Portal:New Jersey/Selected article/37

The Atlantic City – Brigantine Connector, also known as the Atlantic City Expressway Connector or simply the Brigantine Connector, is a highway connector in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It connects the Atlantic City Expressway with Route 87, which leads into Brigantine, a beach resort along the Atlantic Ocean. The connector is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long and is maintained by the South Jersey Transportation Authority. It is considered to be a state highway and is assigned the route number Route 446X; however, the route number is unsigned. The connector consists of lettered exits from A to I in south to north order and features 10 bridges and 15 ramps throughout its length.

The Atlantic City – Brigantine Connector was initially planned in 1995 to provide a direct connection between the Atlantic City Expressway and the Brigantine area. Construction of the road was completed in 2001 at a total cost of $330 million (equivalent to $568 million in 2024). Before the Atlantic City – Brigantine Connector was planned, Mirage Resorts president Steve Wynn acquired a piece of land near the northern end of the proposed connector and planned for a direct exit ramp to a proposed casino called Le Jardin. Donald Trump, the chief executive officer of Trump Organization, who owned the nearby Trump Marina (now Golden Nugget), took legal action against the state for the proposed ramp to Wynn’s casino. Despite the legal concerns, construction on the connector began in 1998. Wynn’s proposed casino was canceled following the acquisition of Mirage Resorts by MGM Grand Inc., which, as the MGM Mirage company, proposed the Borgata casino. Meanwhile, Trump’s casino received a direct ramp from the connector.