Route 72 is a state highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It runs from the Four Mile Circle with Route 70 in Woodland Township in Burlington County to Long Beach Boulevard (CR 607) in Ship Bottom on Long Beach Island in Ocean County. Route 72 travels through the Pine Barrens as a two-lane undivided road. After an interchange with the Garden State Parkway, the route becomes a four- to six-lane divided highway through built-up areas of Manhawkin and crosses the Manahawkin Bay via the Manahawkin Bay Bridge onto Long Beach Island.
What is now Route 72 was originally designated as Route S40 in 1927, a spur of Route 40 (now Route 70) running from Four Mile to Manahawkin. The road was extended to Ship Bottom by 1941 before it was renumbered to Route 72 in 1953. A realignment that took place in 1969 between US 9 and the Manahawkin Bay Bridge resulted in the designation of Route 180 on the former alignment; this road is now CR 50. Plans in the late 1960s and the 1970s called for a proposed Route 72 freeway, running from the western terminus at Route 70 to the concurrently proposed I-895 at the New Jersey Turnpike in Westampton, connecting Philadelphia's northern suburbs with the Jersey Shore. The freeway plans along with I-895 were canceled by the 1980s. The Manahawkin Bay Bridge underwent deck repairs completed in May 2010, with the bridge slated to be rehabilitated and a parallel span to be built to the south.
Route description
thumb|left|View west along Route 72 just west of Savoy Boulevard in Woodland Township
Route 72 begins at the Four Mile Circle intersection of Route 70, Magnolia Road (CR 644), and Four Mile Road (CR 646) in Woodland Township, Burlington County, heading to the southeast on a two-lane undivided road. The road passes near a state hospital before coming to an intersection with the northern terminus of CR 563. Past CR 563, the route continues through the Pine Barrens, passing under an abandoned railroad line prior to the intersection of Chatsworth-Barnegat Road (CR 532). As such, the portion of the route east of the Garden State Parkway interchange sees congestion during the summer months. It is also the only road bridge to connect Long Beach Island to the mainland, which is why in emergency evacuations such as hurricanes, the highway and Manahawkin Bridge becomes clogged.