Toll roads over 1930s New JerseyToll roads over 1930s NJi

Toll roads over 1930s New Jersey

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What this map shows

This map draws two New Jersey toll roads on aerial photographs from the 1930s. The photographs show the ground before the roads existed. Press play, and a road unrolls across the state from one end to the other.

The photographs

New Jersey photographed the whole state from the air in the 1930s. The photographs are black and white. They show farms, marsh, rail lines and small towns. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection keeps this photography today.

The roads

The New Jersey Turnpike opened in 1951. It runs 122 miles, from Pennsville to Fort Lee. North of Newark it splits into two roads. This map draws both of them.

The Garden State Parkway opened in stages. The last stage opened in 1957. It runs 172 miles, from Cape May to the New York state line.

How to use the map

1. Select a road with the switch at the top.
2. Select a view: State shows all of the road. Follow looks straight down at it. Drive looks along it in 3D.
3. Press play at the bottom right.
4. Press the speed button to set the speed. It has five steps, and one more step named AUTO. On AUTO the speed follows the zoom.
5. Drag the bar on the right to go to a different place on the road. North is at the top.
6. Press the direction button to drive the other way.
7. Press a view button again to go back to that view.

You can also zoom, turn and tilt the map at any time. Press a view button again to go back to that view.

What you see on the road

The green band is the whole road. The gold line inside it is the part you have driven. The green sign at the top right names the next interchange. It gives the distance to it. Small green tabs mark each interchange on the ground.

Where the data comes from

• Photography: New Jersey DEP and NJGIS.
• Road lines, interchanges and toll barriers: OpenStreetMap.
• Town boundaries: NJGIS.
• Ground heights for the Drive view: Mapterhorn.

How it works

The photography is one large file. Your browser asks the server for small parts of that file, and only for the parts on screen. MapLibre GL draws the map. Everything runs on your own machine.