Immediately north of the toll barrier, the road divides into a local-express lane configuration with two express and three local lanes in each direction. The parkway passes to the east of a solar farm before reaching an interchange with the Route 18 freeway and Route 36, which head north towards New Brunswick and east towards Long Branch, respectively. The connector road from the parkway to the terminus of Route 36 and CR 51 is designated by NJDOT as Route 444S. North of the interchange, the GSP passes over Conrail Shared Assets Operations' (CSAO) Southern Secondary line and bisects residential neighborhoods before crossing the Swimming River into Middletown, where the road has an interchange with CR 520, which contains a park and ride and serves Red Bank and Lincroft. The parkway then passes over Normandy Road, which serves as a road and railroad link between the two sections of Naval Weapons Station Earle. Continuing northwest past houses and parks, the route has an interchange with CR 52 as it enters Holmdel Township, where it serves the PNC Bank Arts Center and the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. Upon entering Hazlet, the parkway crosses NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line before reaching an interchange for Route 35 and Route 36, which serves Keyport. At this point, the express roadway in each direction gains a third lane. Immediately north of here is a southbound exit and entrance at CR 3, where the parkway briefly enters Aberdeen Township and passes over the Matawan Creek before crossing the North Jersey Coast Line for a second time. Upon entering Old Bridge Township, Middlesex County, and reaching an interchange for CR 689 serving Matawan, the highway enters Cheesequake State Park.