New Jersey Route 158
state highway and bridge in New Jersey
Route 158 (also known as the Centre Street Bridge) was a short state highway in Newark and Harrison, New Jersey, in the counties of Essex and Hudson, which are located in the United States. The Centre Street Bridge was first constructed in 1834 as a single-level railroad bridge. However, in 1911, almost eight decades later, a second, upper level was constructed for rapid transit. In 1937, the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad, now part of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson line, was realigned onto railroad tracks along New Jersey Route 21. The upper level of the bridge was abandoned for this purpose, and was later converted to roadway. At the western end in Newark it ran just south of Park Place, beginning at Center Street. The route headed eastward, crossing over Route 21 and the Passaic River before entering Harrison, where it terminated at Second Street north of New Jersey Railroad Avenue.
Eventually, the upper level roadway was designated by the New Jersey State Highway Department as Route 25AD. A spur of the recently designated State Highway Route 25A, the highway department made the roadway a suffixed spur of the highway because of the close proximity. Route 25A later became New Jersey Route 58 and is now an alignment of Interstate 280. The designation remained intact until the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering on January 1, 1953, when it was changed to New Jersey Route 158.
The public source identifies “New Jersey Route 158” as state highway and bridge in New Jersey. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Jersey, Route and state.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “New Jersey Route 158”, the useful work is to connect “state highway and bridge in New Jersey” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q826701. Authority coordinates are 40.742, -74.164. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1834, 1911, 1937 and 1953.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “New Jersey Route 158”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow New Jersey Route 158 primary sources, New Jersey Route 158 archive and Jersey research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “New Jersey Route 158”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “New Jersey Route 158” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.