Editing New Jersey Route 72 (section)

==History==
{{infobox road small
|state=NJ
|type=NJ 1926
|county=
|route=S40
|location= [[Woodland Township, Burlington County, New Jersey|Woodland Township]]&ndash;[[Manahawkin, New Jersey|Manahawkin]]
|length_mi=
|length_round=
|length_ref=
|formed=1927<ref name=nj1927 />
|deleted=1953<ref name="nj1953" />
}}
What is now Route 72 was originally designated as Route S40 in the [[1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering]]. It was to be a spur of Route 40 that was to run from Route 40 at Four Mile to [[New Jersey Route 4|Route 4]] (now US 9) in Manahawkin.<ref name=nj1927>State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.</ref><ref name="Map">{{cite web|author=Williams, Jimmy and Sharon|url=http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/images/1927_routes.gif|title=1927 New Jersey Road Map|publisher=1920s New Jersey Highways|access-date=2008-10-08|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313112746/http://jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/images/1927_routes.gif|archive-date=2016-03-13}}</ref> By 1941, the route was extended east to the intersection with Long Beach Boulevard in Ship Bottom.<ref name="mwm">{{cite map|publisher=Mid-West Map Co.|title= Map of Pennsylvania and New Jersey |year=1941|cartography=[[H.M. Gousha]]|url=http://www.mapsofpa.com/roadcart/1941_1467m.jpg|access-date=2009-03-29}}</ref> In the [[1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering]], Route S40 was renumbered to Route 72.<ref name="nj1953">{{Cite journal|title=1953 renumbering|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1953_New_Jersey_state_highway_renumbering|publisher=New Jersey Department of Highways|access-date=July 31, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628183145/http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1953_New_Jersey_state_highway_renumbering|archive-date=June 28, 2011}}</ref><ref name=nyt3>{{cite news|access-date=2009-07-20|title=New Road Signs Ready in New Jersey|newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 16, 1952 |url=http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/6933/19521216newroadsignsreaiu6.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721112422/http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/6933/19521216newroadsignsreaiu6.jpg|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 21, 2011}}</ref> By 1969, Route 72 was moved to a new alignment to the south between US 9 and the Manahawkin Bay Bridge; the old alignment became Route 180.<ref name="chevron">{{cite map|publisher=[[Chevron Oil Company]]|title= Map of New Jersey |year=1969|cartography=[[H.M. Gousha]]}}</ref><ref name="1969log">{{cite book|title=Milepost Log of State Highways|publisher=New Jersey State Highway Department|year=1969|edition=1969}}</ref> This route was eventually removed from the state highway system and is now CR 50, although more commonly known as "Bay Avenue".<ref name=50SLD>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/15000050__-.pdf|format=PDF|title=Ocean County 50 straight line diagram|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|access-date=2009-09-30}}</ref>

A [[freeway]] was originally proposed for the Route 72 corridor in the late 1960s. The Route 72 freeway was planned to run from the Four Mile Circle to the New Jersey Turnpike in Westampton, where it would connect to the proposed I-895 that would continue to [[Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania|I-95]] near [[Bristol, Pennsylvania]].<ref name=dvrpc>{{cite book|title=1985 Regional Transportation Plan|publisher=[[Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission]] |year=1969}}</ref><ref name=NJDOT1972>{{cite book|title=Master Plan for Transportation|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|year=1972}}</ref>   The existing Route 72 would also be widened into a four-lane divided highway.<ref name=dvrpc/> Both I-895 and Route 72 were intended to connect [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania]] and the [[Willingboro Township, New Jersey|Willingboro]] area with the Jersey Shore. The proposed freeway for Route 72 was to cost $39 million.<ref name=NJDOT1972/> However, construction costs and the desire to use money for mass transit led to cancellation of both I-895 and the Route 72 freeway by the 1980s.<ref name=inq>{{cite news|last=Nussbaum|first=Paul|title=Schuylkill carries the load of many routes left unbuilt|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=August 19, 1984}}</ref>

In 2000, the [[Manahawkin Bay Bridge]] was dedicated the Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge in honor of Dorland J. Henderson, who was one of NJDOT’s top engineers that designed the lighting system for the Manahawkin Bay Bridge.<ref name=nj2000>{{cite web|url=http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2000/bills/pl00/144_.htm|publisher=State of New Jersey|title=Laws of 2000, Chapter 144.|access-date=2009-09-30}}</ref> In September 2009, the NJDOT began repairs to the deck of the Manahawkin Bay Bridge. This project, completed in May 2010, cost $4 million and received funding from the [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]].<ref name=app>{{cite news|last=Higgs|first=Larry|title=Route 72 bridge repair work will begin, lane closures expected|newspaper=[[Asbury Park Press]]|date=September 13, 2009}}</ref><ref name=njdot>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/about/press/2009/091409.shtm|title=NJDOT to begin repairs on the Route 72 Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|access-date=2009-09-30|date=September 11, 2009}}</ref><ref name=njdot2>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/roads/route72/|title= Route 72 Manahawkin Bay Bridge Deck Rehabilitation Project|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|access-date=August 31, 2011}}</ref> The Manahawkin Bay Bridge underwent a rehabilitation project and a parallel bridge was built to the south. Construction began on the project May 3, 2013. The new bridge was completed in 2016 and carried traffic from both directions while the older bridge was rehabilitated. The rehabilitation of the original bridge was completed in 2019, at which point traffic began using both bridges.<ref name=njdot3>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/works/studies/rte72manahawkinbaybridges/|title= Route 72 Manahawkin Bay Bridges Project - Overview|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|access-date=August 31, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Davis|first=Mike|title=Manahawkin Bay Bridge is open! Drone footage of Route 72 causeway work in LBI, Stafford|work=Asbury Park Press|date=May 22, 2019|url=https://www.app.com/story/news/traffic/commuting/2019/05/22/lbi-bridge-toll-manahawkin-bay-bridge-construction-route-72/1150599001/|access-date=February 18, 2023}}</ref>