From the junction of NJ 6 (now US 46) and Valley Road in Clifton, NJ S-3 headed in a roughly southeasterly direction across Clifton, Rutherford, and the Meadowlands, eventually crossing Paterson Plank Road twice before hooking up with the Lincoln Tunnel approach.
NJ S-3 was renamed NJ 3 in the Great Renumbering of 1953. The parts of old 3 that remained in Paterson and the Meadowlands were reassigned as NJ 20, but other stretches were turned back to their respective counties. (Some maps show Lexington Avenue in Passaic and Clifton (connecting today’s NJ 20 with Paterson Avenue) as part of old NJ 3, but I am not certain whether that road was ever under state control. If it was, then it is possible that the connection was over Hamilton Avenue, State Street, and River Drive in Passaic.)
The section through Rutherford was widened from four lanes to six in the early 1970s, at about the time the new junction with NJ 17 was constructed. This removed a bottleneck through Rutherford, but created one at the Passaic River bridge, a drawbridge that has been open since 1952. That span is now scheduled for replacement starting in 2007.
The Berry's Creek bridge, a humpback bridge that also created massive traffic jams, was replaced in stages through 1994. It is now an eight-lane crossing that better feeds the Sports Complex and the western alignment of the New Jersey Turnpike. The bridge itself spans two service roads and a railroad track as well as the creek.
| Mile | Street Name | Feature (West to East) |
| 4.95 | Entering Rutherford Boro, Bergen County | |
| 4.95 | NJ 3 | Passaic River {drawbridge} |
| 5.01 | NJ 3 | Riverside Ave, CR 507 {overpass} |
| 5.16 | NJ 3 | Park Ave, CR 30 {underpass} |
| 5.67 | NJ 3 | Ridge Rd {underpass} |
| 5.93 | NJ 3 | Orient Way {underpass} |
| 6.36 | NJ 3 | NJ 17 Southbound {underpass} |
| 6.39 | NJ 3 | NJ 17 Northbound {underpass} |
| 6.82 | NJ 3 | Service road {bridge} |
| 6.86 | NJ 3 | Erie Railroad {bridge} |
| 6.86 | Entering East Rutherford Boro | |
| 6.92 | NJ 3 | Berry's Creek {bridge} |
| 6.96 | NJ 3 | Service road {bridge} |
| 7.58 | NJ 3 | NJ Turnpike ramp 16W {underpass} |
| 7.96 | NJ 3 | (NJ 120 {underpass}) |
| 8.08 | NJ 3 | [NJ 120 ramp {underpass}] |
| 8.14 | NJ 3 | NJ Turnpike, I-95 {underpass} |
| 8.49 | NJ 3 | Hackensack River {dual bridges} |
| 8.49 | Entering Secaucus Town, Hudson County | |