Why Has NJ Route 41 Been “Temporary” for Decades? Here’s the Answer

Here's a question that you may have thought about once or twice: why is a part of Route 41 in Camden County "temporary?"

And why has it been "temporary" for decades?

For the answer, we need to go back almost 100 years.

Route 41 was created way back in 1927 to run between Deptford and Moorestown, which it does as a 14-mile-long highway.

However, Route 41 was never supposed to go through downtown Haddonfield. It was supposed to bypass it.

For whatever reason, that bypass was never fully constructed, but part of it was -- that's Brace Road (Route 154) between Route 70 and Haddonfield-Berlin Road.

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In 1953, Route 41, which originally ran along that part of Brace Road, was moved up to Kings Highway. When it moved, it was signed as "Temporary Route 41" as plans were still alive (at least on paper) for that bypass to be fully built.

That never happened. And that's how Route 41 became "temporary" for about half of a century.

The "temporary" part of Route 41 was officially dropped about 20 years ago, however, there is no shortage of signs that still say that.