The traffic light at Route 23 and Clinton Road in West Milford, NJ might actually be some kind of slow-burn social experiment.
You pull up to that thing and suddenly you’re in a vortex where time becomes… elastic. Like watching glue dry on a winter day.
By most accounts and a whole lot of frustrated local testimony, the light at Route 23 and Clinton Road holds the dubious honor of being the longest red light in the entire United States
Here’s the horror: this light is red for nearly 57 minutes out of every single hour.
Yep, you read that right. this means that for the totality of an hour, it leaves you a whopping three minutes of non-red, and even then, you’re not really winning…because when it does finally switch to green?
You’ve got 8 seconds. Eight. Seconds.
That’s barely enough time to scratch your nose, shift into gear, and maybe… maybe, make it halfway through the intersection if you’re not behind someone texting.
Every time it turns red (which is basically always), it stays red for 2 minutes and 15 seconds per cycle.
It’s like the light’s out here doing yoga while you’re gripping the wheel white-knuckled, mentally calculating whether you’ll die of boredom or starvation first.
Why? Who knows. Some folks blame outdated traffic software.
Others think it’s just neglect, one of those “eh, no one’s fixing it because no one wants to admit it’s broken” kind of deals.
Meanwhile, the people of West Milford and anyone that knows and has to drive through it?
They’ve learned to plan around this thing. Grocery runs, daycare pickup, even bathroom breaks, all calibrated by the whims of this one rogue traffic signal.
Honestly, it feels less like a traffic light and more like a weird endurance test. A rite of passage.
You haven’t really lived in Passaic County until you’ve sat through four full red cycles there without moving a foot (Extra points if you started hallucinating deer or hearing phantom honks).
And don’t even think about trying to cross during rush hour. You’ll need the kind of luck people usually reserve for lottery tickets.
If you’re third in line when it turns green? Forget it. You’re not making it.
Just wave to the guy in front of you and settle in, you’ll get your shot in, oh, 6–8 minutes. Maybe.
There’s something oddly poetic about it, though. In a world of high-speed everything, this one traffic light just… doesn’t care.
It’s not here for your deadlines, your Google Maps ETA, or your blood pressure.
It’s red when it wants to be, and it stays that way. Like a stubborn old man with a lawn chair and a beer, just watching the world try to go around him.
Honestly? Kinda admirable. Maddening, but admirable.
Anyway, if you’re ever heading north on Route 23 and spot Clinton Road coming up on your right, just know: that light isn’t broken. It’s just… being itself.
So, take a deep breath. Maybe call your mom. And whatever you do, don’t blink during those 8 glorious seconds.
You’ll regret it.
