Middlesex County warehouse traffic target of new study. Here's what's recommended

Susan Loyer, MyCentralJersey.com
·3 min read

More than 60 recommendations to manage truck traffic in southern Middlesex County are identified in a study released this week.

The study, which began in spring 2022, assesses the impact of truck traffic on local roads and neighborhoods, primarily in Cranbury, Monroe, South Brunswick and Jamesburg, one of the most rapidly growing areas in the state with warehouses clustered along the New Jersey Turnpike and large residential developments under construction.

The study also examines the potential outcome of a variety of mitigation measures, such as updated GPS wayfinding, the installation of new signage, improvements to intersections, speed reduction, and improvements to physical infrastructure, as well as possible truck restrictions.

Middlesex County, in partnership with the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority and the New Jersey Department of Transportation, authored the study.

Among the study’s primary recommendations is the designation of new preferred routes for trucks that will, whenever possible, limit their time on local roadways and in residential neighborhoods.

Middlesex County and its municipalities will immediately begin working with local warehouse operators to encourage them to map routes for trucks that avoid residential neighborhood roads. The county, in collaboration with all levels of government, will also evaluate the need for additional wayfinding signage and begin installing signage to direct trucks to use designated truck routes leading to Route 130 rather than traveling through residential neighborhoods.

Also see: Motorists traveling Route 1 in South Brunswick can expect more traffic relief

Additional short-term plans that the county and its municipalities intend to pursue, according to the study, include:

  • Applying to the NJDOT for truck restrictions on key local roadways such as Cranbury Station Road, as well as other local roadways in the future.

  • Installing new signage, such as new wayfinding signage to direct trucks between New Jersey Turnpike exit 8A and Route 33 via Route 130; new wayfinding signage for truck entry on County Road 619 (Applegarth Road) and/or County Road 614 (Prospect Plains Road) to guide trucks to warehouses; additional vertical height clearance signage on County Road 522; and wayfinding signage for trucks on Cranbury Station Road between Route 130 and Hightstown-Cranbury Station Road, including working with warehouse operator’s to establish truck wayfinding signage at their driveway exits encouraging trucks to head westbound to Route 130 to then travel north or south.

  • Reimagining and reconfiguring intersections to better accommodate truck movements.

  • Reducing the speed limit on Route 32 from 45 to 40 mph and standardizing the number of lanes in each direction. According to the study’s crash analysis, Route 32 is considered a “truck crash hotspot."

In addition to recommending immediate and near-term solutions for various issues, the study also considers the need for potential larger infrastructure projects in the future. Among these potential projects is the reconfiguration of the intersection of County Road 535 (Cranbury-South River Road) and Route 32 (Forsgate Drive) to better facilitate and prioritize movements between the two corridors and the New Jersey Turnpike at exit 8A.

The Southern Middlesex County Freight Movement Study is available for public review at njtpa.org/MiddlesexFreightStudy.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Middlesex County NJ warehouse traffic target of new study