New Jersey Route 55

Route 55 is a major freeway in the southern part of New Jersey. It is also called the Veterans Memorial Highway. The road runs for about 40.5 miles, starting at an intersection with Route 47 in Port Elizabeth and ending at a connection with Route 42 in Gloucester County. It passes through the counties of Cumberland and Gloucester, serving important towns such as Millville, Vineland, and Glassboro.

Many people use Route 55 to travel north to Philadelphia or south to the Jersey Shore resorts in Cape May County. Most of the road has a speed limit of 65 miles per hour. The idea for this road began in the 1950s when planners wanted to build a toll road called the Cape May Expressway. Over the years, different parts of the road opened, with the final section finishing in 1989. Some planned parts of the road were never built to protect the environment.

Route description

Route 55, also known as the Veterans Memorial Highway, is a freeway in southern New Jersey. It runs for about 40.54 miles from Port Elizabeth north to Gloucester County.

The route starts at an intersection with Route 47 in Port Elizabeth, in Cumberland County. It begins as a small roadway and soon expands into a wider freeway. Route 55 passes through areas with forests and also built-up places like Millville and Vineland. Along the way, it connects with many other roads and highways, including Route 49, Route 56, US Route 40, US Route 322, and finally Route 42, where it ends.

The freeway goes through both rural landscapes and closer settlements, linking important places such as WheatonArts, Inspira Medical Center Vineland, Rowan University, and the Deptford Mall. It also crosses several creeks and railroad lines during its journey.

History

After the Walt Whitman Bridge was finished in the 1950s, plans were made for two roads to connect the bridge to Atlantic City and Cape May. In 1962, a law was passed to create a group to manage these roads.

One of these roads, the Atlantic City Expressway, was finished in 1965. The other road, planned as Route 55, was meant to go from US 130 in Westville to US 9 near Cape May Court House. It was expected to cost $90 million (about $919 million today) and be done by 1975.

The first part of Route 55 opened in 1969 between Maurice River Township and near Vineland. In the 1970s, plans changed so the road would end at Route 42 in Deptford. More parts of the road were finished over the years. Route 55 helped bring growth to southern New Jersey and is often used to travel north to Philadelphia.

There were also ideas to extend Route 55 further south, but these plans were stopped because they would harm the environment. The road once had special solar-powered phones for emergencies, but these were removed in 2005 when cell phones became more common.

Public transportation

In 1975, there was an idea to add a train line along Route 55 between Deptford and Glassboro, but these plans were stopped. Later, in the 2000s, another idea came up to add train service along Route 55 with special parking areas for people to leave their cars.

In 2009, New Jersey’s governor and transportation leaders shared new plans for better travel in South Jersey. These plans included special express buses on Route 55 and nearby Route 42, a new train line between Camden and Glassboro, improvements to existing train services, and better connections to the airport in Atlantic City.

Exit list

Exit numbers for Route 55 are based on an original plan where the road would end in Cape May County, about 20 miles (32 km) away.

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations
Cumberland	Maurice River Township	20.00	32.19		Route 47 (Delsea Drive) – Port Elizabeth, Wildwood, Cape May
		21.49	34.58	21	Schooner Landing Road
	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
		35.01	56.34	35	Garden Road (CR 674) – Brotmanville, North Vineland
Salem	No major junctions
Gloucester	Franklin Township	39.36	63.34	39	US 40 – Malaga, Elmer
		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 – Glassboro, Richwood, Mullica Hill
	Mantua Township	53.48	86.07	53	CR 553 – Pitman, Glassboro, Wenonah, Woodbury Heights
	Deptford Township	56.37	90.72	56	Route 47 to Route 41 – Washington Township, Glassboro, Woodbury, Westville
		58.90	94.79	58	To CR 621 – Deptford Township, Almonesson
		60.54	97.43		Route 42 north to I-76 west – Camden, Philadelphia
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access