Route 38 marker

Route 38

Route information
Maintained by NJDOT
Length19.19 mi[1] (30.88 km)
Existed1927–present
Major junctions
West end US 30 / US 130 in Pennsauken Township
Major intersections Route 70 in Pennsauken Township
Route 41 in Maple Shade Township
Route 73 in Maple Shade Township
I-295 in Mount Laurel Township
East end US 206 / CR 530 in Southampton Township
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew Jersey
CountiesCamden, Burlington
Highway system
← Route 37→ Route 39

Route 38 is a state highway in the southern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey serving the Philadelphia metropolitan area. It extends 19.19 mi (30.88 km) from the Airport Circle, where it intersects U.S. Route 30 (US 30) and US 130, in Pennsauken Township, Camden County, east to an intersection with US 206 and CR 530 in Southampton Township, Burlington County. The entire route is closely parallel to CR 537 located to the north, being only one block away at places. The route is a multilane divided highway for most of its length and passes through commercial development, residential development, and some farmland.

Route 38 was signed in 1927, replacing part of Pre-1927 Route 18, which had run from Camden east to Toms River. Route 38 was originally planned to be a freeway crossing the state of New Jersey, running from Camden east to Wall Township, Monmouth County. The eastern part of this freeway would become part of Interstate 195 (I-195) in the late 1960s. The freeway routing was then modified to head north of I-195 to the Route 18 freeway in Colts Neck Township but was ultimately canceled by the late 1970s due to environmental and financial concerns. Route 138 was originally numbered as a segment of this Route 38 freeway, but was renumbered by the 1990s when it became apparent the freeway would not be completed.

Route description

Route 38 eastbound past CR 626 in Cherry Hill

Route 38 begins at the Airport Circle junction of US 30, US 130, and CR 607 (Kaighns Avenue) in Pennsauken Township, Camden County, heading east on Kaighns Avenue.[1] It comes to a partial cloverleaf interchange with the western terminus of Route 70, which replaced the Browning Road Traffic Circle.[2] A six–lane divided highway separated by a Jersey barrier, it proceeds eastward, crossing into Cherry Hill Township, where it heads through commercial development.[1][3] Route 38 features cloverleaf interchanges with CR 636 (Cuthbert Boulevard) and CR 644 (Haddonfield Road), passing under NJ Transit's Atlantic City Line between the two interchanges.[1] Past the CR 644 interchange, Route 38 heads past the Cherry Hill Mall, located on the north side of the road.[3] It proceeds through the Church Road Circle, where it crosses CR 616 (Church Road) and CR 627 (Coles Avenue/Cooper Landing Road).[1]

Route 38 westbound at Route 41 interchange in Maple Shade Township

Route 38 crosses the South Branch of the Pennsauken Creek into Maple Shade Township, Burlington County. The route reaches a cloverleaf interchange with Route 41 before it has an interchange with Route 73.[1] The Route 38-41-73 interchange complex replaced a dangerous and congested 6-way traffic circle.[2] The route then crosses CR 608 (Lenola Road) into Moorestown Township, where it becomes unnamed. Route 38 then travels by the Moorestown Mall located to the south before passing by the Strawbridge Lake Park located to the north, where it crosses CR 607 (Church Street) and then CR 603 (Mount Laurel Road).[3] It then enters Mount Laurel Township, where it intersects CR 615 (Marter Avenue) before meeting I-295 at a partial cloverleaf interchange and passing over the New Jersey Turnpike without access.[1]

View west at the east end of Route 38 at US 206 and CR 530 in Southampton Township

It then continues east, heading into more residential than commercial development and passing south of Rowan College at Burlington County.[3] Route 38 intersects many roads with jughandles, including CR 686 (Hartford Road), CR 635 (Ark Road), and CR 636 (Masonville-Fostertown Road) crossing into Hainesport Township, where it further intersects CR 674 (Hainesport-Mount Laurel Road), CR 636 (Creek Road) without a traffic light, and CR 641 (Hainesport-Lumberton Road).[1] The route then crosses the South Branch of Rancocas Creek before entering Lumberton Township, where the road intersects CR 541 (Mount Holly Bypass).[1] Route 38 then runs through the southern part of the Mount Holly area, intersecting CR 691 (Madison Avenue/Main Street), the former alignment of CR 541. It crosses into Mount Holly Township at the intersection of CR 612 (Pine Street/Eayerstown Road).[1] Past this intersection, Route 38 eventually becomes an undivided highway and then reenters Lumberton Township.[1] The route then heads into farmland and crosses into Southampton Township at the intersection with CR 684 (Smithville Road).[1][3] Route 38 then ends at the intersection with US 206, where the road continues east as CR 530 (Pemberton Road).[1]

History

Route 38 in Cherry Hill looking east

Prior to 1927, the route was a part of Pre-1927 Route 18, which was legislated in 1923 to run from Camden to Toms River.[4] In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 38 was legislated to run along the route from Route 25 (now US 130) in Pennsauken Township east to Route 39 (now US 206) in Eastampton.[5][6]

