Route 91 is the northernmost portion of the Trenton and New Brunswick Turnpike, a turnpike originally envisioned in 1795 to connect to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with New York City. However the $300,000 project only received minimal support and died later. Nine years after the original proposal was brought up, the New Jersey State Legislature developed a charter for a new turnpike from Trenton to New Brunswick. The charter passed on November 14, 1804, for a term of 99 years. The roadway itself was to be wide, running from Warren and Green Streets in Trenton to an unspecified location in New Brunswick. Construction progressed, and by 1806, the turnpike company started tolling the new roadway. A portion of Route 91 and Route 91 Connector was also the site of one of at least three tollgates on the turnpike. After construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad during the 1800s, the railroad was asked by locals to buy the turnpike. Plans fell apart soon after, and in 1903, when the charter term ended, the old turnpike was turned over to the locals.