Meanwhile, the portion of freeway south of Route 47 in Maurice River Township was not yet built. In 1972, NJDOT wanted to provide adequate access to the Cape May Peninsula by extending the freeway southeast from the current terminus to the Garden State Parkway in Middle Township. NJDOT conducted an environmental study on this proposal in 1975. The route was projected to cost $155 million (equivalent to $ in ) and be finished by 1995. Plans resurfaced for a southern extension in 1993 when a feasibility study was conducted to see if the extension of Route 55 could be built. This study, which estimated the extension would cost between $423 million and $483 million (equivalent to $ and $ in ), concluded that the road should not be built because it crossed too many wetlands.