US 130 Access Management Needs Assessment

US Highway 130 in Burlington and Mercer Counties in New Jersey is a four lane, median divided, land access, principal arterial highway running parallel to the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) and, in some segments, to Interstate 295. Access to local markets, to the Port of Elizabeth, and to the national interstate system have made the corridor attractive to development for warehouse and distribution centers, manufacturing, and retail commercial venues. Sites for new development and redevelopment remain, both abutting the highway and near to it. New driveways and higher volumes at existing access points increase the risk of congestion and crash hazards. Retrofit access management is expensive and challenging. The hope for this study is that, by understanding the risks of unmanaged development, municipalities may take action with zoning revisions and potentially adopting land development standards that complement the Access Management Code of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, with the result that future highway capacity and safety are effectively managed. The New Jersey State Highway Access Management Code provides for the creation of segment-level local access management plans (N.J.A.C. 16:47-12.1 et seq.). The rigors of this process, requiring municipal policy changes and concept-level design of every driveway and intersection on the segment, mean that almost no local access management plans have been developed statewide. Such a plan is not the object of this study. Rather, the study may motivate the need for a local plan or may motivate municipalities to examine their zoning and development standards to preserve safe, high-volume traffic on the highway. Because US 130 functions as a major regional transportation corridor, access management should be evaluated not only in relation to individual driveways or development sites but also to the surrounding County and municipal roadway network and the regional pattern and intensity of existing and future development. Attention should be given to opportunities to consolidate access, provide shared access, utilize existing intersections, and direct development access to appropriate local or County roadways where feasible.