Is Route 55 Cursed? NJDOT Has a Plan to Make It Safer

After a summer of fatal crashes on Route 55, the New Jersey Department of Transportation has made it a priority to make the 40-mile South Jersey highway safer.

We will take a look at their ideas for increased safety and, while we're at it, we'll take a look at the reasons some people believe that Route 55 is a cursed highway.

NJ DOT's Plan to Make Route 55 a Safer Highway

The NJDOT sent an action plan for safety improvements to South Jersey legislators this week, outlining a four-point plan to improve Route 55, a popular route to Cumberland and Cape May counties, especially for summer tourists.

1- Deploy portable messaging signs along Route 55 advising drivers to use caution.

2- Install 75 new "Wrong Way" signs at five interchanges, at Exits 45, 48, 50, 53 & 56. The NJ DOT is also considering adding signs at three median U-turns in Millville and Vineland.

3- Clear trees and vegetation in the area of problem interchanges.

4- Add guardrails at locations along Route 55 as a permanent solution to enhance safety.

Together, they hope these measures will give drivers accessing Route 55 between Exits 45-56 a clearer idea of which way is the right way to go.

A Review of  Route 55 Crashes in Summer 2026

The plan follows four fatal crashes this summer on Route 55 that killed five people total.

- On July 5, two women died after the driver lost control of the vehicle, ran off the roadway, and struck a tree.

- On July 13th,  a 24-year-old man died after he drove his pickup truck the wrong way down the highway and collided with a tractor-trailer.

- On Monday, July 20th, a 41-year-old woman was killed and a 5-year-old child injured after the woman allegedly fled from a police traffic stop and crashed a vehicle into a tree

- On Saturday, August 22nd, a 68-year0old man died after a Tesla crossed the grass median, hit a tree, and struck his car on the other side of the highway.

- In 2025, three teenagers died in a crash that also injured a woman and three children.

Urban Legends of a Native American Curse on Route 55

Search for "Route 55 is a cursed highway" and you will find a variety of videos detailing why people believe the highway is cursed.

These tales date back to the early 1980s, when a shaman, a religious healer named Dr. Charles Pierce, warned New Jersey DOT officials not to build Route 55 through Deptford, stating it would disturb an ancient burial ground and anger his ancestors.

Officials ignored the warnings, only for construction to be plagued by a bizarre string of accidents and sudden deaths among the crew.

The accidents included a worker run over by an asphalt roller, another blown off a bridge by high winds, an inspector who died of a brain aneurysm, and a Department of Transportation van that mysteriously burst into flames.