 The Ben Franklin Bridge was opened on July 1, 1926 and was designated to carry US 30 across the Delaware River. A parkway called the Camden-Atlantic City Parkway was planned in 1932 to connect the Ben Franklin Bridge southeast to Atlantic City; this was never built. After World War II, freeway connections were planned on both sides of the Ben Franklin Bridge. In Philadelphia, the Vine Street Expressway was planned to run along the Vine Street corridor to the present-day Schuylkill Expressway in 1945. The North-South Freeway was proposed in New Jersey as a connection from the bridge south along the Route 42 corridor. In 1950, the city of Philadelphia began planning the construction of the Vine Street Expressway, which would run along a depressed alignment through the city.
