New Jersey Route 90 - History

History

Plans for the Route 90 freeway were first made in 1964, a year after the Betsy Ross Bridge over the Delaware River was proposed. In 1965, Route 90 was legislated to run from the proposed bridge in Pennsauken east to Route 73. In 1969, construction began on the Betsy Ross Bridge and its approach roads. A 1970 proposal to include the planned Route 90 freeway as a part of the Interstate Highway System was denied. The Betsy Ross Bridge itself was finished in 1974, but did not open to traffic until April 30, 1976 due to controversies concerning the approach roads. At this time, Route 90 was completed between the Betsy Ross Bridge and U.S. Route 130. In March 1986, construction began on Route 90 between U.S. Route 130 and Route 73 in Cinnaminson. This section of the route, which cost $23 million ($50 million today), was opened on October 25, 1988.

Originally, the Route 90 was intended to be a much longer freeway than it is today. When first proposed, it was to extend to Interstate 295, the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 73 in Mount Laurel. There were two proposed routes of this freeway. The first proposal would have run south of Route 73 through built-up areas of Cherry Hill, Maple Shade, and Mount Laurel, along the South Branch of the Pennsauken Creek. Due to the route of this proposal, it was dropped in favor of a more northerly route that ran to the north of Route 73 through less developed areas.This freeway would have cost $42 million ($180 million today) and was to be completed in 1975. There were plans to extend the freeway further south than Route 73 in Mount Laurel. In 1966, a proposal was made for Route 90 to run south to a proposed Route 38 freeway that was to run from Camden to Monmouth County. Another proposal in 1969 called for a $14 million ($90 million today) extension of Route 90 south to a proposed U.S. Route 30 freeway in Berlin and possibly the Atlantic City Expressway. Due to financial limitations and feared environmental impacts, the southern extension of Route 90 to Mount Laurel was canceled by 1980.

Across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, there were plans of extending the freeway northwest from the Interstate 95 interchange. This limited access highway, which was to be called the Pulaski Expressway and be designated Pennsylvania Route 90, was to parallel the Frankford Creek and Tacony Creek and connect with U.S. Route 1, which also was to be a limited access freeway. This proposed freeway, which was to cost from $125 to $150 million ($300 to $400 million today) and be completed in 1981, was canceled by 1980 due to community opposition and financial troubles. Vestiges of this extension can be seen from Interstate 95 in the form of stub ramps and the mainline coming to an abrupt end as a barricaded bridge.