The cow tunnels along Route 70 in Medford, New Jersey, originated in the late 1920’s when the highway was first planned (numbered Route 40, at the time), cutting directly through local dairy properties like the historic Engle Farm and separating pastures from milking barns. To prevent the dangerous and disruptive transit of livestock across the highway, the State agreed to construct concrete underpasses roughly six feet wide and eight feet tall that allowed farmers to safely herd cattle beneath the road.

Though local dairy farming eventually faded, portions of these unique agricultural relics survived, and the tunnel near Route 541 was even structurally widened in 1996 when the State eliminated the Medford Circle and expanded Route 70.

(Black & white image showing a cow tunnel in use in Cranbury, NJ. Courtesy of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority)