Route 138 is an arterial
state highway located entirely in
Monmouth County,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
that extends for . The route's western terminus is at the eastern end of
Interstate 195 (I-195) at the interchange with
Route 34 in
Wall Township. Route 138's eastern terminus is at
Route 35 in
Wall Township. The highway is also meant to be an evacuation route in case of a disaster, where the eastbound lanes (as well as the eastbound lanes on Interstate 195) would be reversed all the way to the
New Jersey Turnpike.
The highway was first built as part of the planned
Route 38 freeway in 1941. The freeway was to traverse the state from
Camden to Belmar. When it became clear that the gap between two sections of Route 38 would not be filled, the
New Jersey Department of Transportation
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transporta ...
re-designated the eastern portion as Route 138.
Route description
Route 138 begins at Interchange 35A along
Interstate 195 and
Route 34 in
Wall Township. The eastern continuation of Interstate 195, Route 138 continues the four-lane road through Monmouth County. The route interchanges with Route 34 southbound at Exit 35A and northbound at Exit 35B. A short distance later, the highway crosses to the south of a construction site and crosses over the southbound lanes of the
Garden State Parkway
The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jerse ...
(Route 444) and intersects with the on-ramp from the southbound lanes. The highway crosses over the northbound lanes and reaches Exit 36, which serves the Parkway and a nearby
park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ( ...
. Continuing on, Route 138 becomes an arterial boulevard, intersecting with Allenwood Road in a rather dense area of Wall Township.
Route 138 continues further, passing to the south and to the north of commercial complexes along with several residential areas. The highway then proceeds to a small interchange with Club Drive, which serves a mix of residential homes and commercial buildings. From there, Route 138 becomes surrounded by patches of trees before interchanging with the southern terminus of
Route 18 soon after. The route passes north along the interchange, where stub ramps along Route 18 can be seen to the south. After crossing Route 18, Route 138 continues on, entering a large commercial district, intersecting with New Bedford Road in the community of
Wall
A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including:
* Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the sup ...
. The highway continues as an arterial, serving the local high school and local residential homes for a long distance. Route 138 intersects with Marconi Road and Bayshore Court before ending at a large interchange with
Route 35.
History
The current alignment of Route 138 originates as an alignment of the
State Highway Route 38 assigned in 1938. At that point, Route 38 was proposed as a highway from
Camden (where it would end), past its former terminus at
State Highway Route 39 to an intersection with
State Highway Route 4-N in the community of Wall Township east of
Fort Dix.
A short portion of the highway was constructed from State Highway Route 34 to State Highway Route 35 was constructed as Route 38, which survived the
1953 state highway renumbering.
During the 1960s, the
New Jersey State Highway Department
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...
began to lay out a network of limited-access state highways across the state. The Route 38 freeway was proposed as a highway from
Interstate 676
Interstate 676 (I-676) is an Interstate Highway that serves as a major thoroughfare through Center City Philadelphia, where it is known as the Vine Street Expressway, and Camden, New Jersey, where it is known as the northern segment of the ...
in Camden to current-day Route 18 in Wall Township, to relieve congestion off of
Route 70.
The freeway was readopted by the
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is the metropolitan planning organization for the Delaware Valley. Created in 1965 by an interstate compact, DVRPC is responsible for transportation and regional planning in the greater Phi ...
for the new Route 38 freeway from the
Ben Franklin Bridge
The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and ...
eastward (paralleling Route 70 and
U.S. Route 30) to the area of
Jackson Township, where it would follow current Interstate 195's alignment.
The freeway was estimated by the highway department to cost $60 million (1969
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
)
and to be finished around 1985.
The proposal lasted through the 1970s, along with a cost adjustment in 1972, inflating the amount to construct the freeway at $101 million (1972 USD).
By the end of the 1970s, the Route 38 freeway was facing opposition and limited resources, so the project was shelved. On July 29, 1988, the portion of Route 38 from Route 34 to Route 35 was re-designated to Route 138.
Major intersections
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
Speed Limits for State Roads: Route 138*{{cite web, url=http://www.phillyroads.com/roads/NJ-38/, title=NJ 38 Freeway (unbuilt), last=Anderson, first=Steve, year=2009, publisher=Eastern Roads, access-date=November 11, 2009
Transportation in Monmouth County, New Jersey
138