New Jersey Route 47

New Jersey Route 47

Route 47 is a state highway in the southern part of New Jersey, United States. It runs 75.20 mi (121.02 km) from Atlantic Avenue in Wildwood, Cape May County north to U.S. Route 130 in Brooklawn, Camden County. It is also referred to as Delsea Drive, as it connects the Delaware River near Brooklawn to the Atlantic Ocean (the sea) in Wildwood. This name was assigned by the New Jersey Legislature in 1933. The route runs through rural areas of Cape May and southern Cumberland counties as a two-lane road. Traffic jams along this portion of Route 47 are commonplace in the summer vacation season and can stretch for miles due to the missing southern section of Route 55, where all Jersey Shore-bound traffic enters the small two-lane road. North of here, the route runs through the cities of Millville and Vineland before entering Gloucester County, where it passes through more rural areas as well as Clayton and Glassboro. Past Glassboro, it heads through suburban areas in Washington and Deptford townships before running through Westville and Brooklawn. Route 47 is the longest state route in New Jersey.

What is now Route 47 was originally designated as part of pre-1927 Route 15 between Rio Grande in 1917 and as a branch of pre-1927 Route 20 between Millville and Westville in 1923. In 1927, Route 47 was designated to run from Tuckahoe to Brooklawn, following current Route 49 south of Millville. Meanwhile, current Route 47 was a part of Route 49 between South Dennis and Millville and Route S49 between Rio Grande and South Dennis. The latter was extended to Wildwood in 1938. Route 47 and Route 49 were shifted onto their current alignments south of Millville in 1953. Since then, Route 47 has seen a few improvements and modifications including realignment in Millville and the reconstruction of the intersection with Route 83 in Dennis Township.