One of America's oldest roads will get $11 million rebuild in Sussex County

Bruce A. Scruton, Newton New Jersey Herald
·3 min read

Parts of Old Mine Road, the north-south route on the New Jersey side of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, will be closed beginning this spring and into next year, as $11 million in upgrades are made to the centuries-old highway.

The first phase is set to being this spring, the National Park Service said last week, with the rebuilding of a 3-mile segment beginning at mile marker 6, the boundary of the park with Worthington State Forest, and continuing into Hardwick Township at Millbrook Village.

The Park Service didn't announce a specific date for the road closure, but said the project's first stage is expected to be finished by the end of summer.

Cars parked by hikers along Old Mine Road. The centuries-old route along the Delaware River will be repaired and rebuilt in an $11 million overhaul starting this spring.
Cars parked by hikers along Old Mine Road. The centuries-old route along the Delaware River will be repaired and rebuilt in an $11 million overhaul starting this spring.

“This road project will modernize a vital piece of the park’s infrastructure and enhance safety and access while also protecting sensitive natural and cultural resources along its route and maintaining its historic integrity” said Park Superintendent Doyle Sapp.

Snaking up the Jersey side of the Delaware River, Old Mine Road is one of the oldest commercial roads in the nation and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with historic buildings along the route. The road also traverses the Minisink National Historic Landmark.

The road was traditionally thought to have been built by Dutch settlers of the area as a way to transport ore from mines on the western side of the Kittatinny Ridge to Poughkeepsie, along the Hudson River. There was no road through the Delaware Water Gap at that time.

But the National Park Service, on its website, acknowledges that the origins of Old Mine Road "are shrouded in mystery. The popular story is that it is the road that was used to haul copper from the mines to port cities dozens of miles away, but there is no evidence of activity at the required scale. The more likely explanation is that old Lenape – and later, colonial – trails gradually widened with use. This provided clearer paths for people wanting to reach different locations."

Still, the route is "one of the oldest continually used roads in the United States," the Park Service says, estimating the road is about 250 years old.

Because of the road closure, Turtle Beach and adjacent Poxono Access boat launch will be closed for the season, as will the upper and lower trailheads from Van Campen Glen. Watergate Recreational Area, which has been shut for renovations and restoration, will remain closed through the end of the project.

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The second phase of the Old Mine Road overhaul, due to begin this fall and completed next year, will be at the northern end of the road from markers 26.4 to 26.7 and markers 29.6 to 32.4. Start and finish dates of that project are yet to be finalized.

The revamp will include milling the existing pavement, conducting full depth patch repair and spot base repair, as well as paving, the reconstruction of shoulders and culverts and line striping.

The NPS said that with the repair and rebuilding, the life of the road will be extended and there will be savings on the cost of patching potholes and other temporary repairs. The work will also correct steep drop-offs at the road's shoulders, providing more safety for motorists and bicyclists.

In 2023, the park hosted 4.2 million visits, making it the 17th most-visited national park property in the country.  Old Mine Road is accessible at the southern end by an interchange with Route 80 within the Water Gap.

The project funding comes from the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other sources and, according to the Park Service, is part of a concerted effort to address the large maintenance and repair backlog in national parks. When completed, this project is expected to eliminate approximately $9.7 million of the maintenance backlog in the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area.

Email: bscruton@njherald.com

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This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: One of America's oldest roads will get $11M overhaul in Sussex County