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Atlantic City Expressway
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The Atlantic City Expressway (officially numbered, but unsigned, as Route 446 and abbreviated as ACE) is a controlled-access toll road in New Jersey, managed and operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority. It is a toll highway, running as an extension of Route 42 in Turnersville southeast to Atlantic City.
The road was built to connect the Philadelphia metropolitan area with Atlantic City and other Jersey Shore resorts between 1962 and 1965. The South Jersey Transportation Authority assumed control of it in 1991 from the New Jersey Expressway Authority.
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Encyclopedia
The Atlantic City Expressway (officially numbered, but unsigned, as Route 446 and abbreviated as ACE) is a controlled-access toll road in New Jersey, managed and operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority. It is a toll highway, running as an extension of Route 42 in Turnersville southeast to Atlantic City.
The road was built to connect the Philadelphia metropolitan area with Atlantic City and other Jersey Shore resorts between 1962 and 1965. The South Jersey Transportation Authority assumed control of it in 1991 from the New Jersey Expressway Authority. In addition to providing a route between the Philadelphia area and Atlantic City, the expressway also serves other Southern New Jersey communities, including Hammonton and Mays Landing. The expressway intersects many major roads, including Route 73 in Winslow Township, Route 54 in Hammonton, Route 50 in Hamilton Township, the Garden State Parkway in Egg Harbor Township, and U.S. Route 9 in Pleasantville.
The Atlantic City Expressway has an open system of tolling, with two mainline toll plazas (Egg Harbor in Hamilton Township and Pleasantville) and seven exits with ramp tolls. The total cost to travel the length of the Atlantic City Expressway is currently $3.75. In 2008, two separate plans were made to raise the tolls along the road, one proposed by Governor Jon Corzine and one proposed by the South Jersey Transportation Authority that would increase tolls 50%. The latter toll increase took place effective November 18, 2008. The expressway features one service area, Farley Plaza, in Hamilton Township a short distance west of the Egg Harbor Toll Plaza, as well as a gas station and mini-mart near the Atlantic City Welcome Center in Pleasantville.
Route description
Gloucester and Camden Counties
The Atlantic City Expressway begins at Route 42 in Turnersville in Washington Township, Gloucester County, where it continues north as the North–South Freeway, a part of Route 42. Here, Route 42 continues south on the Black Horse Pike and Route 168 continues north on the Black Horse Pike. A westbound exit provides a connection to northbound Route 168. The expressway then heads southeast, straddling between Washington Township and Gloucester Township, Camden County. On the Gloucester Township/Winslow Township border at mile marker 40.7, the Atlantic City Expressway features a diamond interchange with County Route 689. At mile marker 38.4, there is a full interchange with County Route 536 Spur. The expressway passes under County Route 536 at mile marker 36.25 and then features a partial interchange with County Route 723 at mile marker 32.7, with an eastbound exit and a westbound entrance. It then meets Route 73 at another partial interchange, with a westbound exit and an eastbound entrance at mile marker 31.4.
Atlantic County
At mile marker 29.5, the Atlantic City Expressway crosses into Hammonton, Atlantic County. Continuing to the southeast, it encounters Route 54 at a full interchange at mile marker 27.8. It then enters Hamilton Township at mile marker 25.3 and passes under County Route 559 at mile marker 24.5.
The lanes separate for the Farley Service Plaza, located in the median at mile marker 21.5. Near mile marker 17.5, the Atlantic City Expressway meets the mainline Egg Harbor Toll Plaza. It then features a partial interchange with Route 50 at mile marker 16.8, with an eastbound exit and westbound entrance. It meets County Route 670 at mile marker 14 ,with another partial interchange featuring an eastbound off-ramp and a westbound on-ramp that provides access to the Atlantic City Race Track. At mile marker 12.3, it has a eastbound exit and westbound entrance for County Route 575, which provides access to U.S. Route 40, U.S. Route 322, and the Hamilton Mall. To and from the east, a ramp runs from the Atlantic City Expressway at mile marker 11.7 to the US 40/US 322 split.
