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 controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of New Jersey, managed and operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority. It runs from Route 42 from Turnersville 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 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 all-electronic tolling, with two mainline toll plazas (Egg Harbor in Hamilton Township and Pleasantville) and ramp tolls at seven interchanges. Tolls can be paid using E-ZPass or toll by plate. The total cost to travel the length of the Atlantic City Expressway for passenger vehicles is currently $6.49. 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 1963 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.
Route description The Atlantic City Expressway begins at an interchange with Route 42 in Turnersville in Washington Township, Gloucester County, where the freeway right-of-way continues north as the North–South Freeway, a part of Route 42. Here, Route 42 continues south on the Black Horse Pike and Route 168 continues north on the Black Horse Pike. A westbound exit provides a connection to County House Road (CR 705) and northbound Route 168. The expressway then heads southeast as a four-lane road, straddling between Washington Township and Gloucester Township, Camden County. On the border between Gloucester Township and Winslow Township, the Atlantic City Expressway features a diamond interchange with Berlin-Cross Keys Road (CR 689). Past this interchange, there is a diamond interchange with Williamstown Road (CR 536 Spur) near Sicklerville. The expressway passes under Malaga Road (CR 536) and then features a partial interchange with Fleming Pike (CR 723), with an eastbound exit and a westbound entrance. It meets Route 73 at another partial interchange, with a westbound exit and an eastbound entrance, where the roadway widens to six lanes. Past this interchange, the highway passes over the Southern Railroad of New Jersey's Southern Running Track line.
The expressway crosses into Hammonton in Atlantic County. Continuing to the southeast, it passes over the Beesleys Point Secondary railroad line operated by the Cape May Seashore Lines railroad before it encounters Route 54 at a partial cloverleaf interchange. It enters Hamilton Township and passes under Weymouth Road (CR 559). The lanes of the Atlantic City Expressway in both directions split for the Frank S. Farley Service Plaza, which is located in the median of the expressway and accessible from both directions. Named for New Jersey State Senator Frank S. Farley and run by Applegreen, it has a building containing multiple fast-food restaurants, a Sunoco gas station, a mini-mart and gift shop with New Jersey Lottery sales, a seasonal farm market, an ATM, tourist information, and an electric vehicle charging station. The service plaza is also the site of the South Jersey Transportation Authority administrative offices and a New Jersey State Police barracks. Past the service plaza, the Atlantic City Expressway meets the mainline Egg Harbor Toll Plaza. It then features a partial cloverleaf interchange with Route 50, with the westbound exit and eastbound entrance being E-ZPass only. It meets Leipzig Avenue (CR 670), with another partial interchange featuring an eastbound off-ramp and a westbound on-ramp. Next, it has an eastbound exit and westbound entrance for Wrangleboro Road (CR 575), which provides access to Black Horse Pike (US 40/US 322) and the Hamilton Mall near Mays Landing. To and from the east, a ramp runs from the Atlantic City Expressway to the US 40/US 322 split.
The expressway then enters Egg Harbor Township. It has an interchange with Delilah Road (CR 646), which provides access to the Atlantic City International Airport, and passes under Tilton Road (CR 563). It features a cloverleaf interchange with the Garden State Parkway and crosses into Pleasantville. In Pleasantville, the expressway meets US 9 at a diamond interchange. It passes under Main Street (CR 585) and features a partial interchange with Franklin Boulevard, with a westbound exit and eastbound entrance.
The expressway then continues to the Pleasantville Toll Plaza. Past the toll plaza, the travel lanes separate and a park and ride lot, used by Atlantic City casino employees, lies within the median of the expressway. It then encounters the former Atlantic City Visitor Welcome Center and a Sunoco gas station/7-Eleven mini-mart in the median before it enters the city of Atlantic City. Upon entering Atlantic City, the expressway passes under the Southern Railroad of New Jersey's Pleasantville Industrial Track line and features an eastbound exit and westbound entrance with US 40/US 322. It then continues southeast, crossing the Beach Thorofare, and soon after encounters an eastbound exit and westbound entrance for the Atlantic City–Brigantine Connector, which provides access to the Atlantic City Convention Center, the Marina district, and Brigantine. The Atlantic City Expressway ends at a traffic light at the intersection with Baltic Avenue/Fairmount Avenue near Tanger Outlets Atlantic City, where the road becomes the one-way pair of Missouri Avenue eastbound (also known as Christopher Columbus Boulevard) and Arkansas Avenue westbound.
