Welcome to the NJ Transportation Research Ideas Portal

The New Jersey Department of Transportation's (NJDOT) Bureau of Research staff works directly with university and other research professionals to find solutions to improve the safety, mobility and accessibility of New Jersey’s residents, workers, visitors and businesses. Our goal is to enhance the quality and cost effectiveness of the policies, practices, standards and specifications that are used in planning, building and maintaining New Jersey's transportation infrastructure.

NJDOT’s Bureau of Research is interested in soliciting ideas from NJDOT’s research customers and other transportation stakeholders for the NJDOT Research Program.   We are interested in your research ideas – particularly, ideas that can turn problems into solutions that can be implemented.  We use this website to gather and share ideas as a first step in the development of fundable research proposals. 

Register to Participate. Registered participants can log in to submit a new idea, comment on submitted ideas, or vote on the ideas to show your support.  You may submit ideas at any time. Click on the “Submit New Idea” button on the top right-hand corner.

Deadline for Next Research Round.  The deadline date for submission of new research ideas to inform the next round of research RFPs is December 31, 2020. 

Who Can Submit a Research Idea?  NJDOT’s research customers and other interested transportation practitioners (e.g., MPOs, county and local governments, and other transportation subject matter experts from trade, universities and NGOs) can submit a research idea.  We are particularly interested in research ideas focused on addressing critical existing and emerging transportation needs in New Jersey.

Who Are NJDOT’s Research Customers?  Subject matter experts from NJDOT, NJ TRANSIT, and the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission are most often our research customers. Research ideas typically must have a "champion" among our research customers. Ideally, a "champion" is an individual holding a responsible position within a division, bureau, section or unit who is prepared to sponsor or advance a research idea from its inception to study completion. 

How Do Ideas Inform Research Needs Statement Development?  Ideas are not research needs statements or proposals. After the deadline date of a research idea solicitation round, research ideas are prioritized by the Research Oversight Committee and high priority research needs are posted as proposals. Submission of a research idea does not preclude individuals or groups from Institutes of Higher Learning or other eligible research organizations from subsequently bidding on a Request for Proposal prepared and issued by the Bureau of Research. RFPs will be posted on our research RFP web site: https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/business/research/requestsforproposal.shtm

How Do I Submit an Idea?  Only registered participants may submit an idea.  Click on the “Submit New Idea” button on the top right-hand corner.

What Happened to My Idea? Ideas submitted in 2017 and 2018 have been archived.  Several of these ideas have contributed to the development of RFPs, or are in the pipeline for the issuance of an RFP, or have been distributed to the appropriate research customer (i.e., agency, division, or unit) for consideration through other means. Other ideas may not have found their champion, or were not prioritized for funding.  Previously submitted ideas can be posted again.  We continue to encourage submission of new ideas.

Questions about How to Register?  Please email our site administrator: ideas@njdottechtransfer.net

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For more information about NJDOT Bureau of Research, visit our website: https://www.state.nj.us/transportation/business/research/

Questions about this NJ Transportation Research Ideas website?   Email us: Bureau.Research@dot.nj.gov or call us: (609) 963-2224. 

Submitted by (@leighann)

Planning & Environment

Measuring the Benefits of Green Streets in New Jersey

Green streets use green infrastructure practices within the public right-of-way to manage stormwater while preserving the primary function of a street as a conduit for vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders. In a densely populated state like New Jersey, the management of stormwater runoff is an important consideration for developed areas as impervious surfaces like roofs, roads and parking lots prevent... more »

Voting

10 votes
Ideate
Submitted by (@gary.vetro)

Planning & Environment

Temperature Regulating Coating

There has been recent discussion of using light colors for surface courses in order to mitigate heat islands by reflecting away light instead of absorbing it. However, I have been hearing many people counter with the problem, in northern latitudes, of lighter pavement icing faster in winter because the darker pavements ability to absorb light allows it to remain warmer than the air in temperatures close to freezing.... more »

Voting

5 votes
Ideate
Submitted by

Policy and Organization

Four Gets You More

Four Gets You More.

 

This is a smarter and more effective and efficient way for employees and employers to Work Smarter. This will allow employees and employers to establish four-day work weeks and thus allows for flexibility and customizing and balancing our work weeks along with our lifestyles.

Voting

4 votes
Ideate
Submitted by (@gary.vetro)

Planning & Environment

Virtual Reality State Highway System (VRSHS)

There are many different companies that use various types of road mapping hardware/software for their respective purposes. This technology could be utilized for multiple purposes that would benefit both the DOT and the public. All of these purposes would be achieved by the creation of a Virtual Reality State Highway System (VRSHS).

