New Jersey Route 60

Route 60 marker
Route 60
Deepwater-Ocean City Expressway
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT
Length58.4 mi (94.0 km)
Existed1953–1970s (never built)
Major junctions
West end US 40 in Deepwater
Major intersections Route 55 in Vineland
East end US 9 / G.S. Parkway in Ocean City
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Jersey
CountiesSalem, Cumberland, Atlantic
Highway system
← Route 59→ Route 62

Route 60 was a proposed limited access state highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It would have run from the Delaware Memorial Bridge in the Deepwater neighborhood of Pennsville Township to Ocean City. The freeway was to parallel U.S. Route 40 from its start, then run as a concurrency with Route 55 in Vineland. From there it would have continued east and ended at Ocean City. It was designed as a connection between South Jersey and points west via the Delaware Memorial Bridge. However, the nearby Atlantic City Expressway, combined with a fiscal crisis in the mid-1970s, prevented the freeway from being built.

Despite the plans for the freeway being shelved, the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) hasn't officially taken it off their route log. Route 60 along with Route 74, and Route 85 are the only remaining unbuilt freeways not yet repealed the New Jersey State Legislature.

History

Route 60 was designated in 1953 as a proposed freeway from the Verga section of West Deptford Township via Barrington to Bridgeboro.[1] This was realigned and was later designated as part of I-295.

Facing a dilemma due to the increase in automobile traffic after World War II, the New Jersey State Highway Department brought together a proposed set of freeways across the state of New Jersey in 1960. One proposal set forth was of a freeway connecting Deepwater to Ocean City, paralleling the alignment of U.S. Route 40. From the community of Millville to Vineland, Route 60 was proposed to be concurrent with the also proposed Route 55. From there, the highway was supposed to head eastward to the U.S. Route 9 Expressway near Ocean City, New Jersey.[2] The design of the freeway was to help improve urbanization through places such as Millville and Vineland,[3] along with providing access for people from Delaware, Maryland, and southeastern Pennsylvania to the southern portions of the Jersey Shore.[2] The New Jersey Department of Transportation did estimate construction of the 58.4-mile-long (94.0 km) freeway to cost $116 million (1967 USD), however, difficulties in the economy along with the close proximity of the nearby Atlantic City Expressway killed the project from moving forward.[4]

Since the 1970s, proposals have arisen to revive the Route 60 freeway. In 2007, the Western/Southern Cumberland Regional Planning proposed a new freeway spur from the constructed Route 55 Freeway to the community of Bridgeton, New Jersey following the general alignment of current day County Route 552. This same study indicates a need for a limited access interstate freeway from the Delaware Memorial Bridge to Atlantic City, New Jersey.[5] In February 2010, Assemblywoman Celeste Riley proposed the revival of the Route 60 freeway via a study of the lack of transportation in Bridgeton. The study would also look into the best transportation between the Delaware Memorial Bridge and Atlantic City. However, local officials believe these proposals may not form into reality due to local opposition.[6]

Proposed exit list

CountyLocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
SalemDeepwater0.00.0 US 40Proposed western terminus
Woodstown Route 45
Upper Pittsgrove Township Route 77
CumberlandUpper Deerfield Township Route 56
Vineland Route 55Western terminus of proposed concurrency with Route 55
Route 55Eastern terminus of proposed concurrency with Route 55
AtlanticHamilton Township Route 50
Somers Point G.S. Parkway
58.494.0 US 9Proposed eastern terminus of Route 60
Planned to connect to the unbuilt US 9 Freeway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ "N.J. Legislative Statutes". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ a b State Highway Department, New Jersey (1961). New Jersey Builds Better Highways. Ewing, New Jersey: New Jersey State Highway Department.
  3. ^ Master Plan for Transportation. Ewing, New Jersey: New Jersey Department of Transportation. 1972.
  4. ^ Federal Highway Administration, New Jersey Department of Transportation (1975). "New Jersey Route 55: Administrative Action Final Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Statement". Ewing, New Jersey;Washington, D.C.: New Jersey Department of Transportation. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ "Western/ Southern Cumberland Regional Planning and Implementation Agenda" (PDF). Western/Southern Cumberland Region. pp. 3, 7. Retrieved 17 March 2007.
  6. ^ Dunn, Matt (February 10, 2010). "Celeste digs up Route 60". The News of Cumberland County. New Jersey Online Live, LLC. Retrieved 17 March 2010.