U.S. Route 40 in New Jersey

U.S. Route 40
Harding Highway Black Horse Pike
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT and Atlantic County
Length	64.28 mi (103.45 km)
Major junctions
Major intersections	US 130/NJ 49 in Pennsville Twp NJTP in Carneys Point Twp NJ 55 in Franklin Twp US 322 in Hamilton Twp GSP in Egg Harbor Twp US 9 in Pleasantville ACE in Atlantic City
Location
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← Route 39 → Route 41

U.S. Route 40 serves as a major east-west highway in southern New Jersey from Delaware and points south to the Jersey Shore. It runs from the Delaware border on the Delaware Memorial Bridge through three counties, Salem, Gloucester, and Atlantic, and ending concurrent with US 322 in Atlantic City. Along its trip through these counties, some of the small towns that depend on the traffic US 40 brings are Woodstown, Elmer, Newfield, and Buena. An eclectic mix of rural, suburban, and urban environs are experienced on this relatively-short lifeline across South Jersey.

US 40 also remains the preferred route to Atlantic City from Delaware, Maryland, and points south and west, due to the non-existence of other viable alternatives (the Atlantic City Expressway starts about 25 miles north of where US 40 enters New Jersey). This fact, along with the relatively rural lifestyle enjoyed by the people who live along this artery, has made for sticky situations in the summer, the peak of tourist season at the Jersey Shore.

Route description

US 40 is Interstate-standard as it enters the state concurrent with Interstate 295, and eventually the New Jersey Turnpike. It shortly exits off the Turnpike (as the last exit before the toll barrier) and proceeds onto Wiley Road, a 4-lane rural divided highway. The road continues for about 3 miles until it reaches the terminus of Route 48 in eastern Carneys Point Township. Until the concurrency of US 322 in Hamilton Township, the vast majority of the highway is two lanes.

The next concurrency happens in Woodstown, where Route 45 meets US 40 for about a half-mile through the downtown area. Then, US 40 continues through the countryside of Pilesgrove and Upper Pittsgrove townships to meet Route 77 at the Pole Tavern Circle; from there, US 40 makes a bee-line for Elmer, another small borough like Woodstown.

The next major junction is Route 55; this is where travelers heading for Cape May County beaches would exit US 40, as this freeway provides access to Route 47. Continuing on US 40, the next concurrency is Route 47 in Malaga; this concurrency only lasts for about a mile. From there, US 40 has one more concurrency with a primary New Jersey Route near Mays Landing with Route 50.

When US 40 meets US 322 in Hamilton Township, the highway finally returns to a 4-lane highway; this will last to its terminus in Atlantic City. The newly-joined US 40/322 continue through Egg Harbor Township, Pleasantville, and finally past Bader Field to end at Atlantic and Pacific avenues near the Boardwalk.

Some roadside attractions include the Cowtown Rodeo, Hamilton Mall, and Bernie Robbins Stadium. Numerous mom-and-pop restaurants, stores, and produce stands line the highway, as well as larger chains, most prominently Wawa Food Markets.

History

From its creation in 1926, US 40 has ended in Atlantic City, though it has come from Delaware in different ways. For the first three decades, it utilized two different ferry routes at different times; one from Wilmington, Delaware to Penns Grove (along DE/NJ 48) from 1926 to 1936, then one from New Castle, Delaware to Pennsville from 1936 to the opening of the Delaware Memorial Bridge on August 16, 1951, which is the routing the road remains at today.

Originally completely concurrent with Route 48 for its length, over the years US 40 eventually became independent of the state route; first, from the rerouting of US 40 and US 130 to the ferry terminal in Pennsville in 1936, and finally with legislation in 1953 resulting in the truncation of Route 48 to its present terminus in eastern Carneys Point Township.

Junction list

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Salem	Carneys Point Township	0.00	0.00	I-295	Delaware Memorial Bridge Continues into Delaware
		0.95	1.53	New Jersey Turnpike	Eastern end of concurrency Western end of concurrency
		1.17	1.88	US 130/Route 49
		1.70	2.74	New Jersey Turnpike	Eastern end of concurrency
		1.85	2.98	Route 140/CR 540
		5.42	8.72	Route 48
	Pilesgrove Township	10.02	16.13	Route 45	Western end of concurrency
	Woodstown	10.67	17.17	Route 45	Eastern end of concurrency
	Upper Pittsgrove Township	14.57	23.45	CR 581
		16.52	26.59	Route 77	Pole Tavern Circle
		21.82	35.12	CR 553
Gloucester	Franklin Township	25.54	41.10	Route 55
		26.71	42.99	Route 47	Western end of concurrency
		27.20	43.77	Route 47	Eastern end of concurrency
		30.21	48.62	CR 555
		32.67	52.58	CR 557	Western end of concurrency
Atlantic	Buena	35.13	56.54	Route 54
	Buena Vista Township	35.26	56.75	CR 557	Eastern end of concurrency
		38.19	61.46	CR 540
	Hamilton Township	45.17	72.69	CR 552
		46.35	74.59	Route 50	Western end of concurrency
		46.97	75.59	Route 50/CR 559	Eastern end of concurrency Western end of concurrency
		47.30	76.12	CR 559	Eastern end of concurrency
		51.73	83.25	US 322	Western end of concurrency
		51.93	83.57	CR 575	Western end of concurrency
	Egg Harbor Township	53.85	86.66	CR 575	Eastern end of concurrency
		57.34	92.28	CR 563
		57.42	92.41	Garden State Parkway
	Pleasantville	59.09	95.10	US 9
		59.46	95.69	CR 585
	Atlantic City	62.12	99.97	Atlantic City Expressway	Westbound entrance/ eastbound exit only
		64.28	103.45	Atlantic Ave/Pacific Ave	Eastern terminus of
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi