Editing New Jersey Route 45 (section)

==History==
[[File:2021-09-07 10 53 02 View north along New Jersey State Route 45 (Gateway Boulevard) from the overpass for Interstate 295 along the border of Deptford Township and West Deptford Township in Gloucester County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|left|View northbound along Route 45 from I-295 on the border of Deptford Township and West Deptford Township]]
Between Mullica Hill and Woodbury, the road was maintained under the '''Mullica Hill and Woodbury Turnpike Company''', which was chartered in 1849. The same day, the '''Woodbury and Camden Turnpike''' was chartered. Three days later, a bill was passed permitting the two companies to merge as the '''Mullica Hill and Camden Turnpike Company''', though the merger seems to have fallen through, as charter amendments would be administered to the former two companies' charters. The Woodbury and Camden was rechartered as the '''Camden and Gloucester Turnpike''' Company in 1853. From Mullica Hill to Woodstown, the '''Mullica Hill and Woodstown Turnpike Company''' maintained a road, though it's now bypassed by Route 45. South of Woodstown, the road was maintained by the '''Salem and Woodstown Turnpike'''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Park Service: Southern New Jersey and the Delaware Bay (Chapter 6)|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/nj2/chap6.htm|access-date=2020-06-13|website=www.nps.gov}}</ref>

What is now Route 45 was originally designated as a segment of [[Pre-1927 Route 6 (New Jersey)|pre-1927 Route 6]] in 1917. This route was to head south from [[Camden, New Jersey|Camden]] and follow Route 45 to Mullica Hill, where it split into two branches, with one going to Salem on current Route 45 and another going to [[Bridgeton, New Jersey|Bridgeton]] on current Route 77.<ref name="1920r6">{{cite report|title=1917 Annual Report|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|date=1917}}</ref><ref name="ttmap">{{cite map|url=http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/maps/1927tt2.jpg|title=Map of New Jersey|year=1927|publisher=Tydol Trails|access-date=2009-03-30|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514153745/http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/maps/1927tt2.jpg|archive-date=2011-05-14}}</ref>  In the [[1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering]], pre-1927 Route 6 between Camden and Salem became Route 45.<ref name="nj1927">State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.</ref><ref name="Map">{{cite map|url=http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/images/1927_routes.gif|title=1927 New Jersey Road Map|publisher=State of New Jersey|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> A bypass around Camden was created as the southern half of Crescent Boulevard, a part of US 130, and Route 45 was rerouted to use the bypass up to the [[Airport Circle (Pennsauken)|Airport Circle]] in [[Pennsauken Township, New Jersey|Pennsauken Township]]. The old alignment of Route&nbsp;45 became Route&nbsp;45M.<ref>{{cite news |title=Okays Safety Lighting |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/46901934/route-45m-february-18-1941/ |access-date=March 19, 2020 |work=The Courier-Post |date=February 18, 1941 |location=[[Camden, New Jersey]] |page=3|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> In the [[1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering]], the northern terminus of Route 45 was cut back to its current location in Westville to avoid the concurrency with US 130.<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="nyt">{{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>

In the late 1960s, the [[Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission]] (DVRPC) proposed construction of a {{convert|10|mi|adj=on}} long, $20 million [[freeway]] along the Route 45 corridor in [[Gloucester County, New Jersey|Gloucester County]] which would have extended from Exit 24 of [[Interstate 295 (Delaware–Pennsylvania)|I-295]] in [[Woodbury, New Jersey|Woodbury]] to a planned [[U.S. Route 322 in New Jersey|US 322]] freeway in [[Mullica Hill, New Jersey|Mullica Hill]].<ref>{{cite book|title=1985 Regional Transportation Plan|publisher=[[Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission]] |year=1969}}</ref> The [[New Jersey Department of Transportation]] never followed through on this proposal. A portion of Route 45 was widened to four lanes from the border of Woodbury to the border of Mantua Township by the 1980s.<ref name="statefarm">{{cite map|publisher=[[State Farm Insurance]]|title= State Farm Road Atlas |year=1983|cartography=[[Rand McNally]]}}</ref> In 2012, the Mullica Hill Bypass was completed, and US 322 was removed from its concurrency with Route 45.<ref>{{cite web|last=Forand|first=Rebecca|title=Route 322 Bypass now open|url=http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2012/01/route_322_bypass_now_open.html|work=Gloucester County Times|date=January 11, 2012|access-date=February 7, 2012}}</ref>