The southern half of the highway would have run through the Pinelands Preserve, an area of sandy soil that prevents most plant species other than pines to grow, hence the name.

The proposed highway, originally called the Toms River Expressway, was designated in 1971 for former Governor Alfred E. Driscoll.

Driscoll would be named the chairman of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority the same year by Governor William T. Cahill and would be responsible for the planning and construction of the road.

The Driscoll Expressway was proposed in order to relieve traffic on U.S. Route 9 at a time when Ocean County was experiencing rapid population growth.

[2] Driscoll died in March 1975 and a week later, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority shelved plans for the road.

[2] Hopes to revive the highway failed and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority began to sell off the rights-of-way in the late 1980s.