It comprises two segments, a 5.15-mile (8.29 km) freeway in Middlesex County linking Interstate 287 (I-287) and the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95), in Edison to the Outerbridge Crossing in Perth Amboy and an 8.18-mile (13.16 km) four-lane divided highway in Hudson County running from the Bayonne Bridge in Bayonne to US Route 1-9 Truck (US 1-9 Truck) in Jersey City.

The freeway portion in Middlesex County is six lanes wide and intersects the Garden State Parkway and US 9 in Woodbridge.

A freeway was also proposed for the route in Hudson County to fill in the gap between the Bayonne Bridge and West 63rd Street; however, it was never built.

Within this interchange, the route passes under Conrail Shared Assets Operations' (CSAO) Raritan Industrial Track line.

[1] Past this interchange, Route 440 becomes the Outerbridge Crossing, a four-lane bridge maintained by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).

It passes over NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line and State Street before crossing over the Arthur Kill onto Staten Island.

At the New Jersey-New York state line on the middle of the bridge, the southern segments of Route 440 and CR 501 end and become NY 440.

[1][5][6] Upon entering Bayonne in Hudson County, the road becomes the northern segment of Route 440 and CR 501 and continues north into residential sections of the city.

It heads north-northeast as it passes between neighborhoods and the parallel CSAO Bayonne Industrial Track and NJ Transit's Hudson–Bergen Light Rail lines to the west and port areas to the east, including the former Military Ocean Terminal.

The road heads past industrial establishments before running through commercial areas again, passing to the east of the Hudson Mall.

[20] However, NJDOT shelved the project a year later due to low traffic volumes and feared environmental impact to the Newark Bay.

[25] In anticipation of a general increase of activity in the Port of New York and New Jersey and new development on West Side and Hackensack Riverfront in Jersey City studies are being conducted to transform the roadway into a multi-use urban boulevard that includes possible grade separations, medians, and a new traffic circle at its northern terminus.

4, approved July 3, 1997, the New Jersey Legislature designated the portion of Route 440 in the city of Perth Amboy as the Edward J. Patten Memorial Highway.