New Jersey Route 138 - History

History

The current alignment of Route 138 originates as an alignment of the State Highway Route 38 assigned in 1938. At that point, Route 38 was proposed as a highway from Camden (where it would end), past its former terminus at State Highway Route 39 to an intersection with State Highway Route 4-N in the community of Wall Township east of Fort Dix. A short portion of the highway was constructed from State Highway Route 34 to State Highway Route 35 was constructed as Route 38, which survived the 1953 state highway renumbering. During the 1960s, the New Jersey State Highway Department began to lay out a network of limited-access state highways across the state. The Route 38 freeway was proposed as a highway from Interstate 676 in Camden to current-day Route 18 in Wall Township, to relieve congestion off of Route 70. The freeway was readopted by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission for the new Route 38 freeway from the Ben Franklin Bridge eastward (paralleling Route 70 and U.S. Route 30) to the area of Jackson Township, where it would follow current Interstate 195's alignment. The 33.5-mile (53.9 km) long freeway was estimated by the highway department to cost $60 million (1969 USD) and to be finished around 1985. The proposal lasted through the 1970s, along with a cost adjustment in 1972, inflating the amount to construct the freeway at $101 million (1972 USD). By the end of the 1970s, the Route 38 freeway was facing opposition and limited resources, so the project was shelved. In 1988, the portion of Route 38 from Route 34 to Route 35 was re-designated to Route 138.