U.S. Route 40 in New Jersey

U.S. Route 40 In New Jersey

New Jersey State Highway Routes
Interstate and US

U.S. Route 40 is a U.S. highway running from Park City, Utah east to Atlantic City, New Jersey. The easternmost segment of the route runs 64.32 miles (103.51 km) through the southern part of New Jersey between the Delaware Memorial Bridge over the Delaware River in Pennsville Township, Salem County, where it continues into Delaware along with Interstate 295 (I-295), east to Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City, Atlantic County. The route passes through Salem, Gloucester, and Atlantic counties as well as the towns Woodstown, Elmer, Newfield, and Buena. The route encounters a mix of rural, suburban, and urban environs throughout its journey across South Jersey.

In 1923, pre-1927 Route 18S was to run from Penns Grove to Atlantic City along much of present-day US 40 in New Jersey. US 40 was signed along Route 18S in 1926, running from a ferry in Penns Grove that crossed the Delaware River to Wilmington, Delaware. In 1927, Route 18S was renumbered to Route 48. The portion of US 40 in Atlantic City was legislated as Route 55 in 1938, around the same time the route was moved to a ferry across the Delaware River between Pennsville and New Castle, Delaware. After the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the New Jersey Turnpike were both completed in 1951, US 40 was moved to its current alignment in the area. In 1953, the Route 48 and Route 55 designations along US 40 were removed. A toll freeway was once planned along the US 40 corridor in the 1980s to alleviate traffic, but it was never built after it was deemed the traffic volume was not high enough for it to be constructed.