Route 1 a highway demonstration study Woodbridge, New Jersey

The older highways of the United States suffered badly under the onslaught of rapid urbanization following the Second World War. Largely uncontrolled strip development sprang up to serve the needs of an ever-increasing travelling public. But the establishments clamoring for the motorist's attention became the author of their own downfall. Highways became even more cluttered and ceased to serve their primary function of moving traffic. Hodern high speed highways with restricted access were needed and built. The function of the older highways changed and so did the type of customer using the commercial establishments. The commercial strips began to deteriorate and decay. Today, all over the u.s. There are miles of these older highways lined with old, obsolete and sometimes abandoned buildings, and mixed and marginal uses cluttered with signs, billboards and utility poles and wires. The environment of these highway strips is offensive and unsafe. The purpose of this Highway Demonstration Study is to isolate the factors that contribute to these blighted conditions and to devise tools and techniques that can be employed to eliminate blight and prevent its recurrence. The area selected for the study is a 1.9 mile length of u.s. l in the Township of Woodbridge, New Jersey. As a Demonstration Study, the project is concerned not only with the development of methods of improving a badly-blighted section of this particular highway but also with establishing a national precadent that can assist other communities confronted with similar problems