The Atlantic City Expressway enters Egg Harbor Township at mile marker 11.3. It interchanges with County Route 646 at mile marker 9.5, which provides access to the Atlantic City International Airport, and passes under County Route 563 at mile marker 8.5. It then features a cloverleaf interchange with the Garden State Parkway at mile marker 7.2 and crosses into Pleasantville at mile marker 6. The expressway meets U.S. Route 9 at a diamond interchange at mile marker 5.4. It passes under County Route 585 at mile marker 4.89 and features a partial interchange with North Franklin Boulevard, with a westbound exit and eastbound entrance, at mile marker 4.8.
At approximately mile marker 4.3, the Atlantic City Expressway comes to the Pleasantville Toll Plaza. Past the toll plaza, the travel lanes separate and a long parking area, used by Atlantic City casino employees, lies within the median of the expressway. At mile marker 4, it encounters the Atlantic City Welcome Center and Service Plaza and enters Atlantic City at mile marker 2.8. At mile marker 2.17, the expressway features an eastbound exit and westbound entrance to US 40/US 322. It then continues southeast, crossing the Beach Thoroughfare at mile marker 0.35, and soon after encounters an eastbound exit and westbound entrance for the Atlantic City-Brigantine Connector, which provides access to the Atlantic City Convention Center, the Marina district, and Brigantine. It then ends at a traffic light at the intersection with Baltic Avenue, where it becomes the one-way pair of Missouri Avenue eastbound (also known as Christopher Columbus Boulevard and County Route 692) and Arkansas Avenue westbound.
In 2006, the Atlantic City Expressway counted almost 68 million toll-paying vehicles. The speed limit on the Atlantic City Expressway is with "conditions permitting" on the posted sign for most of the route. Call boxes are located every mile on either side.
History
The road was originally planned as a parkway in 1932, running from the Ben Franklin Bridge in Camden to Atlantic City, but it never materialized. The idea for a limited access road between the Philadelphia area and Atlantic City resurfaced in the 1950s when South Jersey officials, led by State Senator Frank S. Farley, pushed for an expressway between the two areas to help the economy of Southern New Jersey. In 1959, the North–South Freeway (Interstate 76 and Route 42) was completed as an expressway between Camden and Turnersville.The New Jersey State Highway Department authorized traffic studies for a toll road between Turnersville and Atlantic City in 1958 and 1959, and the New Jersey Expressway Authority Act in 1962 called for a five-member agency (the New Jersey Expressway Authority) with representatives from four Southern New Jersey counties to be responsible for issuing bonds to build and maintain the Atlantic City Expressway.
Construction of the Atlantic City Expressway started in the summer of 1962. The design was to feature a 300- to 400-foot-wide roadway with 12-foot-wide travel lanes and right shoulders as well as 3-foot-wide left shoulders. The portion between Route 42 in Turnersville and the Garden State Parkway in Egg Harbor Township was completed on July 31, 1964, and the portion between the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City was finished in July 1965. Construction of the Atlantic City Expressway cost a total of $39.8 million. It was constructed as an alternative to U.S. Route 30, commonly known as the White Horse Pike, U.S. Route 40, and U.S. Route 322, commonly known as the Black Horse Pike, for travelers going to Atlantic City. Tolls on the Atlantic City Expressway initially cost $0.75 at the Egg Harbor toll plaza and $0.15 at the Pleasantville toll plaza.
Following its completion, the Atlantic City Expressway saw mixed traffic results. While the total number of vehicles on the Atlantic City Expressway increased, the percentage of eastbound vehicles decreased to 37% in 1973 while Atlantic City declined as a tourist destination. However, the percentage of eastbound vehicles jumped to more than 50% in the late 1980s after gambling was legalized in Atlantic City in 1978. In 1991, the South Jersey Transportation Authority was created by the New Jersey Legislature to operate the Atlantic City Expressway, the Atlantic City International Airport, and operations of the Atlantic County Transportation Authority.
In recent years, many improvements have been made to the Atlantic City Expressway. A new interchange with County Route 689 on the Gloucester Township/Winslow Township border was completed in 2000 at a cost of $5 million. The Atlantic City-Brigantine Connector was completed on July 31, 2001 to connect the Atlantic City Expressway to the Marina district and Brigantine. In 2005, the Atlantic City Expressway added a third lane in both directions between the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City and in the eastbound direction between Route 73 and the Garden State Parkway. In addition, the Pleasantville Toll Plaza was reconstructed, replacing the older cash booths with newer technology.
