Editing New Jersey Route 72 (section)

==Route description==
[[File:2018-05-22 10 19 39 View west along New Jersey State Route 72 (Barnegat Road) just west of Savoy Boulevard in Woodland Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|left|View west along Route 72 just west of Savoy Boulevard in Woodland Township]]
Route 72 begins at the [[Traffic circles in New Jersey|Four Mile Circle]] intersection of Route 70, Magnolia Road ([[List of county routes in Burlington County, New Jersey#644|CR 644]]), and Four Mile Road ([[List of county routes in Burlington County, New Jersey#646|CR 646]]) in Woodland Township, Burlington County, heading to the southeast on a two-lane undivided road.<ref name="SLD"/> The route passes through heavily wooded areas of the Pine Barrens that are a part of the [[Brendan T. Byrne State Forest]].<ref name=gm>{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=route+70+and+route+72+woodland,+nj&daddr=route+72+and+long+beach+boulevard+ship+bottom,+nj&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=40.001265,-74.57256&sspn=0.961508,1.766052&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=10|title=overview of New Jersey Route 72|access-date=2009-09-30}}</ref> The road passes near a state hospital before coming to an intersection with the northern terminus of [[County Route 563 (New Jersey)|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 ([[County Route 532 (New Jersey)|CR 532]]).<ref name="SLD"/><ref name=gm/> Here, Route 72 forms a [[Concurrency (road)|concurrency]] with CR 532 and the road enters [[Barnegat Township, New Jersey|Barnegat]] in Ocean County, where it comes to the intersection of Whiting Road ([[County Route 539 (New Jersey)|CR 539]]). From this intersection, Route 72 and CR 532 continue to the intersection of Warren Grove Road ([[List of county routes in Ocean County, New Jersey#610|CR 610]]), where CR 532 splits from the route by heading to the east on Warren Grove Road.<ref name="SLD"/> A short distance later, the route intersects with West Bay Avenue ([[County Route 554 (New Jersey)|CR 554]]), which continues along Route 72, and turns to the south-southeast through more wooded areas.<ref name="SLD"/><ref name=gm/>

[[File:2021-09-21 09 28 57 View west along New Jersey State Route 72 from the overpass for New Jersey State Route 444 (Garden State Parkway) in Stafford Township, Ocean County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|right|Route 72 westbound at the Garden State Parkway interchange in Stafford Township]]
The highway enters [[Stafford Township, New Jersey|Stafford Township]] and passes to the southwest of the residential [[Ocean Acres, New Jersey|Ocean Acres]] community.<ref name="SLD"/><ref name=gm/> The route heads to the southwest of Hackensack Meridian Health Southern Ocean Medical Center before it comes to the intersection of Nautilus Drive (CR 111). Past this intersection, Route 72 widens into a four-lane divided highway, intersecting with Lighthouse Drive (CR 105) and Stafford Park Boulevard (CR 2) before coming to an interchange with the Garden State Parkway.<ref name="SLD"/> Following this interchange, the route enters the Manahawkin area and widens to six lanes as it passes woods to the northeast and business areas to the southwest. Route 72 has an interchange with [[U.S. Route 9 in New Jersey|US 9]] and continues southeast through a mix of woods and commercial areas as a four-lane road, with Bay Avenue (CR 50) paralleling the route to the north. The road intersects with Jennings Road (CR 20) and Mill Creek Road (CR 6) before it passes to the north of the [[Beach Haven West, New Jersey|Beach Haven West]] residential development and passes near wetlands.<ref name="SLD"/><ref name=gm/> A road provides access to Bay Avenue before Route 72 crosses the Manahawkin Bay on the [[Manahawkin Bay Bridge]], also known as the Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge.<ref name="SLD"/> After traversing two small islands consisting of a mix of residences and marshland, the road continues into Ship Bottom on Long Beach Island.<ref name="SLD"/><ref name=gm/> Upon entering Ship Bottom, the route splits into a [[one-way pair]] following West 9th Street eastbound and West 8th Street westbound.<ref name="SLD"/>  Route 72 passes by resort businesses, intersecting with Barnegat Avenue (CR 4) and Central Avenue (CR 89) before ending at the intersection of Long Beach Boulevard (CR 607) a block from the [[Atlantic Ocean]].<ref name="SLD"/><ref name=gm/>

Route 72 is a major route providing access to Long Beach Island, a popular [[Jersey Shore]] resort, from Philadelphia via Route 70 and from [[New York City]] via the Garden State Parkway.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news |last=Strauss|first=Robert|access-date=2009-09-26|title=Getting There From Here Depends on Where Here Is|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 26, 2001|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/26/nyregion/getting-there-from-here-depends-on-where-here-is.html?scp=6&sq=new%20jersey%20%22route%2070%22&st=cse}}</ref> As such, the portion of the route east of the Garden State Parkway interchange sees congestion during the summer months.<ref name=nyt2>{{cite news |last=James|first=George|access-date=2008-10-22|title=Reaching the Beach on the Parkway Can Take a Toll|newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 23, 1999 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/23/nyregion/reaching-the-beach-on-the-parkway-can-take-a-toll.html}}</ref> It is also the only road bridge to connect Long Beach Island to the mainland; therefore, in emergency evacuations such as hurricanes, the highway and Manahawkin Bridge becomes clogged.