In 1938, Route 38 was legislated to extend from East Hampton to Route 4N (now Route 71) in Wall Township, Monmouth County.[7] A section of this was built, running between Route 34 and Route 35 in Wall Township.[2] The Route 38 freeway was then planned in 1961 to connect these two sections of Route 38. It was to run from I-80S (now I-676) in Camden east to the planned Route 35 freeway (now Route 18) in Wall Township, providing a direct freeway connection between the Philadelphia area and the northern Jersey Shore. The route of the freeway was to run east from the Ben Franklin Bridge, paralleling US 30 and then Route 70. It would then have run parallel to the current alignment of Route 38 through the Mount Holly area and then travel along the northern border of the Fort Dix Military Reservation to Jackson Township, Ocean County, where it would then follow the present alignment of I-195 to Wall Township.[8][9] In the late 1960s, the eastern part of the Route 38 freeway became part of the proposed I-195.[10][11]

In 1969, it was estimated the Route 38 freeway between I-295 in Cherry Hill Township and I-195 in Jackson Township would cost $60 million and be completed by 1985.[12] The route of the freeway was revised in 1972 to head north of I-195 to the Route 18 freeway in Colts Neck Township, intersecting the Route 33 bypass of Freehold Borough. The western terminus was also moved to Mount Laurel Township, where it was to connect to the New Jersey Turnpike and the Route 90 freeway, which was projected to extend to the New Jersey Turnpike. It was estimated that this routing of the Route 38 freeway would cost $101 million.[13] However, due to environmental concerns of the route passing through the Pine Barrens and financial troubles, the freeway was canceled by the end of the 1970s.[14] The orphaned eastern section of Route 38 in Monmouth County was renumbered to Route 138 on July 29, 1988.[15]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
CamdenPennsauken Township0.000.00 US 30 / US 130 (Crescent Boulevard) – Camden, Ben Franklin Bridge, TrentonAirport Circle; western terminus
0.641.03


 Route 70 east to Route 72 / Route 37 – Cherry Hill Business District
Marlton Pike (CR 601) / Browning Road (CR 612) – Merchantville		Partial cloverleaf interchange; western terminus of Route 70
Cherry Hill1.562.51Cuthbert Boulevard (CR 636) – Merchantville, OaklynCloverleaf interchange
2.804.51Haddonfield Road (CR 644) – Haddonfield, PennsaukenCloverleaf interchange
BurlingtonMaple Shade Township5.278.48

 Route 41 (Kings Highway) to Route 73 north – Haddonfield, Palmyra, Tacony Bridge		Partial cloverleaf interchange; no access from northbound Route 41 to westbound Route 38
5.588.98
 Route 73 to N.J. Turnpike – Marlton, Palmyra, Tacony Bridge		Partial cloverleaf interchange; no access from westbound Route 38 to southbound Route 73 or from eastbound Route 38 to northbound Route 73
Mount Laurel Township9.5615.39 I-295 – Delaware Memorial BridgePartial cloverleaf interchange; no access from westbound Route 38 to northbound I-295, from southbound I-295 to eastbound Route 38, or from eastbound Route 38 to southbound I-295; exit 40 on I-295
Lumberton Township15.3524.70
 CR 541 (Mount Holly Bypass) to N.J. Turnpike – Mt. Holly, Burlington
Southampton Township19.1930.88
 US 206 to A.C. Expressway – Trenton, Hammonton

 CR 530 east (Pemberton Road)		Eastern terminus; western terminus of CR 530
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Route 38 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Map of New Jersey (Map). Cartography by H.M. Gousha. Chevron Oil Company. 1969.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Google (February 8, 2008). "Overview of New Jersey Route 38" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 8, 2008.
  4. ↑ State of New Jersey, Laws of 1923, Chapter 184.
  5. ↑ State of New Jersey, Laws of 1927, Chapter 319.
  6. ↑ 1927 New Jersey Road Map (Map). State of New Jersey. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  7. ↑ State of New Jersey, Laws of 1938, Chapter 51.
  8. ↑ New Jersey Builds Better Highways. New Jersey State Highway Department. 1961.
  9. ↑ Plans for a Central Jersey Expressway System. New Jersey State Highway Department. 1965.
  10. ↑ Route 37 Freeway Relocation Study. New Jersey Department of Transportation. 1967.
  11. ↑ New Jersey Highway Facts. New Jersey Department of Transportation. 1967.
  12. ↑ 1985 Regional Transportation Plan. Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. 1969.
  13. ↑ Master Plan for Transportation. New Jersey Department of Transportation. 1972.
  14. ↑ Nussbaum, Paul (August 19, 1984). "Schuylkill carries the load of many routes left unbuilt". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  15. ↑ "Proposed New Rule: N.J.A.C. 16:28A-1.112" (PDF). December 7, 1992. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2013. The section of highway which was designated as Route 38 in Wall Township, Monmouth County, was redesignated Route 138 on July 29, 1988, as evidenced in the New Jersey State Highway Straight Line Diagrams 1990.
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