Toll plazas and rest area
Automobiles currently must pay a $3.00 toll at the Egg Harbor Toll Plaza, which is located east of the Farley Service Plaza at milepost 17.5, and a $0.75 toll near Pleasantville. The Pleasantville Toll Plaza has Express E-ZPass lanes through the center of the plaza. Exits between the two toll plazas may also charge a small fee, depending on the distance. A $0.75 toll for cars is currently charged at Exits 5, 9, 12, 28, and 33; in addition, a $0.40 toll for cars is currently charged at Exits 38 and 41.
On January 8, 2008, Governor Jon Corzine proposed a 50 percent increase in tolls on New Jersey's three toll roads in 2010, with increases of a similar percentage every four years after that, in order to help pay down the state debt. Each time tolls increased, there would be an additional increase for inflation since the last toll increase (for the first, since 2006). The roads would be maintained by a nonprofit "public benefit corporation", which would pay back bonds to the state. Under this plan, without considering inflation, tolls on the Atlantic City Expressway would have risen from $2.50 to $16.59 in 2022. It was possible that commuters would receive discounts from the higher toll rates. However, the proposal was not enacted due to opposition from leaders of the New Jersey Legislature. On September 5, 2008, a proposal by the South Jersey Transportation Authority was created to raise tolls by 50 percent, from $2.50 to $3.75, in order to fund improvements to the road as well as to the Atlantic City International Airport. This toll increase took place effective November 18, 2008.
Farley Plaza, the only service area on the route, has a building containing several fast food restaurants and a gas station. It is located between the two sides of the road to service traffic coming in either direction. In the mid-2000s, an additional gas station and mini-mart were opened in the narrow center median behind the Atlantic City Welcome Center by Exit 2.
Future developments
In 2007, it was announced that the mainline Expressway from milepost 7.0–31.0 will be widened in the westbound direction to accommodate a third lane from just north of the Garden State Parkway to Route 73. Interchange 17 (Route 50) will be reconstructed to form a full movement interchange, and the Egg Harbor Toll Plaza will receive Express E-ZPass lanes to maintain highway speed. Construction on these three projects, to be financed by a $25 million bond, will not start until at least 2009.
Exit list
| County | Location | Mile | # | Destinations | Notes |
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Western terminus of Atlantic City Expressway.
Expressway defaults onto NJ 42 northbound. |
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| Gloucester | Washington Twp. | 44.19 | | Philadelphia | | | 44.0 | 44 | | Westbound exit | | Camden | Winslow Twp. | 40.7 | 41 | | $0.40 toll on ramp | | 38.4 | 38 | | $0.40 toll on ramp | | 32.7 | 33 | | Westbound exit, $0.75 toll on ramp | | 31.4 | 31 | | Eastbound exit | | Atlantic | Hammonton | 27.8 | 28 | | $0.75 toll on ramp | | Hamilton Twp. | Farley Service Plaza |
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| Egg Harbor Toll Plaza - Cars $3.00 |
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| 16.8 | 17 | | Eastbound exit | | 13.5 | 14 | | Eastbound exit | | 12.3 | 12 | | $0.75 toll on ramp | | Egg Harbor Twp. | 9.5 | 9 | A.C. International Airport | $0.75 toll on ramp | | 7.2 | 7N | New York | | | 7S | | | | Pleasantville | 5.4 | 5 | | $0.75 toll on ramp | | 4.8 | 4 | N. Franklin Blvd - Absecon, Pleasantville | Westbound exit | | Pleasantville Toll Plaza - Cars $0.75 |
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| Atlantic City Welcome Center and Service Plaza |
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| Atlantic City | 2.17 | 2 | Atlantic City via Black Horse Pike | Eastbound exit | | | 1 | Atlantic City–Brigantine Connector – Convention Center, Marina, Brigantine | Eastbound exit | | 0.0 | | Baltic Avenue, Christopher Columbus Boulevard – Midtown, Uptown, Downbeach | at-grade intersection | | Eastern terminus of Atlantic City Expressway |
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