New Jersey Route 52
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| Route 52 |
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| Howard S. Stainton Memorial Causeway Maintained by NJDOT |
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| Length: | 2.74 mi[1] (4.41 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1951[2] | ||||||||
| South end: | Palen Avenue in Ocean City | ||||||||
| North end: |  US 9 in Somers Point |
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Route 52 is a state highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is composed of a series of bridges over Great Egg Harbor from Ocean City to Somers Point. The highway terminates at U.S. Route 9 in Somers Point and Palen Avenue in Ocean City.
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[edit] Route description
Route 52 begins at an intersection with Palen Avenue in Ocean City.[1] The route first crosses over Great Egg Harbor and then the Rainbow Harbor Channel at .76 of a mile. Route 52 crosses over the Great Egg Harbor Thoroughfare(Intracoastal waterway) and a ship channel for entering Atlantic County and Somers Point. After the ship canal, Route 52 enters land and intersects with County Routes 559 and 585 at the Somers Point Circle. Route 52 becomes a divided highway known as MacArthur Boulevard before coming to an end at U.S. Route 9.[1]
[edit] History
Route 52 was assigned to its route in 1951.[2] A proposal was created to extend 52 northwest to Mays Landing. However, this did not occur.
[edit] Future
Plans are underway for a new $400 million causeway to replace the current 70-year-old bridges. The new bridge will be finished by 2012, with the northbound lanes completed by Memorial Day 2008, the southbound lanes completed by fall 2009, and the remainder of the project expected to be complete between June 2009 and December 2012.[3] A portion of the new bridge opened for traffic on December 18, 2007. On January 16, 2006, the New Jersey Department of Transportation reduced traffic on the existing bridges from four lanes to two lanes to limit the weight on the old structures. The highway was reopened to four lanes of traffic after guardrail repairs were made on May 18, 2006, with a new speed limit of 35 mph.[4] After years of delays, construction began on the new bridge in September of 2006. Crews began the project by clearing a staging area on Garrets Island near the Ocean City side.[5]
In addition to the new causeway, the project will also call for the construction of fishing piers, boat ramps, bike paths, walking trails, and gateways at each end of the causeway, including a new visitor center with a scenic overlook on the Ocean City side. Also, other improvements will be made to the MacArthur Boulevard portion of Route 52 including the replacement of the Somers Point Circle with a traffic light.[3]
[edit] Major intersections
| County | Location | Mile[1] | Roads intersected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape May | Ocean City | 0.00 | Palen Avenue | Western terminus of NJ 52. |
| Atlantic | Somers Point | 2.11 |   CR 559/CR 585 |
 Somers Point Circle |
| 2.74 | US 9 |
Eastern terminus of NJ 52. |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d New Jersey Route 52 Straight Line Diagram from the New Jersey Department of Transportation
- ^ a b New Jersey Roads - NJ State Highways: 41-54, Steve Alpert
- ^ a b Urgo, Jacqueline L. (February 10, 2008). Bottleneck at Shore will be a breeze. The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ NJDOT doubles capacity of Route 52 Causeway. New Jersey Department of Transportation (May 17, 2006). Retrieved on 2005-07-06.
- ^ Miller, Michael. "Five-year job to cost $400 million", Press of Atlantic City, September 26, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-05.
