Southern Middlesex County Freight Movement Study

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Click here to view the Final Report of the Southern Middlesex County Freight Movement Study

Middlesex County conducted a Freight Movement Study covering southern Middlesex County and other nearby areas. With its proximity to the New Jersey Turnpike interchange 8A, rail lines, and availability of land for development, southern Middlesex County has long been a locally, regionally, and nationally significant freight and logistics hub (transporting commercial goods) with many warehouses and distribution centers. The southern part of the County is also home to rapidly growing lower-density residential areas, large older-adult communities, town centers, preserved farms, and open spaces.

The continuing growth of warehouses and distribution centers has generated truck traffic and negatively impacted residential communities. The purpose of the study is to identify strategies to safely manage truck traffic while balancing the needs of all users of the roadway.

The County gathered input from municipalities, residents, and community groups. The study team actively listened to the community and documented the comments, suggestions, and feedback with the goal of having everyone's voice heard.

The study aimed to:

Identify and understand:
- How and where trucks move in and around the study area
- Bottlenecks and barriers to freight movement
- Potential alternate truck routes to mitigate adverse impacts
- Safety issues and crash clusters
Develop recommendations to improve:
- Traffic operations, safety, mobility, and the reduction of pollutants
- Job access for industrial and warehouse workers
Balance the needs of all road users
Fairly distribute benefits and burdens of study recommendations. Avoid recommendations that cause a disproportionate burden on environmental justice communities.
Foster collaboration and build consensus among municipal partners, private industry, and regional entities

Public Engagement

Click the link below to view the interactive map containing local input submitted during the study.

Interactive Map

Questions about the study? Click the link below to contact the Office of Planning:

Comment-Form

What is the study area?

The Primary Study Area consists of Cranbury, Monroe, South Brunswick, and Jamesburg, where a concentration of goods movement activity by truck and rail exists. However, impacts stretch into other areas of Middlesex County and adjacent counties. The project team consider effects in a Secondary Study Area.

Primary Study Area

Secondary Study Area

How is this study funded?

This project was led by the Middlesex County Department of Transportation, Office of Planning. The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) Subregional Studies Program the project through a grant to Middlesex County. WSP, Michael Baker International, and FHI Studio consultant support.

Project Status

The study concluded during the Summer of 2023.

Newsletters

Click the links below to view the Newsletters

Events

Click the calendar items below to view more information about the public meetings held during the study.

Event	Date/Time	Agenda	Minutes	Other
Southern Middlesex County Freight Movement Study-Public Meeting #3	10/15/2025 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM 10/15/2025 6:30 PM 10/15/2025 8:00 PM	Not Included	Not Included	Other:Public Meeting #3 Flyer (English) Other:Public Meeting #3 Flyer (Spanish)
Southern Middlesex County Freight Movement Study-Public Meeting #2	04/17/2023 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM 04/17/2023 6:00 PM 04/17/2023 8:00 PM	Not Included	Not Included	Other:Public Meeting #2 Flyer (English) Other:Public Meeting #2 Flyer (Spanish) Other:So Middlesex County Freight Study - Public Meeting #2 Presentation english Other:So Middlesex County Freight Study - Public Meeting #2 Presentation (Spanish)
Southern Middlesex County Freight Movement Study-Public Meeting #1	12/07/2022 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM 12/07/2022 6:00 PM 12/07/2022 8:00 PM	Not Included	Not Included	Other:Public Meeting #1 Flyer (English) Other:Public Meeting #1 Flyer (Spanish) Other:Southern Middlesex County Freight Movement Study - Public Meeting (1) Other:Southern Middlesex County Freight Movement Study - Public Meeting (Spanish)

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Next Steps

A Freight Concept Development Study titled the Southern Middlesex County North-South Truck Corridor Project will be led by the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority with Middlesex County as the project sponsor. This project was identified in the Southern Middlesex County Freight Movement Study and will advance a study recommendation to create a North-South truck corridor to help mitigate the number of trucks traveling in residential areas. The current roadway network can cause trucks to travel on County Route 619 (Applegarth Road) or create confusion about the appropriate truck route, leading to trucks traveling into residential neighborhoods. The new truck route would be mostly parallel to the New Jersey Turnpike and County Route 619. It would add capacity and accommodate North-South traffic through the Townships of Cranbury and Monroe.
- Anticipated project kickoff: Early 2025
Based on recommendations in the Southern Middlesex County Freight Movement Study, Middlesex County is identifying locations throughout the primary study area for new/improved wayfinding signs to be installed. Middlesex County is coordinating with outside roadway agencies as appropriate, depending on roadway jurisdiction.
- Anticipated installation: Winter/Spring 2025