It connects Upper New York Bay with Newark Bay. Historically it has been one of the most important channels in commerce throughout the region, providing a passage for marine traffic between Manhattan and the industrial towns of New Jersey.
It currently provides the principal access for ocean-going container ships to Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, which together are the busiest port facility in the eastern United States and the principal marine terminal for New York Harbor.
The strait is spanned by the Bayonne Bridge.