New Jersey Route 38 - History

History

Prior to 1927, the route was a part of Pre-1927 Route 18, which was legislated in 1923 to run from Camden to Toms River. In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 38 was legislated to run along the route from Route 25 (now U.S. Route 130) in Pennsauken Township east to Route 39 (now U.S. Route 206) in East Hampton.

In 1938, Route 38 was legislated to extend from East Hampton to Route 4N (now Route 71) on Wall Township, Monmouth County. A section of this was built, running between Route 34 and Route 35 in Wall Township. The Route 38 freeway was then planned in 1961 to connect these two sections of Route 38. It was to run from Interstate 80S (now Interstate 676) in Camden east to the planned Route 35 freeway (now Route 18) in Wall Township, providing a direct freeway connection between the Philadelphia area and the northern Jersey Shore. The route of the freeway was to run east from the Ben Franklin Bridge, paralleling U.S. Route 30 and then Route 70. It would then have run parallel to the current alignment of Route 38 through the Mount Holly area and then travel along the northern border of the Fort Dix Military Reservation to Jackson Township, Ocean County, where it would then follow the present alignment of Interstate 195 to Wall Township. In the late 1960s, the eastern part of the Route 38 freeway became part of the proposed Interstate 195.

In 1969, it was estimated the Route 38 freeway between Interstate 295 in Cherry Hill Township and Interstate 195 in Jackson Township would cost $60 million and be completed by 1985. The route of the freeway was revised in 1972 to head north of Interstate 195 to the Route 18 freeway in Colts Neck Township, intersecting the Route 33 bypass of Freehold Borough. The western terminus was also moved to Mount Laurel Township, where it was to connect to the New Jersey Turnpike and the Route 90 freeway, which was projected to extend to the New Jersey Turnpike. It was estimated that this routing of the Route 38 freeway would cost $101 million. However, due to environmental concerns of the route passing through the Pine Barrens and financial troubles, the freeway was canceled by the end of the 1970s. The orphaned eastern section of Route 38 in Monmouth County was renumbered to Route 138 by the 1990s.