Travel Through the History of Garden State Parkway

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - June 19, 2013 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Garden State Parkway by The New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images of the New Jersey highway.

The Garden State Parkway has transformed the lives of New Jersey residents since opening in 1954. Spanning 173 miles from Cape May to the New York State line, it has fostered tourism to the Jersey Shore and given commuters an easier way to get to work.

Gov. Alfred E. Driscoll had envisioned the impact a new highway could have on the state, and a large team of planners, engineers and contractors made it happen. In 1952, the legislature created the New Jersey Highway Authority to ensure the funding and completion of the $330-million parkway and to self-sufficiently operate the roadway through toll revenue.

Garden State Parkway shows how this iconic roadway gained its place in history and continues to combine safe transportation in a park-like setting with the scenic beauty of New Jersey.

Highlights of Garden State Parkway include:
•   Images depicting how all 172 miles of the Garden State Parkway were completed within 5 years after creating the New Jersey Highway Authority.
•   Information on Katherine E. White, who became the first woman leader of a State Transportation Bureau when she was appointed Chairman of the Highway Authority in 1955.
•   In 1963 the Parkway was designated the “safest superhighway in the nation” by the National Safety Council and the American Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association.
•   A look at the three earlier Parkway logos that were used prior to the current Parkway logo which was unveiled in 1956.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.  

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.