NJ Transportation Research Ideas Search Ideas

The quality of the materials going into roads and bridges is the chief indicator of the lifespan and overall strength of what was built. Current sampling methods can cause contractors to purchase extra materials, which increases costs. Any onsite sampling can cause a delay in construction. Being able to adequately test materials without creating these issues is a benefit to all involved.

When not only are the traffic and pedestrian volumes exceeding our capacities, but the tools needed to break new ground in mitigation are also outpacing our ability to understand and utilize, it is imperative that a successful government embrace and utilize these new technologies in a way that does not have to rely on private industry in an emerging and volatile market.

Surveying and collecting socio-economic data is time-consuming and costly for transportation planning. Combining available real-time traffic data such as navigation data with historical socio-economic data to predict future community status would be a huge saving on data collection and prediction cost and time. This implemented model can help the NJDOT, and local transportation planners swiftly track their changes to better plan the transportation infrastructures.

At the DOT, now more than ever, there is a growing demand on our maintenance crew, the need to be more cost effective in our designs, as well as provide solutions for green infrastructure. Creating cost effective, environmentally sustainable practices that can be replicated throughout the state will allow maintenance resources to be allocated to more urgent needs as well as help to create hundreds of nearly self sustainable sites across NJ. The sites will also help to reduce the spread of invasive plants, which will allow for our native planting to thrive on our Capital projects. The low maintenance sites can become a model to be used not only for the DOT but for the county and local municipalities to use along their roads.

Such a regional asset could be used by schools, camps, advocates in order to assist New Jersey in its Towards Vision Zero safety campaign.

New Jersey Congress passed a 2018 Bill - A4377 that requires DOT and OIT to develop materials concerning capabilities of airports in NJ and establishes the "Public Use Airports Task Force". Within this recently approved legislation, section 2 of P.L.2019, c.483, there are 18 objectives to be undertaken. These are the first four identified within the legislation. The Task Force must present report of findings to the Governor and to the Legislature no later than 24 months after organization of task force. This research project would benefit meeting this legislative goal.

Heavy vehicle issue occurrences used to be unpredictable by current rules whilst involving more harm than other vehicles on roads. This research idea provides an practical approach for measuring the uncertainty in a possible way in order to keep traffic safety while developing urban areas. And it also matches the concern of "Preparing Today for a Resilient Tomorrow."

Having pilot models to present to NJDEP, will help guide the discussions on how formulate the NJPACT regulations based on climate data and factors of safety. NJDEP is trying to define the FHA to account for climate change projections. By having the pilot studies available, NJDOT will be able to present a side by side analysis of how the current regulations and the proposed regulations will impact projects. Having pilot projects to present, will allow NJDOT to discuss how linear developments will be impacted by proposed NJPACT regulations.

Improved safety, operations and access for all modes of transportation after snow events

Potential reduction in motorist and pedestrian lawsuits

Potential cost savings resulting from reduction in roadway pavement damage due to impeded drainage and refreezing.

Potential damage cost and delay reductions due to crash incident factor mitigation.

Creates an organized and systematic post event snow-management process suitable for ongoing applications.

Offers opportunity to better coordinate post-event snow clearance with NJ TRANSIT and county / municipal DPW crews and programs

Encourages use of public transportation removing personal vehicles from roadways assisting roadway plowing and clearance operations.

Internal curing can minimize concrete cracking at very early age. Early age cracking, most are due to shrinkage caused by lacking of curing, will hurt the long-term performance and the durability of concrete. It may cause severe corrosion of rebars, as chlorides and other aggresive ions from deicing chemicals can easily penetrate deep into the concrete layer. Internal curing can also lead to a denser structure of concrete, so that the material is better performed when freeze-thaw cycles happen.

Considering the geographic location of New Jersey and the dense polulation, the pavement maintenance cost is huge each year. Therefore, improve the quality of pavement can not only save efforts and costs of repairing, but also making it a safer place to commute for NJ residents.

This is a project recently completed and being implemented under a future contract through NJDOT. Further study of this novel approach could help other agencies with similar type projects.

This is a priority as many bridges within the state are near the end of their service life currently. This study if implemented now can gather critical information to better understand effects of corrosion at the end of a bridge's service life, and help develop models which could be used to predict how steel will respond given a certain environment. This information would allow designers to add these considerations into future bridge designs.

Meeting carbon reduction targets is a broad goal set by the State of NJ, in which all agencies are expected to participate. This work will support NJDOT in choosing sustainable, lower-embodied carbon concrete solutions that do not sacrifice concrete quality or cost. The benefit of this work will be realized in better concrete durability, lower life-cycle cost, and more sustainable concrete materials that can be used in a wide variety of projects across the state. It is anticipated that the final guidance documents and suggested changes to NJDOT specifications will result in more resilient transportation infrastructure that is being built to maximize performance while minimizing environmental impacts. Implementation of this work will make NJDOT a leader in sustainable concrete construction practices, supporting statewide and regional goals for carbon reduction.

This research and development effort will significantly enhance infrastructure resiliency.