New Jersey Route 73 - History

History

In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, a spur of Route 41 called Route S41 was legislated to run from the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge south to Berlin along what is today Route 73. A southern extension of Route S41 called Route S41A was proposed to run from Berlin south to Route 42 (now U.S. Route 322) in Folsom in 1938. In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route S41 and Route S41A were renumbered to Route 73 in order to match Pennsylvania Route 73. With the establishment of the 500-series county routes in 1952, the current alignment of Route 73 between Berlin and Blue Anchor became a part of County Route 561 while it became County Route 561 Spur between Blue Anchor and Folsom. By 1969, Route 73 was designated south of Berlin along County Route 561 and County Route 561 Spur to the Atlantic City Expressway. By the 2000s, Route 73 was extended south along with County Route 561 Spur from the Atlantic City Expressway to U.S. Route 322.

Over the years, several traffic circles have been modified or replaced along Route 73. The Marlton Circle at Route 70 in Marlton was modified in 1974 to allow Route 73 to run directly straight through the circle. This circle became known for traffic backups and was replaced with an interchange. Construction on this interchange, which cost $31 million, began in April 2009. In May 2010, the circle was eliminated with a temporary at-grade intersection constructed while the Route 73 bridge over Route 70 was being built. The interchange was completed in June 2011. A traffic circle that existed at the intersection of Route 38 and Route 41 in Maple Shade Township was removed by the 1990s and replaced by the current set of interchanges. In addition, the Berlin Circle in Berlin was replaced by an at-grade intersection between August 2005 and September 2006 at a cost of $73 million.