County Route 563 (New Jersey)

County Route 563
CR 563 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NJDOT, Atlantic and Burlington counties, and Ole Hansen & Sons, Inc.
Length:	43.87 mi (70.60 km)
Existed:	1952 – present
Major junctions
South end:	CR 629 / Ocean Drive in Margate City
	US 9 in Northfield G.S. Parkway in Egg Harbor Township US 40 / US 322 in Egg Harbor Township US 30 in Galloway Township US 30 / Route 50 in Egg Harbor City
North end:	Route 72 in Woodland Township
Location
Counties:	Atlantic, Burlington
Highway system
County routes in New Jersey 500-series ← CR 561 CR 565 →

County routes in New Jersey

County Route 563 (CR 563) is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends 43.87 miles (70.60 km) from CR 629/Ocean Drive (Ventnor Avenue) in Margate City, Atlantic County north to Route 72 in Woodland Township, Burlington County. In Atlantic County, the road runs through a mix of suburban and rural areas, passing through Northfield, Egg Harbor Township, and Egg Harbor City. North of Egg Harbor City into Burlington County, CR 563 runs through the heavily forested Pine Barrens. Between Margate and Northfield, CR 563 runs along the Downbeach Express, a toll bridge that is maintained by Ole Hansen & Sons, Inc.

The Margate Bridge was built in 1929 by Ole Hansen and was privately maintained until being taken over by the Margate Bridge Company in 1963. It was renamed to the Downbeach Express in 2012. The portion of present-day CR 563 between U.S. Route 9 (US 9) and US 30 was legislated as a state highway called Route S43 in 1938, a spur of Route 43 (US 30). This was never built as a state highway. By 1946, all of current CR 563 had been built as a paved road. The CR 563 designation was assigned in 1952 with the creation of the 500-series county routes in New Jersey.