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Just like I-78, NJ 24 suffers from a lot of truck traffic between Morristown and the Newark / Elizabeth / Airport area. Because the hills of the eastern section of the road, traffic speeds become unpredictable, often slowing to a standstill only to suddenly move again at 50 MPH.
Constructed largely from the 1970's through the early 1990's, the highway is screaming to be expanded, but the encroachment of Summit, Springfield, and Millburn make that impossible from EXIT 7 eastward (where delays just to get onto I-78 can be five miles and over a half hour long, making the parallel NJ 124 often a better choice). West of EXIT 7, there is not only room to expand to three lanes, but overpasses and underpasses have been built to accommodate this expansion, yet nothing is done! Between EXIT 2 and EXIT 7, there is no opportunity to exit the highway, so of course this is where traffic tends to accumulate. The completion of Eisenhower Parkway would give a new out (at EXIT 6), but would add a lot of truck traffic to this overburdened road.
NJ 24 is similar to the eastern section of I-78, although a recent repaving job has helped at least part of the roadway. The JFK Parkway southbound ramp to NJ 24 westbound has not been touched since 1992, if even then, and the condition of all the ramps at that interchange costs a point to the pavement rating.
Signage is good, almost all replaced now and quite clear. The roadway looks decent west of EXIT 7, running through some shrubbery for the most part, but east of there it's your standard depressed urban freeway.
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