The road inspired a story in The New Yorker in 2004 by Ian Frazier due to its views of the Manhattan skyline.

Route 3 was originally established in 1927 to run from the New York state line on the west shore of Greenwood Lake to Secaucus.

In 1929, the western terminus was cut back to Paterson when the alignment west of there was planned to become part of Route S4B.

[2] The route intersects Grove Street (CR 623) and Broad Street (CR 509), then the Garden State Parkway, where it passes south of the Allwood Road Park & Ride, a park and ride lot serving NJ Transit buses.

[1] Past the Garden State Parkway, Route 3 intersects Bloomfield Avenue (CR 622), before it passes over Norfolk Southern's Newark Industrial Track line and intersects Passaic Avenue (CR 603), which heads south into Nutley to become Route 7.

[1] The route widens to eight lanes and enters the Meadowlands, crossing into East Rutherford and then passing over NJ Transit's Bergen County Line and Berrys Creek.

[1][2] The route narrows back to six lanes and comes to a ramp which provides access to the Western Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95).

The route passes by the Mill Creek Mall and crosses under the Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95).

[1][2] Route 3 comes to an eastbound exit and entrance with Harmon Meadow Boulevard and features a cloverleaf interchange with Paterson Plank Road.

Past this interchange, the local-express lane configuration ends and Route 3 heads southeast as a four-lane highway.

The route meets a westbound exit and entrance for the North Bergen Park & Ride serving NJ Transit buses and passes over New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway's New Jersey Subdivision line and Conrail Shared Assets Operations' Northern Branch line before it comes to its terminus at a traffic light with US 1/9 south, with no direct access from Route 3 east to US 1/9 north.

[8][9] Before 1938, a bypass around the original Paterson Plank Road bridge over the Hackensack River was built, parts of which were later incorporated into today's Route 120.

The freeway had cost a total of $10 million to build and cut commuting times between Northern New Jersey and Manhattan.

This project will reconfigure ramps, bring bridges up to standard, and will provide for three-lane connections between Route 3 and US 46.

[27][28] In January 2022, the officials announced funding of a project to replace the 1934 eastbound bridge over the Hackensack River.

[29] Route 3 was the inspiration for a story in The New Yorker in 2004 by Ian Frazier, for its iconic views of the Manhattan skyline.

He also described a walking journey he once took into New York City along Route 3, encountering heavy, noisy traffic speeding by and debris along the side of the road.