I propose that the NJDOT contract with one of these companies to utilize their technology,... more »

Voting

3 votes
Ideate
Submitted by

Design and Construction

Innovative Folder Plate Truss Sign /Catenary Structure Concept

Current industry standard for design and fabrication of small format trusses (less than 8 feet across any flat dimension) typically consists of individual members which are separately cut and then welded or bolted into a truss structure. This type of structure, while popular in the industry for use as sign support structures, tolling gantries, and rail signal / catenary support structures, is also costly to produce and... more »

Voting

3 votes
Ideate
Submitted by

Traffic & Safety

Heads-up prior to on-ramps

Did you ever drive onto an on-ramp and go around the bend only to see that the highway is actually a linear parking lot? Didn't you wish that you had a heads-up with that information so you could have not taken the ramp and maybe had a meal or made a pit stop while planning an alternate route (or time) for the trip? DOT can place a traffic camera showing live traffic on the highway (attach it to the bridge) and... more »

Voting

3 votes
Ideate
Submitted by (@gary.vetro)

Planning & Environment

Permanent Dredging System

When considering how many dredging contracts we have just to maintain a navigable channel that will naturally, continually attract sediment, you cannot help but realize how much is unnecessarily spent. Each contract has ancillary costs, such as mobilization and field office set up, and of course the allowable profit and overhead. This is all extra money on top of the cost of keeping the waterway clear. In effort to... more »

Voting

3 votes
Ideate
Submitted by (@gary.vetro)

Design and Construction

Mass Producible Custom Aggregate

With both the health of the roadways and the need for recycling constantly in our minds, I think that both can be helped by designing a mass producible custom aggregate for use in asphalt and concrete, that can be made with recycled materials. We could design a shape that would aid in the transfer of stress within the material while minimizing the movement of the aggregate after curing of that material. This would... more »

Voting

3 votes
Ideate
Submitted by

Policy and Organization

Quantifying Title VI and Environmental Justice benefits + burdens in a TIP

Organizations receiving federal funding have been required to evaluate Title VI issues and consider environmental justice impacts for decades but there has yet to be a comprehensive, systematic way to evaluate transportation projects for the disenfranchised populations protected under these mandates.

With mapping, data, and analysis tools being more democratized and readily available, a universal suite of tools should... more »

Voting

3 votes
Ideate
Submitted by (@rickyrab)

Design and Construction

3D Printed Traffic Controls, Roads, Barriers, Decor, and Other Features

This is an extension of Nicole Einthoven's idea involving overhead and cantilever signs. Can 3D printing have enough quality control for objects other than signs, such as controls (pavement markings), barriers, and other features? Would it be feasible or a better/more efficient/more workable approach than traditional methods?

Voting

3 votes
Ideate
Submitted by (@sodonnell)

Multi-Modal System Components and Users

Equity and Opportunity through Access

Much of New Jersey's existing transit infrastructure is oriented toward working commuters' needs, with peak services providing access to historic employment centers in major cities, especially New York. In an increasingly tight labor market, employers are looking to new sources for employees – and people with disabilities are experiencing historically high rates of employment. However, this "high rate" is still approximately... more »

Voting

3 votes
Ideate
Submitted by

Multi-Modal System Components and Users

Minimizing the effects of Access Link passenger stops on uninvolved neighbors

Access Link is a good service provided help the community by picking up and dropping off passengers. Each of these stops take time, especially if a wheel chair is involved. The vans or small busses used have poor fuel efficiency, and they idle during the entire time the passenger is boarding or being dropped off. The air pollution, carbon monoxide, and smell travels over 100 feet during each such stop, inspiring neighbors... more »

Voting

3 votes
Ideate
Submitted by (@rickyrab)

Traffic & Safety

Using humor in roadside Dynamic Message Signs

Recently, towns such as Robbinsville have taken to using humor in dynamic message signs in an effort to warn drivers to slow down, obey traffic laws, drive safely, and otherwise make the road a safer place. Humor might be an effective technique to aid driver memory and reduce crashes and damage to New Jersey roads, as well as increase the effectiveness of passive law enforcement.

(For reference: news article, https://www.nj.com/news/2019/12/only-in-jersey-traffic-safety-served-up-with-a-side-of-attitude-humor.html)... more »

Voting

3 votes
Ideate