Origin
Wood-Ridge, NJ
Morning in Wood-Ridge on Saturday
Local time
6:22 AM
EDT
Current temp
79°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Wood-Ridge, NJ to Union City, NJ
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Sep 12, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
15m
Distance
9.5 mi
15 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$2
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 14m
★
6 AM
0h 15m
8 AM
0h 18m
10 AM
0h 16m
12 PM
0h 16m
3 PM
0h 16m
5 PM
0h 18m
8 PM
0h 14m
★
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Wood-Ridge, NJ
Mark Stebnicki
Union City, NJ
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Wood-Ridge, NJ to Union City, NJ is 9.5 miles and takes about 15m via Hackensack Street/Moonachie Avenue/NJ 3 East, with a fuel budget near $1 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This short hop stays entirely within New Jersey, connecting two points in the Northeast region. Given its minimal distance and duration, this trip is ideal for a quick errand or a brief connection between locations without requiring extensive planning. You'll be navigating mostly surface roads for the entirety of this route.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| NJ 3 | 3.8 mi | 4m |
| NJ 17 | 2.5 mi | 2m |
| John F. Kennedy Boulevard | 0.8 mi | 1m |
| NJ 495 | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| Moonachie Avenue | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| Hackensack Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| 30th Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| Bergenline Avenue | 0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
NJ 3
— 3.8 mi, about 4m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Wood-Ridge, NJ and Union City, NJ.
1
Start on Union Avenue
0.1 mi
·
30 sec
·
Union Avenue
2
Turn left onto CR 55
0.2 mi
·
45 sec
·
Hackensack Street
3
Turn right onto CR 36
0.2 mi
·
30 sec
·
Moonachie Avenue
4
Take the ramp
0.2 mi
·
29 sec
5
Merge onto NJ 17
2.5 mi
·
2 min
·
NJ 17
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
Take the exit
0.4 mi
·
48 sec
Toward NJ 3 East: New York
7
Merge onto NJ 3
3.8 mi
·
4 min
·
NJ 3
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Take the exit
0.3 mi
·
33 sec
Toward NJ 495 East: Lincoln Tunnel, Kennedy Boulevard
Use the straight / right lanes.
9
Merge onto NJ 495
0.3 mi
·
24 sec
·
NJ 495
10
Take the exit
263 ft
·
6 sec
Toward Kennedy Boulevard
Use the slight right lane.
11
Continue on 30th Street
0.2 mi
·
31 sec
·
30th Street
12
Turn left onto CR 501
296 ft
·
16 sec
·
John F Kennedy Boulevard
13
Continue on CR 501
0.8 mi
·
1 min
·
John F. Kennedy Boulevard
14
Turn right onto 47th Street
0.1 mi
·
28 sec
·
47th Street
15
At end of road, turn right onto Bergenline Avenue
0.1 mi
·
21 sec
·
Bergenline Avenue
16
Turn right onto 45th Street
64 ft
·
2 sec
·
45th Street
17
Arrive at destination
45th Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 135 decision points cluster between mile 0.6 and 8.1 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
0.6 mi into trip
|
~1m in
Take the ramp
Navigation decision point
5
0.8 mi into trip
|
~2m in
|
NJ 17
Merge onto NJ 17
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
5
3.7 mi into trip
|
~6m in
|
NJ 3
Merge onto NJ 3
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
7.6 mi into trip
|
~10m in
Take the exit toward NJ 495 East: Lincoln Tunnel, Kennedy Boulevard
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / right lanes.
Toward NJ 495 East: Lincoln Tunnel, Kennedy Bou...
7
8.1 mi into trip
|
~11m in
Take the exit toward Kennedy Boulevard
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Toward Kennedy Boulevard
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$1.63 one way
$3.27 round trip
$4.37/gal
25.4 MPG avg
3 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.79 | $1.79 | $3.58 |
| premium | $5.13 | $1.92 | $3.84 |
| diesel | $5.97 | $2.23 | $4.46 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$2
Estimated CO2 emission: 3.3 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-09-07.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 2.9 | 0 | $1.00 | $0.46 |
| Efficient EV | 2.4 | 0 | $0.83 | $0.38 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 3.8 | 0 | $1.33 | $0.61 |
Gas CO2
3 kg
EV CO2
1 kg (67% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Union City, NJ
Morning in Union City on Saturday
Local time
6:22 AM
EDT
Current temp
78°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
1 degrees cooler at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
15m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
This trip features no highway driving, with 0% of the 9.5 miles on limited-access roads. You'll be on surface streets the entire way, as indicated by the 'Mostly surface roads' profile. Expect a constant flow of traffic and intersections for the full 15 minutes of travel time.
71% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
17 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 3.8 mi on NJ 3.
How Hard Is This Drive?
7/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on NJ 3 and NJ 17. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.6 miles in.
Driving Effort
7/10
Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 13 decision points packed into just 9.5 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 15m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.6 miles: Navigation decision point; at 0.8 miles (NJ 17): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 3.7 miles (NJ 3): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here.
About the Cities
Starting in Wood-Ridge, NJ
Full guide →Founded 1894
Arriving in Union City, NJ
Full guide →Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey. Union City is a small city, roughly 1.283 square miles. It is bordered by Weehawken to the east, Jersey City to the south, North Bergen to the west and north, and West New York to the north.
Top landmarks
- • Monastery and Church of Saint Michael the Archangel — church building in New Jersey, United States of America
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 15m. Total distance: 9.5 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
15m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (71%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 3.8 miles on NJ 3. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at Union City, NJ before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.6 miles: Navigation decision point; at 0.8 miles (NJ 17): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 3.7 miles (NJ 3): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Union City, NJ before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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