Route 55 (New Jersey)
Route 55 is a
state highway in
New Jersey,
United States, built to
freeway standards. It runs from an intersection with
Route 47 (Delsea Drive) in
Port Elizabeth north to an
interchange with
Route 42 in
Deptford. For a time Route 55 was merely a bypass of
Millville and
Vineland before it was connected to Route 42; the whole route runs parallel to Route 47. The highway was planned in the late 1960s along with several never-built southern New Jersey freeways, including
Route 60.
The freeway was built in sections from 1967 to the 1990s. Original plans would have continued Route 55 to the
Garden State Parkway near exit 13 in the vicinity of
Sea Isle City. Construction of this section of the highway has been stalled because of the protected
wetlands along the route. The lower few exits of the freeway have nonstandard signage that is irregularly small for a typical 65mph freeway. Route 55 is the longest continuous state route
freeway in New Jersey at 40.5 miles long, with
Route 18 following in a close second at 25.5 miles long.
The freeway has been instrumental in bringing economic development to southern New Jersey,
Vineland in particular. The most common use of the highway is a commuting route from
Vineland,
Glassboro, and
Deptford north to the cities of
Camden and
Philadelphia. Despite the fact that the southern extension has been held up for decades, it may be revisited due to the disturbing images of Hurricane Katrina and Rita in the Gulf states. The Cape May Peninsula and surrounding area does not have a proper evacuation route and Route 55 may get built to accommodate that.
[Route 55 Southern Extension]Image:Route 55 exits.jpg|Button Copy signage for Glassboro exitsImage:To 55.jpg|Signage for Route 55 from South Broad Street at the intersection with the Little Mill Road interchangeImage:Route 55 SB.jpg|Route 55 south at the southern of two crossings of Route 47Image:Route 49 exit.jpg|The small and irregular signage that Route 55's lower exits useImage:IMG 0104b.jpg|Looking southbound near the south end from the southernmost overpassImage:Route 55 END.jpg|Route 55 as it approaches its southern terminusImage:Route 55 two lane.jpg|Route 55 as a Super 2 freewayImage:IMG 0102a.jpg|A hanging sign at the south end of Route 55Image:JCT 55.jpg|Vintage and dirty junction signage seen from Route 47 southbound where it meets Route 55's endImage:55 Detour.jpg|Signage for Route 55 along county routes through Cape May County as alternatives to Route 47 & 347Image:Alt 55.jpg|Signage on U.S. Route 9 for an Alternate Route to direct traffic along Cape May County Routes as an alternative to Route 47 & 347Image:Route 55 (1969).jpg|1969 map of the never-built extension*
Daily Journal Article on Route 55 Completion*
Daily Journal Article on Route 55 (Part II)*
Route 55 Proposed Southern Extension
