New Jersey Route 42

Route 42
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT
Length	14.28 mi[1] (22.98 km)
Existed	1927–present
Major junctions
South end	US 322 / CR 536 Spur in Monroe Township
Major intersections	A.C. Expressway / Route 168 in Washington Township Route 168 in Gloucester Township Route 41 in Deptford Township Route 55 in Deptford Township
North end	I-76 / I-295 in Bellmawr
Location
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
Counties	Gloucester, Camden
Highway system
New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate US State Scenic Byways
← Route 41 → Route 43

Route 42 is a state highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey within the Camden area. It runs 14.28 mi (22.98 km) from an intersection with U.S. Route 322 (US 322) and County Route 536 Spur (CR 536 Spur) in Monroe Township, Gloucester County, to an intersection with Interstate 76 (I-76) and I-295 in Bellmawr, Camden County. The southern portion of Route 42 is an four-lane divided highway and one of several highways comprising the Black Horse Pike, a road that runs from Camden to Atlantic City. The northern portion is part of a six- to eight-lane freeway referred to locally as the North–South Freeway (or simply the 42 Freeway^[2]) that connects the Atlantic City Expressway to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge (via I-76 and I-676). Major junctions along the route include the Atlantic City Expressway and the southern terminus of Route 168 in Turnersville, Route 168 in Blackwood, and Route 41 and Route 55 in Deptford Township.

Route 42 was originally designated in 1927 to run along the Black Horse Pike between Ferry Avenue in Camden and the present US 40/US 322 split in the McKee City section of Hamilton Township, Atlantic County. In 1953, the southern terminus was cut back to its current terminus in the Williamstown section of Monroe Township to avoid the concurrency it shared with US 322. After the completion of the North–South Freeway between Bellmawr and Turnersville in 1959, Route 42 was moved to this freeway, and the Black Horse Pike north of Turnersville became Route 168.

The freeway portion of Route 42 has been improved many times. Construction work has commenced on a project known as the "I-295/I-76/Route 42 Direct Connection," which is reconstructing the dangerous and congested Route 42/I-295/I-76 interchange in Bellmawr.