New Jersey Route 55

Route 55
Veterans Memorial Highway
Route 55 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT
Length	40.54 mi[1] (65.24 km)
Existed	1969[2][3]–present
History	Completed in 1989
Major junctions
South end	Route 47 in Maurice River Township
Major intersections	Route 49 in Millville Route 47 in Millville Route 56 in Vineland US 40 in Franklin Township US 322 in Harrison Township
North end	Route 42 in Deptford Township
Location
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Counties	Cumberland, Salem, Gloucester
Highway system
New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← Route 54 → Route 56

Route 55 is a freeway in the southern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Also known as the Veterans Memorial Highway, it runs 40.54 miles (65.24 km) from an intersection with Route 47 in Port Elizabeth north to an interchange with Route 42 in Gloucester County. The Route 55 freeway serves as a main road through Cumberland and Gloucester counties, serving Millville, Vineland, and Glassboro. It is used as a commuter route north to Philadelphia and, along with Route 47, as a route from the Delaware Valley to the Jersey Shore resorts in Cape May County. Route 55 has a posted speed limit of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h) for most of its length.

What is now Route 55 was originally proposed in the 1950s as a toll road called the Cape May Expressway that was to run from the Walt Whitman Bridge to Cape May. In 1962, the New Jersey Expressway Authority was created to build the Cape May Expressway and the Atlantic City Expressway. However, by 1965, the road to Cape May was turned over to the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and designated as Route 55, which was to run from Westville to Cape May Court House. The first portion of the route opened around Millville in 1969 while the section bypassing Vineland was completed in the 1970s. Route 55 was completed north to Deptford in 1989.

Meanwhile, the portion between Route 47 in Port Elizabeth and the Garden State Parkway in Middle Township was canceled in 1975 due to the impact the highway would have on the surrounding environment.