Northern New Jersey is the platform for the distribution of goods to one of the largest and richest consumer markets on earth. This encompasses the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan area and much of the mid-Atlantic and New England regions. There are four key elements of the freight distribution system:
Port: Northern New Jersey is the home of the largest container port on the Atlantic seaboard, third largest in the U.S. and the fourteenth largest in the world. Its traffic reaches 38 percent of the U.S. population.
Rail: Northern New Jersey is at the center
of expanding railroad operations resulting from the acquisition of Conrail by
Norfolk-Southern and CSX railroads. In 2003 rail moved 25 million tons of goods
in New Jersey.
Air: Newark Airport is one of the fastest
growing air cargo hubs in North America, moving 1 million tons in 2003.
Trucking: More than 90 percent of all freight
moving through New Jersey arrives at its final destinations by truck. This translates
to 309 million tons in New Jersey.
These and other aspects of the freight distribution system are discussed in the freight sections of NJTPA's Regional Transportation Plan.
Freight Initiatives Committee
This committee serves as a forum for discussion of regional freight issues. It makes recommendations on action items to be considered by the full NJTPA Board of Trustees. The committee meets bimonthly. Its meetings are open to the public.
Committee Chairman:
Freeholder Peter Palmer,
Freeholder Somerset County
Committee Membership |
Completed Freight Planning Activities
The NJTPA North Jersey Truck Stop Study Refinement - The purpose of this continuation of the original NJTPA Truck Rest Stop Study was to augment the initial findings, and make further recommendations with regard to providing additional parking capacity in the region, especially in those corridors with the greatest need. Continued coordination with our public and private partners (NJDOT, NYMTC, NJTA, NYSDOT, DVRPC, PennDOT, PA Turnpike Commission, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, ConnDOT) was a key component of this study effort.
Freight Rail Grade Crossing Assessment Study - This study addresses the impacts of increased freight rail traffic along the region’s major freight rail lines. The NJTPA’s Regional Transportation Plan (Access and Mobility 2030) projects that freight rail traffic in the region will double over the next 25 years. This traffic will result in increased delays at grade crossings, and raises issues of safety and quality of life in those communities where these crossings are located. The study systematically assesses these impacts and identifies potential remedies to improve traffic flow at critical locations along major freight rail lines.
The Freight Rail Crossing Assessment Study examined a total of 64 crossings on the Lehigh, West Trenton, Chemical Coast, Port Reading Secondary and River rail lines. To prioritize rail crossings, data pertaining to vehicular traffic, accidents, surrounding land uses, and pedestrian access were analyzed, along with forecasts for future rail operations. The study developed problem statements for the top five grade crossings in most need of improvements. The problem statements contain potential solutions developed for each location and are the first step in developing projects that might become eligible for federal or state funding. This work was completed and approved by the NJTPA Board of Trustees at the September, 2008 meeting.
The NJTPA Board of Trustees approved an extension of the study to analyze freight rail crossings in northern and central New Jersey with the objective of developing problem statements for the next ten grade crossing locations prioritized in terms of needs in the original study. This work was completed and approved by the NJTPA Board of Trustees on August 24, 2009.
Quiet Zone Designation in New Jersey: An Informational Guide - The federal requirement that train horns be sounded at every grade crossing in or near communities nationwide has sparked a number of questions with regard to the establishment of quiet zones. The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA), as northern and central New Jersey's Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), has put together an informational quiet zone brochure as a guide to communities throughout the state.
The NJTPA Truck Rest Stop Study was completed in January 2008 with lead consultant Gannet Flemming and subcontractors Eng-Wong, Taub, Fitzgerald & Halliday and Future Fuels Consulting. The need for the study stems from new rules that have been promulgated by the federal government regarding truck driving hours. The rules reduce total hours for drivers and expand mandatory rest periods that will mainly affect long and intermediate haul truckers. There is a near absence of adequate truck rest and service stops in the core terminal area of the NJTPA region, especially near the port. Truck drivers who are at the legal time limit of operations are forced to pull over on many streets and highway margins to rest before continuing on their journey. Few, if any of these locations, offer truck drivers legal parking space and amenities such as food, showers and repair services. This raises safety and environmental concerns throughout the region as well as a potentially dangerous situation for the drivers themselves.
The NJTPA, under guidance from its Freight Initiatives Committee, assessed the availability and adequacy of truck rest/service stops throughout its thirteen county area. The result of this study were recommendations for candidate sites for expanded truck parking. Extensive stakeholder education and a public outreach program was undertaken in potential host communities as a part of this study. Freight Initiatives Committee meetings included reports and discussions among stakeholders.
The NJTPA truck rest stop study is part of a larger tri-state metropolitan NY-NJ-CT analysis of truck stop issues. The NJTPA study will be complimented by similar conducted by NYMTC and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. These studies will be compiled by NYMTC into a final comprehensive tri-state regional report.
Freight System Performance Assessment Study - This study assessed the current and future system performance of our regional freight network. Final reports have been released. The study included the collection and refinement of freight data from a variety of sources and will contribute to the updating of NJTPA's Regional Transportation Plan. Particular focus was placed on identifying: problems and opportunities associated with the region's freight infrastructure and operations today, ideas about how things are changing, and the kinds of threats and opportunities that will emerge in the future. The lead consultant was Cambridge Systematics and other team members were: Anne Strauss-Wieder, Inc., Edwards and Kelcey, Inc., Moffatt &Nichol Engineering, Reebie Associates, and R.L. Banks & Associates.
Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel Comments: The
following are NJTPA Staff Comments submitted 9-28-04 on the Cross Harbor Freight
Movement Study Draft EIS which calls for a freight tunnel to be built between
Brooklyn and Jersey City. Investigation of the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel initiative
has been renewed in 2007 with funding from a federal earmark (pdf files):
NJTPA Staff Comments (283K)
Attachments:
A. Consultant Q&A -(717K)
B. Freight Ferry Analysis by TransTech Marine Co. (6M)
C. Tunnel Capital Costs (339K)
Cross Harbor website:
www.crossharborstudy.com
Rail Merger Report - A final report on the effects of the 1998 Conrail, CSX, Norfolk Southern (NS) railroad merger on North Jersey rail services has been released. The report was submitted to the US Surface Transportation Board in June 2004.
Brownfields Planning - The NJTPA and NJIT have concluded a study designed to help the State of New Jersey harness growing international trade and redevelop abandoned and underutilized industrial sites in and around the port of northern New Jersey. The three-year, federally funded study examines ways to transform these fallow industrial properties - known as brownfields - into productive, tax-paying facilities that will allow the region to reap maximum economic benefits from rapidly increasing international trade. At the same time, the study looks at ways to steer this flow of goods to avert further congestion on the region's already heavily traveled transportation network. The NJTPA and NJIT are working to follow-up on the study recommendations.
Other Regional Freight Planning Activities
New Jersey Institute of Technology's International Intermodal Transportation Center recently completed a report entitled "Extended Hours of Operation at the Port Facilities in New Jersey: A Feasibility Analysis." The Final Report is available on their website: "Extended Hours of Operation at the Port Facilities in New Jersey: A Feasibility Analysis"
New Jersey Department of Transportation's Freight Planning Division deals with all modes of freight distribution. Information on current and past efforts is provided on their website: NJDOT Freight Planning.
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), the Philadelphia-Camden-Trenton MPO, provides information on current and past freight planning activities on their website: DVRPC Freight Planning.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC), the New York City- Long Island-lower Hudson Valley MPO, provides information of current and past freight planning activities on their website: NYMTC Freight Planning.