End of US highway 9
View a map showing this route.
Photo credits: Christopher
Mason; J.P.
Nasiatka; Rahul; Dave
Strong; Eric
Stuve; Sam
West; Mike
Wiley
| Approx. time period | North terminus | South terminus |
|---|---|---|
| 1926-1932 | Rouses Point, NY | Absecon, NJ |
| 1932-1940s (?) | Rouses Point, NY | Cape May, NJ |
| 1940s (?)-1979 | Champlain, NY | Cape May, NJ |
| 1979-present | North Terminus | South Terminus |
| Champlain, NY | North Cape May, NJ | |
| East Terminus | West Terminus | |
| Lewes, DE | Laurel, DE |
The north end of US 9 was originally in Rouses Point NY. At some point (I think in the 1940s) it was rerouted slightly and its terminus was moved to Champlain. You can view photos and maps from both places on this page.
US 9 is one of only two US routes that currently include a ferry segment (the other is US 10). But the original US 9 didn't go all the way to Delaware; for about the first six years the south end was at US 30 in Absecon NJ:
Mason
That's now the south end of NJ hwy. 157, but it used to be where US 9 ended at US 30. The photo below is looking east on US 30:
Nasiatka, Nov. 2005
The south beginning of US 9 was to the left (the sign says northbound NJ 157 is straight ahead, but that's because you can't make a left turn at the light - instead you have to go past the light, make a u-turn, and then turn right).
In 1932, US 9 was extended south to Cape May NJ. The photo below is looking north on Lafayette Street, where US 9 began at Jackson Street (running across the bottom of the photo):
Wiley, 2000
The shot below is from the opposite angle:
Mason
That's looking south on Lafayette at Jackson. In about 1979, when the ferry across Delaware Bay was installed, its landing was built in North Cape May. So US 9 traffic no longer makes it into the town of Cape May; instead it's routed west on Sandman and Lincoln Boulevards, and then US 9 continues by turning off to the ferry landing:
West, June
2003
Technically, that's the "south" end of US 9 today, because as soon as you drive off the ferry across the bay...
...you'll see that the route is signed east/west in Delaware:
West,
June 2003
That photo shows the first signage heading away from the Lewes ferry landing; the east/west signage is consistent along the entirety of US 9's Delaware segment:
Rahul,
May 2000
From here the route goes to its west terminus at US 13 in Laurel. The photo below is looking southwest on Georgetown Road:
Strong, 2000
The shots below are looking north on US 13 at the west beginning of US 9:
Stuve, Mar. 2003
At the upcoming turn is the assembly shown below:
Stuve, Mar. 2003
Here's what you see as you approach the east terminus of US 9 in Lewes:
Rahul, May 2000
US 9 was among the original 1926 routes. Back then, it split into two routes at Glens Falls, each running southward along opposite banks of the Hudson River.