Route 54 (known locally as 12th Street for much of its length) is a state highway located in Atlantic County in New Jersey, United States. It is considered to be a southern extension of U.S. Route 206 (US 206), running from an intersection with US 206 and US 30 in Hammonton south to an intersection with US 40 in Buena Vista Township. The road passes through the center of Hammonton before running into rural areas. It intersects US 322 and Route 73 in Folsom and the Atlantic City Expressway in Hammonton.

What is now Route 54 was originally legislated on March 30, 1938, to run from US 30/US 206 in Hammonton south to Main Road in Landis Township (part of present-day Vineland). The only part taken over as a state highway and designated Route 54 was north of US 40 in Buena, the proposed route south of this point remained as county-maintained Wheat Road. In 1953, Route 54 was defined onto its current alignment. A freeway was proposed along the Route 54 corridor in the late 1960s to connect the southern terminus of US 206 in Hammonton to Route 55 in the Vineland/Millville area; it was eventually canceled.

Route description

thumb|left|View north along Route 54 at CR 559 in Hammonton

Route 54 begins at an intersection with US 40/County Route 557 (CR 557) and CR 619 on the border of Buena and Buena Vista Township. After fully entering Buena Vista Township and becoming 12th Street, the road reaches an intersection with CR 690 and makes a turn more to the northeast. Route 54 was legislated on March 30, 1938, to run from US 30/Route 43 and US 206/Route 39 in Hammonton south along Lincoln Avenue to an intersection with Main Road in Landis Township, Cumberland County (now a part of Vineland). The portion of Lincoln Avenue south of US 40 remained a county route called CR 25 in Cumberland County and CR 55 and CR 19 in Atlantic County. This road is presently both Cumberland and Atlantic CRs 655 and a part of Atlantic CR 619. In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 54 was defined onto its current alignment between US 40 in Buena Vista and US 30/US 206 in Hammonton. In the late 1960s, a freeway was proposed for the US 206/Route 54 corridor, running from US 30 in Hammonton south to Route 55 and the proposed Route 60 near Vineland and Millville. The freeway between Vineland/Millville and Hammonton was to cost $47 million and was intended to provide a better route between the two areas than the existing two-lane roads. This proposed freeway was never built due to environmental and financial issues.

Major intersections

See also

References

  • New Jersey Roads – History
  • Speed Limits for Route 54