Editing New Jersey Route 54

{{Short description|State highway in Atlantic County, New Jersey, US}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox road
|state=NJ
|type=NJ
|route=54
|map={{maplink-road}}
|map_custom=yes
|established=March 30, 1938<ref name="nj54est">{{cite news|title=Stranger Proves He Introduced Buena Road Bill|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15755000/nj_54_may_20_1940/|access-date=December 13, 2017|work=The Daily Journal|date=May 20, 1940|page=4|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{open access}}</ref>
|length_mi=11.86
|length_ref=<ref name=SLD>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/pdf/00000054__-.pdf|format=PDF|title=Route 54 straight line diagram|publisher=[[New Jersey Department of Transportation]]|access-date=March 17, 2020}}
</ref>

|direction_a=South
|direction_b=North
|terminus_a={{jct|state=NJ|US|40|CR|557|CR|619|county3=Atlantic}} in [[Buena Vista Township, New Jersey|Buena Vista Township]]
|junction={{plainlist|
*{{jct|state=NJ|US|322}} in [[Folsom, New Jersey|Folsom]]
*{{jct|state=NJ|NJ|73|CR-Spur|561}} in Folsom
*{{jct|state=NJ|ACE2}} in [[Hammonton, New Jersey|Hammonton]]
}}
|terminus_b={{jct|state=NJ|US|30|US|206}} in Hammonton
|counties=[[Atlantic County, New Jersey|Atlantic]] 
|previous_type=NJ
|previous_route=53
|next_type=NJ
|next_route=55}}

'''Route 54''' (known locally as '''12th Street''' for much of its length) is a [[state highway]] located in [[Atlantic County, New Jersey|Atlantic County]] in [[New Jersey]], [[United States]]. It is considered to be a southern extension of [[U.S. Route 206]] (US 206), running {{convert|11.86|mi|km|2|abbr=on}} from an intersection with US 206 and [[U.S. Route 30 in New Jersey|US 30]] in [[Hammonton, New Jersey|Hammonton]] south to an intersection with [[U.S. Route 40 in New Jersey|US 40]] in [[Buena Vista Township, New Jersey|Buena Vista Township]]. The road passes through the center of Hammonton before running into rural areas. It intersects [[U.S. Route 322 in New Jersey|US 322]] and [[New Jersey Route 73|Route 73]] in [[Folsom, New Jersey|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, New Jersey|Landis Township]] (part of present-day [[Vineland, New Jersey|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 [[New Jersey Route 55|Route 55]] in the Vineland/[[Millville, New Jersey|Millville]] area; it was eventually canceled.

==Route description==
[[File:NJ 54 NB past CR 559.jpeg|thumb|left|View north along Route 54 at CR 559 in Hammonton]]
Route 54 begins at an intersection with [[U.S. Route 40 in New Jersey|US 40]]/[[County Route 557 (New Jersey)|County Route 557]] (CR 557) and  CR 619 on the border of [[Buena, New Jersey|Buena]] and [[Buena Vista Township, New Jersey|Buena Vista Township]].<ref name=SLD/> Known as Buena Hammonton Road, it proceeds north-northeast as a two-lane undivided road through agricultural areas, forming the border between Buena to the west and Buena Vista Township to the east.<ref name=SLD/><ref name=gm>{{google maps |url=https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=from:+Blue%20Anchor%20Rd/RT-54%20@39.514240,%20-74.924680+to:+Bellevue%20Ave/RT-54%20@39.647626,%20-74.789552 |title=overview of New Jersey Route 54 |access-date=2008-02-17}}</ref> 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.<ref name=SLD/> At this point, Route 54 enters forested areas, with a few breaks for residences.<ref name=gm/> Upon entering [[Folsom, New Jersey|Folsom]], the route passes over the Beesleys Point Secondary railroad line operated by the [[Cape May Seashore Lines]] railroad before coming to a [[cloverleaf interchange]] with [[U.S. Route 322 in New Jersey|US 322]] ([[Black Horse Pike]]).<ref name=SLD/> After this interchange, the road comes to a crossroads with [[New Jersey Route 73|Route 73]], which is signed as CR 561 Spur. Following this intersection, Route 54 heads through a mix of woods and farm fields as it enters [[Hammonton, New Jersey|Hammonton]] and reaches a [[partial cloverleaf interchange]] with the [[Atlantic City Expressway]].<ref name=SLD/><ref name=gm/> In the area of this interchange, the route is a four-lane [[divided highway]].<ref name=SLD/>

[[File: 2021-09-29 12 23 02 View south along New Jersey State Route 54 (12th Street) from the overpass for New Jersey State Route 446 (Atlantic City Expressway) in Hammonton, Atlantic County, New Jersey.jpg|thumb|right|Route 54 southbound at the Atlantic City Expressway interchange in Hammonton]]
Past the Atlantic City Expressway, the two-lane undivided road comes to an intersection with [[County Route 559 (New Jersey)|CR 559]].<ref name=SLD/><ref name=gm/> From this point, Route 54 is lined with residences and businesses as it comes into downtown Hammonton.<ref name=gm/> The road crosses [[NJ Transit]]’s [[Atlantic City Line]] at-grade immediately before a junction with [[County Route 561 (New Jersey)|CR 561]]. After CR 561, the route becomes Bellevue Avenue and encounters the western terminus of [[County Route 542 (New Jersey)|CR 542]].<ref name=SLD/> As the road leaves the downtown area, the surroundings become more residential.<ref name=gm/> Route 54 ends at an intersection with [[U.S. Route 30 in New Jersey|US 30]] and [[U.S. Route 206|US 206]], where the road continues north as US 206.<ref name=SLD/>

