Route information | ||||
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Maintained by SJTA | ||||
Length | 44.19 mi[1] (71.12 km) | |||
Existed | 1964–present | |||
Component highways | Route 446 (unsigned) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | Route 42 in Washington Township | |||
East end | Fairmount Avenue / Baltic Avenue in Atlantic City | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | New Jersey | |||
Counties | Gloucester, Camden, Atlantic | |||
Highway system | ||||
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The Atlantic City Expressway, officially numbered, but unsigned, as Route 446 and abbreviated A.C. Expressway, ACE, or ACX, and known locally as the Expressway, is a 44.1-mile (70.97 km) controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of New Jersey, managed and operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority. It serves as an extension of the freeway part of Route 42 from Turnersville (which is itself an extension of I-76) southeast to Atlantic City. The Atlantic City Expressway is signed as east–west, though the mileage and exits decrease as if one is travelling north–south. It connects Philadelphia and the surrounding Philadelphia metro area with Atlantic City and other Jersey Shore resorts, and also serves other South Jersey communities, including Hammonton and Mays Landing. The expressway intersects many major roads, including Route 73 in Winslow Township, Route 54 in Hammonton, Route 50 in Hamilton Township, the Garden State Parkway in Egg Harbor Township, US 9 in Pleasantville, and the Atlantic City–Brigantine Connector near the eastern terminus in Atlantic City.
The Atlantic City Expressway uses a barrier toll system, with two mainline toll plazas (Egg Harbor in Hamilton Township and Pleasantville) and ramp tolls at seven interchanges. Tolls can be paid using cash or the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system. The total cost to travel the length of the Atlantic City Expressway for passenger vehicles is currently $5.90. The expressway features one service plaza, the Frank S. Farley Service Plaza, in Hamilton Township a short distance west of the Egg Harbor Toll Plaza, as well as a gas station and mini-mart in Pleasantville.
Plans for the highway began in the 1930s when a parkway was proposed between Camden and Atlantic City that was never built. Plans resurfaced for the road in the 1950s when a group of officials led by State Senator Frank S. Farley pushed for a road to help the area economy. The New Jersey Expressway Authority was created in 1962, tasked with building an expressway. The Atlantic City Expressway was built between 1962 and 1965 at a total cost of $48.2 million. The South Jersey Transportation Authority assumed control of the road in 1991 from the New Jersey Expressway Authority.