In 2019, the Atlantic City Expressway counted over 54 million toll-paying vehicles. The speed limit on the Atlantic City Expressway is for most of the route. The Emergency Services Patrol provides motorist assistance along the expressway. Motorists needing assistance can dial #ACE or 609-965-7200 on their mobile phones. The entire length of the highway is part of the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.
Tolls
The Atlantic City Expressway uses all-electronic tolling, with mainline toll plazas and ramp tolls. As of January 4, 2026, the Egg Harbor Toll Plaza charges $10 for toll by plate and $5 for E-ZPass for cars. At the Pleasantville toll plaza, eastbound exits and westbound entrances at exits 5, 28, and 33, the westbound exit and eastbound entrance at exit 12, and all ramps at exit 9, a toll of $2.98 is charged for toll by plate and $1.49 for E-ZPass. At the eastbound exits and westbound entrances at exits 38 and 41, the toll is $1.64 for toll by plate and $0.82 for E-ZPass.
Every year since 2013, with the exception of 2020 and 2021, eastbound tolls are waived at the Egg Harbor Toll Plaza for one hour in the late afternoon on the Friday before Memorial Day to promote the unofficial beginning of the summer tourist season at the Jersey Shore. Chickie's & Pete's, a local sports bar chain, pays for the tolls collected during this hour. In October 2014, eastbound tolls were waived at the Egg Harbor and Pleasantville toll plazas on Tuesdays between noon and midnight to encourage midweek tourism to Atlantic City.
History
The road was planned as a parkway in 1932, running from the Ben Franklin Bridge in Camden southeast to Atlantic City, but it never materialized. The idea for a limited-access road between the Philadelphia area and Atlantic City resurfaced in the 1950s when South Jersey officials, led by State Senator Frank S. Farley, pushed for an expressway between the two areas to help the economy of Southern New Jersey. The New Jersey State Highway Department authorized traffic studies for a toll road between Turnersville and Atlantic City in 1958 and 1959, and the New Jersey Expressway Authority Act in 1962 called for a five-member agency (the New Jersey Expressway Authority) with representatives from four Southern New Jersey counties to be responsible for issuing bonds to build and maintain the Atlantic City Expressway.
Construction of the Atlantic City Expressway started in the middle of 1963. The design was to feature a 300- to 400-foot-wide roadway with 12-foot-wide travel lanes and right shoulders as well as 3-foot-wide left shoulders. The part between Route 42 in Turnersville and the Garden State Parkway in Egg Harbor Township was completed on July 31, 1964, and the part between the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City was finished in July 1965. Construction of the Atlantic City Expressway cost a total of $48.2 million. With the completion of the road, it was anticipated that it would increase tourism to Atlantic City. However, the opening of the expressway did not initially increase tourism to Atlantic City, and toll projections were below expectations. The opening of the Atlantic City Expressway, along with the connecting Garden State Parkway, provided a shorter route to Jersey Shore resort towns in Cape May County and Long Beach Island; travel times to Cape May County were reduced by 30 to 45 minutes. Prior to the completion of the expressway, traffic had to use Black Horse Pike or White Horse Pike to reach the Jersey Shore. With the legalization of casino gambling in Atlantic City in 1978, traffic along the Atlantic City Expressway increased. The construction of the expressway also led to development near the interchange serving Mays Landing, including the Hamilton Mall.
Tolls on the Atlantic City Expressway initially cost $0.75 at the Egg Harbor Toll Plaza and $0.15 at the Pleasantville Toll Plaza. In 1969, tolls increased to $1.00 at the Egg Harbor Toll Plaza and to $0.25 at the Pleasantville Toll Plaza.
In April 1977, whats now the service area was renamed in honor of Frank S Farley, who died shortly after.
In the late 1980s, a third eastbound lane was added between the interchange with Route 73 and the Pleasantville Toll Plaza, while the number of lanes was increased at both the Egg Harbor and Pleasantville toll plazas.
In 1991, the SJTA was created by the New Jersey Legislature to operate the Atlantic City Expressway, the Atlantic City International Airport, and operations of the Atlantic County Transportation Authority.
On November 11, 1998, the Atlantic City Expressway started accepting E-ZPass for the payment of tolls; the expressway was the first toll road in New Jersey to use the electronic toll collection system. Tolls along the expressway increased on November 30, 1998, in order to fund a capital improvements plan, with the Egg Harbor Toll Plaza increasing to $2.00.