==History==
By 1927, what is now Route 54 was an unnumbered, unpaved road connecting Buena to Hammonton.<ref name=ttmap>{{cite map|title=1927 Tydol Trails Map - South|publisher=Tydol Trails}}</ref> Route 54 was legislated on March 30, 1938, to run from US 30/[[New Jersey Route 43|Route 43]] and US 206/[[New Jersey Route 39|Route 39]] in Hammonton south along Lincoln Avenue to an intersection with Main Road in [[Landis Township, New Jersey|Landis Township]], [[Cumberland County, New Jersey|Cumberland County]] (now a part of [[Vineland, New Jersey|Vineland]]).<ref name="nj54est" /> The only portion of Route 54 that was taken over as a state highway was north of the US 40/[[New Jersey Route 48|Route 48]] intersection in Buena.<ref name="1946quad">{{cite map|url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/250k/txu-pclmaps-topo-us-wilmington-1946.jpg|title=Wilmington, Delaware 1:250,000 quadrangle|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|year=1946|access-date=2009-03-28}}</ref>  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.<ref>{{cite map|publisher=[[Cumberland County, New Jersey]]|title=Road Map County of Cumberland New Jersey|year=1954|url=http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/CUMBERLAND_COUNTY/CumberlandCo_1954.jpg|access-date=2009-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite map|publisher=[[Atlantic County, New Jersey]]|title=Road Map of Atlantic County Sheet 6|year=1967|url=http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/Atlantic/AtlanticCoHighway_1967_6.gif|access-date=2009-12-16}}</ref> This road is presently both Cumberland and Atlantic CRs 655 and a part of Atlantic CR 619.<ref name="cumberland655sld">{{cite web|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/06000655__-.pdf|title=Cumberland County 655 straight line diagram|access-date=2009-12-16}}</ref><ref name="atlantic655sld">{{cite web|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/01000655__-.pdf |title=Atlantic County 655 straight line diagram|access-date=2009-12-16}}</ref><ref name="atlantic619sld">{{cite web|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/01000619__-.pdf|title=Atlantic County 619 straight line diagram|access-date=2009-12-16}}</ref> 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.<ref name="nj1953">{{citation|title=1953 renumbering|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1953_New_Jersey_state_highway_renumbering|publisher=New Jersey Department of Highways|access-date=2009-07-31|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628183145/http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1953_New_Jersey_state_highway_renumbering|archive-date=2011-06-28}}</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=1952-12-16|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, a [[freeway]] was proposed for the US 206/Route 54 corridor, running from US 30 in Hammonton  south to [[New Jersey Route 55|Route 55]] and the proposed [[New Jersey Route 60|Route 60]] near Vineland and [[Millville, New Jersey|Millville]].<ref name=NJDOT1969>{{cite book|title=New Jersey Highway Facts|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation |year=1969}}</ref> 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.<ref name=NJDOT1972>{{cite book|title=Master Plan for Transportation|publisher=New Jersey Department of Transportation|year=1972}}</ref>

==Major intersections==
{{Jcttop|state=NJ|county=Atlantic}}
{{NJint
|mile=0.00
|road={{jct|state=NJ|US|40|CR|557|name2=Harding Highway|city1=Tuckahoe|city2=Mays Landing|city3=Malaga}}
|location1=Buena
|location2=Buena Vista Township
|notes=Southern terminus
}}
{{NJint
|mile=6.67
|road={{jct|state=NJ|US|322|name1=[[Black Horse Pike]]|city1=Camden|city2=Atlantic City}} 
|location=Folsom 
|lspan=2
|notes=Interchange
}}
{{NJint
|mile=7.58
|road={{jct|state=NJ|NJ|73|CR-Spur|561|name2=Mays Landing Road|city1=Blue Anchor|city2=Atlantic City}}
}}
{{NJint
|mile=8.71
|road={{jct|state=NJ|ACE2|city1=Camden|location2=[[Philadelphia]]|city3=Atlantic City}}
|type=toll
|location=Hammonton
|lspan=5
|notes=Exit 28 on A.C. Expressway
}}
{{NJint
|mile=10.01
|road={{jct|state=NJ|CR|559|name1=Chew Road|city1=Blue Anchor|location2=[[Weymouth, New Jersey (unincorporated community)|Weymouth]]}}
}}
{{NJint
|mile=10.65
|road={{jct|state=NJ|CR|561|name1=Egg Harbor Road}}
}}
{{NJint
|mile=10.76
|road={{jct|state=NJ|CR|542|dir1=east|name1=Central Avenue}}
|notes=Western terminus of CR 542
}}
{{NJint
|mile=11.86
|road={{jct|state=NJ|US|30|name1=White Horse Pike|city1=Berlin|city2=Atlantic City|US|206|dir2=north|city3=Trenton|to3=to|NJTP2||name3=[[Interstate 95 in New Jersey|I-95 Toll]]}}
|notes=Northern terminus
}}
{{Jctbtm|keys=toll}}

==See also==
*{{Portal-inline|U.S. Roads}}
*{{Portal-inline|New Jersey}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|New Jersey Route 54}}
{{AttachedKML|display=title,inline}}
*[http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/nj/log/5.html#54 New Jersey Roads – History]
*[http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/traffic_orders/speed/rt54.shtm Speed Limits for Route 54]

{{good article}}

[[Category:State highways in New Jersey|054]]
[[Category:Transportation in Atlantic County, New Jersey]]