New Jersey Route 55

View north at the south end of Route 55 at Route 47 in Maurice River Township

Following the completion of the Walt Whitman Bridge in the 1950s, two controlled-access toll roads were proposed to connect the bridge to Atlantic City and to Cape May.[10] In 1962, the New Jersey Expressway Authority Act was signed into law. This act created the New Jersey Expressway Authority, which was to manage both the Atlantic City and Cape May expressways.[11]

While the Atlantic City Expressway was completed by the authority in 1965, the Cape May Expressway was turned over to the state about this time.[12][13] The Cape May Expressway was designated Route 55 and legislated to run from US 130 in Westville to US 9 near Cape May Court House.[13] This proposed freeway was projected to cost $90 million (equivalent to $836 million in 2023[14]) and be completed in 1975.[15]

In 1969, the first segment of Route 55 opened between Maurice River Township and the Vineland-Millville border, connecting to Route 47 at both ends.[2][16] In the 1970s, the planned northern terminus of Route 55 was moved to Route 42 in Deptford. The portion of Route 55 between Route 47 in Millville and US 40 in Franklin Township was completed in the mid-1970s while the portion between US 40 and Route 42 was completed in October 1989.[3][17][18] The Route 55 freeway has been instrumental in bringing economic development to southern New Jersey. The most common use of the highway is as a commuting route northward to Philadelphia. Following its completion, residential development in the southern part of Gloucester County has increased.[18]

While the freeway was under construction in 1983, it was discovered that it ran through Native American burial grounds in Deptford. This revelation led to unsuccessful lawsuits to cease construction of the route. After the lawsuits, a couple of incidents happened to construction workers, including a construction worker being run over by an asphalt truck, another being blown off a bridge by strong winds, and a van carrying five construction workers randomly erupting into flames.[3]

Route 55 northbound at the US 40 interchange in Franklin Township

Meanwhile, the portion of freeway south of Route 47 in Maurice River Township was not yet built. In 1972, NJDOT wanted to provide adequate access to the Cape May Peninsula by extending the freeway southeast from the current terminus to the Garden State Parkway in Middle Township.[19] NJDOT conducted an environmental study on this proposal in 1975. The route was projected to cost $155 million (equivalent to $843 million in 2023[14]) and be finished by 1995.[20] Plans resurfaced for a southern extension in 1993 when a feasibility study was conducted to see if the extension of Route 55 could be built. This study, which estimated the extension would cost between $423 million and $483 million (equivalent to $857 million and $978 million in 2023[14]), concluded that the road should not be built because it crossed too many wetlands.[21]

The Route 55 freeway, like many other highways in New Jersey, once had solar-powered emergency call boxes every mile (about 1.6 km); the use of the call boxes became limited due to the increasing popularity of cell phones. To save on maintenance costs, NJDOT removed these call boxes in 2005.[22]

Despite the fact that the southern extension was held up for decades, it was revisited due to the disturbing images of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005 in the Gulf states. Route 55 could have been extended in order to provide a proper evacuation route for Cape May Peninsula and surrounding area.[23] In addition, traffic jams along Route 47 during the summer also led to a possible revival of the proposal.[21] There were efforts and studies to consider finishing the remaining 20 miles (32 km) of the missing freeway.[24][25][26]

In 2009, State Senator Jeff Van Drew introduced a plan for an extension of Route 55 into Cape May County where the South Jersey Transportation Authority would build the road. In order to reduce the impact on the environment, the freeway would have been elevated.[27] The extension of Route 55 would have been tolled.[28] This effort followed two years of failed attempts for a feasibility study to relieve traffic on Route 47.[29]

However, all of these efforts faced considerable environmental opposition, which has been successful in blocking these plans, which were estimated to cost as much as $2 billion.[21][30]

A sign on US 9 in Cape May County designating an alternate route to Route 55

In 1975, the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) proposed that a Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) rail line be added along the median of Route 55 between Deptford and Glassboro; however, plans were canceled.[31] In the 2000s, another proposal resurfaced to add a PATCO line along the Route 55 corridor. The alternative called for park and ride lots to be constructed along the Route 55 corridor, providing access to the line. Phase I would have run to Glassboro (Rowan University) and Phase II would have extended down to the Millville area and service the Cumberland Mall area.[32]

New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine and the DRPA announced a comprehensive transportation plan for South Jersey on May 12, 2009.[33] This plan would introduce express bus service along the Route 55 freeway and the adjacent Route 42 freeway. It would also include a diesel light rail line called the Glassboro–Camden Line between Camden and Glassboro via Woodbury over an existing railroad right-of-way (as opposed to the expanded PATCO line via Route 55), improvements to NJ Transit's Atlantic City Line, and enhanced connections to the Atlantic City International Airport.[34]

Exit numbers are based on the originally planned terminus of Route 55 in Cape May County, a distance of approximately 20 miles (32 km).

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Cumberland	Maurice River Township	20.00	32.19		Route 47 (Delsea Drive) – Port Elizabeth, Wildwood, Cape May	At-grade intersection
		21.49	34.58	21	Schooner Landing Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Millville	24.59	39.57	24	Route 49 – Millville, Bridgeton
	Vineland	26.88	43.26	26	CR 555 – Vineland, Buena
	Millville	27.79	44.72	27	Route 47 – Vineland, Millville
	Vineland	29.75	47.88	29	CR 552 – Bridgeton, South Vineland
		32.69	52.61	32	Route 56 – Vineland, Rosenhayn	Signed as exits 32A (east) and 32B (west)
		35.01	56.34	35	Garden Road (CR 674) – Brotmanville, North Vineland	Southbound signed as exits 35A (east) and 35B (west)
Salem	No major junctions
Gloucester	Franklin Township	39.36	63.34	39	US 40 – Malaga, Elmer	Signed as exits 39A (east) and 39B (west)
		43.50	70.01	43	Little Mill Road – Franklinville, Clayton
	Elk Township	45.36	73.00	45	CR 553 – Centerton, Clayton, Glassboro
	Glassboro	48.84	78.60	48	CR 641 – Ferrell, Glassboro
	Harrison Township	50.50	81.27	50	US 322 (CR 536) – Glassboro, Richwood, Mullica Hill	Signed as exits 50A (east) and 50B (west)
	Mantua Township	53.48	86.07	53	CR 553 – Pitman, Glassboro, Wenonah, Woodbury Heights	Southbound signed as exits 53A (south) and 53B (north)
	Deptford Township	56.37	90.72	56A	Route 47 south to Route 41 – Washington Township, Glassboro
		56.37	90.72	56B	Route 47 north – Woodbury, Westville
		58.90	94.79	58	To CR 621 – Deptford, Almonesson	Access via Deptford Center Road
		60.54	97.43		Route 42 north – Camden, Philadelphia	Route 42 exit 13, access to northbound Route 42 and access from southbound Route 42
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Jersey Route 55.

• New Jersey Roads: Route 55
• Speed Limits for Route 55
• PhillyRoads.com - New Jersey Route 55