 Route 44 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byNJDOT | ||||
| Length | 10.28 mi[1] (16.54 km) | |||
| Existed | 1927–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | Barker Avenue inBridgeport | |||
| North end |    I-295 /US 130 /CR 640 inWest Deptford Township | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New Jersey | |||
| Counties | Gloucester | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route 44 is astate highway located inGloucester County in theU.S. state ofNew Jersey. It runs 10.28 mi (16.54 km) from Barker Avenue inBridgeport toInterstate 295 (I-295)/U.S. Route 130 (US 130) inThorofare. The route, which is mostly a two-lane undivided road, passes through the communities ofGibbstown andPaulsboro in the northern part of the county, a short distance south of theDelaware River. Route 44 generally runs a short distance to the north of I-295/US 130 for much of its length.
In 1923,Route 17S was legislated along the current route followed by Route 44 today, running betweenPenns Grove andWestville. The only portion of Route 17S ever built ran from Penns Grove toSalem. Route 44 was designated in 1927 to replace Route 17S between Penns Grove and Westville. By the 1940s, Route 44 was extended south to Salem and US 130 was designatedconcurrent with the route north of Penns Grove. Several spurs of Route 44 had existed or were planned prior to 1953, including Route S44, which ran concurrent with US 322 to the ferry between Bridgeport andChester, Pennsylvania;Route S44A, a never-built bypass ofCamden; andRoute 44T, which was to run from atunnel under the Delaware River in Paulsboro east toRoute 42. In 1953, Route 44 was replaced by US 130 north ofDeepwater and byRoute 49 south of there. After two bypasses were built for US 130 aroundCarneys Point and between Bridgeport and Westville, Route 44 was redesignated along the former US 130. After I-295 was completed in the 1960s, US 130 returned to its original alignment in Carneys Point and replaced that portion of Route 44.
_just_south_of_Gloucester_County_Route_653_(Swedesboro-Billingsport_Road)_in_Greenwich_Township%2c_Gloucester_County%2c_New_Jersey.jpg)
Route 44 begins at an intersection with Main Street and Barker Avenue in the community ofBridgeport inLogan Township, heading to the east on Crown Point Road, a two-lane undivided road.[1] Shortly after beginning, the route heads through wooded areas a short distance to the north ofConrail Shared Assets Operations'Penns Grove Secondary and intersects County Route 671 (CR 671). The road turns northeast and comes to an interchange withUS 130 and continues closely parallel to the railroad line as it passes through more rural areas with some homes, coming to a junction with CR 684 and Flood Gate Road, the latter of which heads northwest to provide access toBridgeport Speedway. Route 44 entersGreenwich Township upon crossing the marshy Repaupo Creek and becomes a local road called West Broad Street. The route passes over the railroad tracks and continues east into residential and commercial areas ofGibbstown, intersecting CR 607/CR 673 and CR 680 within the town.[1][2]
_just_south_of_Gloucester_County_Route_640_(Delaware_Street)_in_West_Deptford_Township%2c_Gloucester_County%2c_New_Jersey.jpg)
At the intersection with CR 653, Route 44 entersPaulsboro and passes more developed areas, soon meeting CR 678. The route intersects CR 667 in the center of Paulsboro before crossing the Mantua Creek on alift bridge and entering wetlands withinWest Deptford Township. Here, the road heads into a mix of rural lands and development, crossing CR 656 and the Little Mantua Creek. Route 44 intersects the Mid-Atlantic Parkway, which provides access toI-295 and US 130 a short distance to the south, before continuing into inhabited areas.[1][2] Here, the road crosses the Conrail line and CR 643. The route becomes a four-lane road and has access ramps to and from southbound I-295/US 130 prior to coming to a crossroads with CR 640 inThorofare.[1] Past CR 640, the route closely parallels I-295/US 130 and crosses Woodbury Creek. Route 44 passes a mobile home park before coming to an end at cul-de-sac that has an access ramp to southbound Route 44 from southbound I-295/US 130.[1][2]
What is now Route 44 was originally legislated as Route 17S in 1923, a route that was to run fromPenns Grove toWestville.[3] By 1927, however, the only portion of Route 17S that had existed was a road that ran from Penns Grove south toSalem.[4] In the1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering that occurred that year, Route 44 was designated to run from Penns Grove to Westville, replacing what had been legislated as Route 17S.[5][6] By the end of the 1930s, Route 44 was extended south from Penns Grove to Salem and US 130 was also designated along with Route 44 north of Penns Grove by 1941.[7][8]
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Prior to 1953, several spurs of Route 44 existed or were planned. Route S44 was designated in 1939 as a connection from Route 44 in Bridgeport to the ferry across theDelaware River toChester, Pennsylvania, and was concurrent withUS 322.[7] The S44 designation was removed in 1953 to avoid the concurrency with US 322.[9][10] In 1974, theCommodore Barry Bridge was built, bypassing the ferry, and the old alignment of US 322 becameRoute 324.[11][12] Route S44A was planned in 1938 as an eastern bypass ofCamden fromRoute 45 inBrooklawn toRoute 40 (nowRoute 70) andRoute 41 inDelaware Township (nowCherry Hill), mostly along what is nowCR 551. The bypass was never built, although part of what would have been the bypass north ofHaddonfield is now Route 41.[13]Route 44T was planned in 1938 as an approach to a never-builttunnel under the Delaware River near Paulsboro. Originally, the route was to run from the tunnel east to the intersection of Route 41 andRoute 47 inDeptford Township.[14] In 1939, the planned route was extended east toRoute 42 betweenBlackwood andWilliamstown.[15]
_from_the_overpass_for_U.S._Route_130_in_Logan_Township%2c_Gloucester_County%2c_New_Jersey.jpg)
In the1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 44 was replaced by US 130 north of theDelaware Memorial Bridge approach inDeepwater and byRoute 49 south of there.[9][10] However, US 130 was moved to newfreeway alignments aroundCarneys Point and between Bridgeport and Westville. The bypassed alignments of US 130, originally unnumbered, eventually became Route 44.[9][10][16] After I-295 was built in the 1960s, it bypassed the portion of the US 130 freeway in Bridgeport and was designated along the US 130 freeway north to Westville and around Carneys Point. US 130 was moved back onto its old alignment in Carneys Point, replacing that portion of Route 44.[17]
The entire route is inGloucester County.
| Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logan Township | 0.00 | 0.00 |     ToI-295 north /US 130 north | Southern terminus; access via Barker Avenue | |
| 0.86 | 1.38 | US 130 toI-295 north –Commodore Barry Bridge | Interchange | ||
| West Deptford Township | 9.20 | 14.81 |   I-295 south /US 130 south | Exit 21 on I-295 | |
| 10.28 | 16.54 | I-295 /US 130 /CR 640 (Delaware Street) | Northern terminus; exit 22 on I-295 | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
