New Jersey Route 55 - Future

Future

Despite the fact that the southern extension has been held up for decades, it is being revisited due to the disturbing images of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in the Gulf states. The Cape May Peninsula and surrounding area does not have a proper evacuation route and Route 55 may be extended in order to provide one. In addition, traffic jams along Route 47 during the summer have also led to a possible revival of the proposal. There are efforts and studies being done to finish the remaining 20 miles (32 km) of the missing freeway. As a result, construction of this section is not expected to begin for years. Any proposal to extend Route 55 still faces environmental opposition.

In 2009, State Senator Jeff Van Drew introduced a plan for an extension of Route 55 into Cape May County. In the plan, the South Jersey Transportation Authority would build the road and it would cost $1 billion. In order to reduce the impact on the environment, the freeway may be elevated. It is also anticipated that the extension of Route 55 would be tolled; however, no tolls are planned to be placed on the existing route. This proposal for an elevated Route 55 follows two years of failed attempts for a feasibility study to relieve traffic on Route 47. Portions of Route 47 and Route 347 may be upgraded from a surface road to a freeway that would become part of Route 55.

New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine and the Delaware River Port Authority announced a comprehensive transportation plan for South Jersey on May 12, 2009. 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 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 New Jersey Transit’s Atlantic City Line, and enhanced connections to the Atlantic City International Airport.