino_electropolis]

Route 22 is by far the worst.....i have lived right off it for most of my life. My backyard was literally 100 yards from it. As a kid (when the roads and vehicles were much worse) i heard screeching tires everynite and police/ambulance sirens at least 3 times a week.

So bad that when i first got my license i had to drive 10 minutes out of my way down the parkway to see my girlfriend just to avoid it.

The only highlight (that EVERY store imaginable is located within 3 miles) is actually the reason why it is so terrible (b/c of traffic)

[Contra]

One thing worse than 22 NJ is 22 PA! Truck traffic is insane, and the stretch here in the lehigh valley is called the cattle shoots, because its two lanes with steep hillside walling one side and a median on the other with no shoulders. That mixed with the truckers flying through makes it tight and dangerous!

[LordJezo]

22 is filled with so many magical wonders..


http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/4518/wizwn4.jpg

[Snoogans]

One thing worse than 22 NJ is 22 PA! Truck traffic is insane, and the stretch here in the lehigh valley is called the cattle shoots, because its two lanes with steep hillside walling one side and a median on the other with no shoulders. That mixed with the truckers flying through makes it tight and dangerous!

I was just on 22 in PA in Bethlehem area and it wasnt shit. aside from the trucks its wide open. Plus, trucks on the road are good

REPEAST, TRUCKS ON THE ROAD ARE GOOD. 1, they scare off the pussy car drivers who are afraid of them, leading to the cars/trucks/buses side of the turnpike to almost NEVER have traffic.
2- they drive so much, usually on deadlines, that they bring up the pace of traffic. Most of the trucks, esp on 287, cruise at like 80, and most cars, esp those afraid of the trucks, will speed up to not be next to them, causing the rate of traffic to be much more desirable.
3- Unless they are passing, trucks tend to stay in the right 2 lanes. i remember 1 time on a rainy day on the PA Turnpike, the right 2 lanes were LOADED with trucks going around 80 and for 3 straight hours, i blew by them all in a wide open left lane rockin it at about 95. It was beautiful.

The only time trucks can be a pain is on tighter lane roads like bridges and the highways in the city (which PA 22 is not even close to that narrow) and on non highway roads. Otherwise, I love em being there. Plus if they are cruising, you can save ALOT of gas riding the draft of one. And before people who dont know act like you are crazy riding 25-30 feet behind a truck, your car probably stops in half the distance, at worst, that the truck will, so even if you are slightly delayed, for 25 feet, there is basically no chance you are gonna hit that truck even if he locks his brakes.

[grlNIN]

I have had trucks drive for shit on the turnpike while i was driving to Penn State.

They literally tried to get into my lane as i was driving past them, or i saw them do it to other cars. There's a definite flip-side to their driving so much and being on deadline, which is they think they own the road and they are more liable to be the cause of accidents.

I also have no idea where 22 is, does it stretch down to Texas Rd. or is that route 1?

[torker]

http://llnw.image.cbslocal.com/0/2007/02/21/320x240/images_sizedimage_052181437.jpg

[Snoogans]

I have had trucks drive for shit on the turnpike while i was driving to Penn State.

They literally tried to get into my lane as i was driving past them, or i saw them do it to other cars. There's a definite flip-side to their driving so much and being on deadline, which is they think they own the road and they are more liable to be the cause of accidents.

I also have no idea where 22 is, does it stretch down to Texas Rd. or is that route 1?

i guess i dont noticed the truck mistakes cause im PASSING THEM AT 95. HIT THE GAS AND YOU DONT HAVE TO WORRY

[grlNIN]

Yeah.

Hit the gas and i don't have to worry about anything except an 18 wheeler who doesn't give a shit that he's merging into a lane I"M ALREADY IN.

Don't act like you're the only one doing 100 on the road, others are too only they're more cognizant of the drivers around them.

[Snoogans]

Yeah.

Hit the gas and i don't have to worry about anything except an 18 wheeler who doesn't give a shit that he's merging into a lane I"M ALREADY IN.

Don't act like you're the only one doing 100 on the road, others are too only they're more cognizant of the drivers around them.

believe me i pay plenty of attention. But you act like people dont do just as much dumb shit as truckers.

The reason trucks occasionally merge into the lane you are ALREADY IN is because you are in a blind spot of their mirrors. which is very close to the cabin up near where the truck and railer connect and near the backs of the trailer. you have to know to get out of those blind spots. obviously I've had truckers almost merge in on my lane but Ive had people in fuckin escalades do it just as much. I get past these people as fast as I can and pop on up ahead to where I have space

[EffMeBoobs]

I have lived off Rte 22 for most of my life until I moved to Carmel, NY 4 yrs ago. I lived off the stretch of 22 in North Plainfield. I miss the Gertrude Hawk's where they had an ice cream parlor! 22 isn't so bad, I've seen worse roads in Yonkers like Central Ave.

[SatCam]

2- they drive so much, usually on deadlines, that they bring up the pace of traffic. Most of the trucks, esp on 287, cruise at like 80, and most cars, esp those afraid of the trucks, will speed up to not be next to them, causing the rate of traffic to be much more desirable.

always good when truckers dont sleep and dont take breaks

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

The last time I was on 22 was in August. It was early Monday morning, around 2 am. Not another living soul except for the occasional tractor trailer. It was GLORIOUS!!!!!

[CofyCrakCocaine]

Rt.22 should get sucked into a vortex of liquid shit. Fuck that road, fuck it so bad. I hate that road. Rt.1 in the Edison area is nowhere near as bad as 22 is and I drive both roads all the time. Both roads have equally shitty drivers, but at least Rt.1 stays in a straight line. Stupid goddamn 22 swoops around and has about as many traffic lights there too.

Yes, I bumped a dead thread. But this road deserves a good smashing.

Oh and LA and LI are fantastically worse places to drive, but I care about 22 cuz I have to live near there.

[JerseyRich]

My favorite Diner on Rt.22

Basically right around the corner from my house.

Food is great and the snarling Greek men at the front counter make it so authentic.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2142/2226828705_409f9d9610.jpg?v=0

It's at the bottom of the hill near the Colorado Cafe.