New Jersey Route 56 - History

History

The portion of Route 56 in Vineland was built as a 100-foot (30 m) wide road when Vineland was planned in the 1860s, serving as the main east–west road through the community. In 1938, two separate roads numbered Route 56 were legislated. One was located in Ocean County and was to run from the Laurelton Circle east to Mantoloking; this road was never built. The other was located in the Atlantic City area along U.S. Route 30 (Absecon Boulevard) east of current Route 157; the Route 56 designation on this road was dropped in the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering. What is modern-day Route 56 was originally designated as County Route 22 between Route 77 and the Salem County border, County Route 6 in Salem County, and County Route 23 between the Salem County border and Route 47. In 1977, Route 56 was legislated onto its current alignment between Route 77 in Upper Deerfield Township and Route 47 in Vineland, replacing County Routes 6, 22, and 23. The Route 56 designation was applied to this road by the 1990s.

Due to the April 2007 Nor'easter, the Rainbow Lake Bridge in Pittsgrove Township was washed out and the New Jersey Department of Transportation had to replace it with a new bridge. This closure led to detours for traffic traveling between Vineland and Bridgeton. The new Rainbow Lake Bridge was opened in November 2007. The bridge spanning the Maurice River, which connects Vineland and Pittsgrove Township, was closed in July 2007 for planned repairs. This bridge replacement, which was completed in December 2007, cost $5 million and provided a wider and higher crossing of the river.