Skip to main content

Ocean County Route 607 to Barnegat Light


Ocean County Route 607 is an 18.07-mile highway which exists on New Jersey's Long Beach Island.  Ocean County Route 607 begins at McKinley Avenue in Long Beach Township on the southern tip of Long Beach Island and terminates at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park at the northern tip.  Ocean County Route 607 follows Long Beach Boulevard, Bay Avenue, Long Beach Boulevard, Central Avenue and Broadway on Long Beach Island.  The current Barnegat Light was constructed during 1859 and can be found at the northern terminus of Ocean County Route 607 at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. 




Part 1; a general history of the Ocean County Route 607 corridor and Barnegat Light

Long Beach Island has been continuously inhabited since 1690.  Long Beach Island was originally popular with whaling parties which could access the Atlantic Ocean through Barnegat Inlet.  The frequent use of Barnegat Inlet led to the construction of a lighthouse during 1835.  The original lighthouse at Barnegat Inlet was destroyed by erosion during 1857 which led to the current Barnegat Light being erected during 1859.

A rail trestle to Long Beach Island was constructed by the Tuckerton Railroad during 1885-86.   The Long Beach Island Bridge was completed during 1914 alongside the existing rail trestle.  The Long Beach Railroad eventually was washed out during 1935 and was never replaced.  The Long Beach Island Bridge can be seen below in an undated photo.  New Jersey Route S40 was extended east from Manahawkin onto Long Beach Island and Long Beach Boulevard sometime between 1927-1939.  


New Jersey Highway S40 was reassigned as New Jersey Route 72 during the 1953 New Jersey State Highway Renumbering.  New Jersey Route 72 can be seen on the 1956 Shell Highway Map of New Jersey.  It isn't clear when Ocean County Route 607 was applied to the north/south corridor on Long Beach Island.  


During 1959 the original span of the Manahawkin Bay Bridge opened as replacement for the Long Beach Island Bridge.  The original Manahawkin Bay Bridge is a deck girder design which is 2,400.1 feet in length.   During 2000 the Manahawkin Bay Bridge was renamed in honor of New Jersey Department of Transportation Engineer Donald J. Henderson.  Construction of the new Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge span began during May 2013 and was completed during July 2016.  Following the opening of the new span of the Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge the original span went through the process of rehabilitation between November 2016 to November 2019.  



Part 2; a drive on Ocean County Route 607 to Barnegat Light

New Jersey Route 72 eastbound terminates on Long Beach Island in Ship Bottom at Ocean County Route 607/Long Beach Boulevard via 9th Street.  Ocean County Route 607 can be utilized by turning north or south.  Barnegat Light is accessed from New Jersey Route 72 via a northbound turn onto Ocean County Route 607. 


Northbound Ocean County Route 607 passes through Ship Bottom, Surf City, North Beach, Harvey Cedars and Loveladies on Long Beach Boulevard before entering the community of Barnegat Light along Central Avenue.


























Ocean County Route 607 northbound makes a left-hand shift onto Broadway and terminates at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park.




Barnegat Lighthouse State Park was created during 1951 and is centered around the grounds of Barnegat Light.  Barnegat Light State Park has a small trail system and locations to fish on a sea wall.  Barnegat Light is presently undergoing a restoration which is scheduled for completion during Spring 2023.  Barnegat Light was automated during 1927 and is 169 feet tall.  















Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I-40 rockslide uncovers old debates on highway

The Asheville Citizen-Times continues to do a great job covering all the angles of the Interstate 40 Haywood County rock slide. An article in Sunday's edition provides a strong historical perspective on how the Pigeon River routing of Interstate 40 came about. And perhaps most strikingly, in an article that ran just prior to the highway's opening in the fall of 1968, how engineers from both Tennessee and North Carolina warned "...that slides would probably be a major problem along the route for many years." On February 12, 1969, not long after the Interstate opened, the first rock slide that would close I-40 occurred. Like many other Interstates within North Carolina, Interstate 40 through the mountains has a history prior to formation of the Interstate Highway System and was also a heated political battle between local communities. The discussion for a road that would eventually become Interstate 40 dates back to the 1940's as the idea for interregional high

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced from Bates Station owner/operator George Ba

Interstate 210 the Foothill Freeway

The combined Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor of the Foothill Freeway is approximately 85.31-miles.  The Interstate 210/California State Route 210 corridor begins at Interstate 5 at the northern outskirts of Los Angeles and travels east to Interstate 10 in Redlands of San Bernardino County.  Interstate 210 is presently signed on the 44.9-mile segment of the Foothill Freeway between Interstate 5 and California State Route 57.  California State Route 210 makes up the remaining 40.41 miles of the Foothill Freeway east to Interstate 10.  Interstate 210 is still classified by the Federal Highway Administration as existing on what is now signed as California State Route 57 from San Dimas south to Interstate 10.  The focus of this blog will mostly be on the history of Interstate 210 segment of the Foothill Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Interstate 210 and California State Route 210 Interstate 210 (I-210) was approved as a chargeable Interstate during September of