New Jersey Route 87 - History

History

In 1927, a spur of Route 4, Route S4A, was proposed as a route running from Route 4 (now U.S. Route 9) in Tuckerton in Ocean County south to Little Beach. In 1929, this route was to continue south through Brigantine to Atlantic City, with the portion south of Little Beach to be built by Atlantic County. The state of New Jersey took over the proposed extension of Route S4A from Little Beach to Atlantic City in 1938. However, the portion of this route between Brigantine and the Atlantic/Ocean County line was never built, and the portion of road that existed in Ocean County was removed from the state highway system by 1941. In 1945, another route called Route S56, a spur of Route 56 (now U.S. Route 30), was proposed to run north along Brigantine Boulevard (present-day Route 187 and Route 87) from Atlantic City to Brigantine. In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 87 was designated as an unsigned route along the former alignment of Route S4A and the proposed Route S56 between U.S. Route 30 in Atlantic City and Brigantine. Following the 1953 renumbering, the southern portion of Route 87 in Atlantic City split into two alignments, with one following Huron Avenue and the other following Brigantine Boulevard. Eventually, the alignment of Route 87 along Brigantine Boulevard between U.S. Route 30 and Huron Avenue became Route 187. In 2001, the Atlantic City – Brigantine Connector was completed, linking Route 87, the casinos in the Marina District, and Brigantine with the Atlantic City Expressway.