New Jersey Route 48 - History

History

The route was designated as Route 18S in 1923, running from Penns Grove southeast to Atlantic City along what was known as the Harding Highway. U.S. Route 40 was designated along the length of Route 18S, running east from a ferry dock in Penns Grove where the route crossed the Delaware River to Wilmington, Delaware to continue its journey west. The entire routing of Route 18S was designated Route 48 in the 1927 renumbering of New Jersey state highways, running concurrent with U.S. Route 40 its entire length. Until the Delaware Memorial Bridge opened in 1951, a ferry connected New Jersey Route 48 to Delaware Route 48 in Wilmington. U.S. Route 40 had used this ferry, but was eventually moved to a ferry that ran from New Castle, Delaware to Pennsville, with U.S. Route 40 being rerouted to follow present-day Route 49, various local roads, and County Route 551 to reach Route 48 and continue east along with that route. Following the completion of both the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the New Jersey Turnpike in 1951, U.S. Route 40 was routed off more of Route 48 onto a new alignment, joining the route at its current eastern terminus. In the 1953 renumbering of New Jersey state highways, Route 48 was designated onto its current alignment from U.S. Route 130 to U.S. Route 40, with the rest of the route dropped in favor of the U.S. Route 40 designation. The old alignment of Route 48 to the ferry terminal is now County Route 675.